Stewart Edward White Photograph Collection​: Finding Aid photCL 426

Suzanne Oatey
The Huntington Library
February 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org


Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
Title: Stewart Edward White photograph collection​
Creator: White, Stewart Edward, 1873-1946
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 426
Physical Description: 5.8 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1906-1937
Abstract: Photographs by author Stewart Edward White primarily documenting his travel experiences in Africa and the United States.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Stewart Edward White photograph collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Harwood A. White, 1947.

Biographical / Historical

Stewart Edward White (1873-1946) was an American author and spiritualist. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School. In 1903 he moved to Santa Barbara, California, where his parents lived. A year later, he married Elizabeth "Betty" Grant of Newport, Rhode Island; they had no children. His first novel was The Westerners (1901), inspired by his experience in the Black Hills, South Dakota. In 1902, he wrote a best-selling book, The Blazed Trail. White wrote numerous essays, short stories, Westerns, adventure and romance novels, as well as works on metaphysics. He was an avid traveler and outdoorsman, often basing his writings on his own experiences. He died in Hillsborough, California in 1946.

Scope and Contents

A collection of approximately 1,800 photographs, almost all taken by Stewart Edward White during his outdoor recreational travels in Africa, the United States, and Canada. The prints are primarily 3 x 5 inches or smaller, with a few larger, mounted photographs. Many have handwritten captions in White's hand on the back, along with chapter or article numbers. The Africa photographs depict White and others on safari, posing with killed animals, as well as African men and women and natural scenery. Some of these images were used in the following books by White: The Land of Footprints (1912), African Camp Fires (1913), The Rediscovered Country (1915), and Lions in the Path (1926). Other photographs depict White in the army at Camp Kearny, San Diego; the Bohemian Grove, California and participants; fishing and boating in the Sierras, and a photograph of Native Americans in Yosemite. The second series consists of film stills from two movies based on White's novels: Call of the North (1921) and The Leopard Woman (1920).

Processing Information

Processed by Suzanne Oatey in February 2023.

Arrangement

Organized in two series:
  • Series 1. Travel and personal photographs, approximately 1906-1937
  • Series 2. Movie stills, 1920-1921

Related Materials

The library also holds manuscript drafts by White (mssHM 34697, 34698, 34907, 34908, 34992), letters, and 80 books.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Africa -- Photographs
Alaska -- Photographs
Boats and boating
Fishing
Hunting
Outdoor recreation
Indians of North America -- California -- Photographs
Military camps -- Photographs
Ranchers -- Arizona
Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.)--Photographs
World War, 1914-1918 -- California
Film stills
Photographic postcards
Photographs
White, Stewart Edward, 1873-1946
Bohemian Club (San Francisco, Calif.)

 

Travel and personal photographs approximately 1906-1937

Physical Description: 4.8 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

Scope and Contents

A collection of photographs taken by Stewart Edward White on his travels in Africa and the United States, and images documenting his army training during World War I. The travel images focus on outdoor recreation, particularly fishing, hunting, and boating. White appears in some images, as does his wife (sometimes called Bessie or Betty), and many are captioned in White's handwriting.

Arrangement

Photographs arranged by location.
Box 2, Folder 4

144th Field Artillery service 1917

Scope and Contents

Photographs of White in uniform as a member of the 144th Field Artillery at what is probably Camp Kearny, San Diego. Photographs show the army camp, tents, and weapons. The regiment was drafted into federal service in August 1917 and served in France during World War I.
Box 1

Africa approximately 1913-1927

Scope and Contents

Approximately 600 photographs taken by White on various trips to Africa. Images include people at camp on safari, hunting, posing with killed animals, and African men and women. Some prints have captions by White with chapter or article numbers.
Box 3, Folder 1

Africa, oversize prints

Scope and Contents

Printed enlargements of some of White's Africa photographs. Several images of Africans, some identified by tribe.
Box 1

Alaska and British Columbia approximately 1931

Scope and Contents

Approximately 300 photographs by White featuring fishing, boats, bear sightings, scenery, and some unidentified people.
Box 2, Folder 1

Arizona cattle ranch

Scope and Contents

Photographs of cowboys, cattle herds, roping, and horses. Some have captions by White titled "Round Up Days."
Box 2, Folder 2

Bohemian Club at Bohemian Grove, California 1916-1919

Scope and Contents

Photographs by White taken at the Bohemian Grove, a campground in the California Redwoods for the private San Francisco–based men's club known as the Bohemian Club. Images include the camp, men socializing, the Grove Play, and other activities. There are several portraits, but they are not identified. Also includes about 20 photographic postcards of the camp and a 1916 postcard from White to his wife.
Box 2, Folder 3

Bohemian Club Grove Play 1935

Scope and Contents

Photograph by Gabriel Moulin. Inscribed to White from Ned, with musical notation.
Box 5

Bohemian Club Photographic Exhibit prints by White 1936-1937

Scope and Contents

Photographs of people and scenery from White's travels, mounted and signed. The backs have labels for the Bohemian Club Photographic Exhibit, 1936 (11 prints), and 1937 (6 prints).
Box 1

Lake Tahoe (California and Nevada) undated

Scope and Contents

Fifteen snapshots of White and others canoeing, fishing, and wakeboarding.
Box 2, Folder 7

Seattle, Washington ship christening approximately 1930s

Scope and Contents

A group of unidentified people, possibly including White, in front of a ship.
Box 1

Sierras approximately 1906

Scope and Contents

White and others in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Yosemite. Images include horseback riding, scenery, cabins, surveyors, logging, and captive bear cubs. Some have captions titled "The Pass" and "Sierras" by White. One image of four Native American women sitting with a white woman is captioned by White: "One of the white Indians, Maude Cheppo - the other myself." Research shows that a Maud Chepo is listed in Madera County in the Census of Non-reservation California Indians, 1905-1906 (C. E. Kelsey; Robert Fleming Heizer, 1971).
Box 2, Folder 5, Box 2, Folder 6

Sporting and recreation, miscellaneous

Scope and Contents

Snapshots of White fishing and in various sporting and recreational activities. A woman who appears to be his wife, Betty, is also in several photographs.
Box 4

Oversize prints, miscellaneous

 

Movie stills 1920-1921

Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet (1 box)

Scope and Contents

Approximately 60 professional movie stills, 8 x 10 inches, of scenes from two movies that were based on Stewart Edward White novels.

Arrangement

Photographs arranged alphabetically by title.
Box 2, Folder 8

The Call of the North 1921

Scope and Contents

Movie based on White's novel "The Conjuror's House."
Box 2, Folder 9

The Leopard Woman 1920

Scope and Contents

Movie based on White's novel of the same name, starring Louise Glaum.