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.