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Patton Family Collection of Photographs and Negatives
photCL 282  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Provenance
  • Processing Information
  • Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Contents
  • Arrangement
  • Related materials in the Huntington Library

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Patton Family Collection of Negatives and Photographs
    Identifier/Call Number: photCL 282
    Physical Description: 7.73 Linear Feet (16 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1885-1945; 1971
    Date (bulk): 1895-1907
    Abstract: The Patton Family Collection consists of 156 glass plate negatives, 218 film negatives, 875 photographs, and a negative book, 1885-1945 (bulk 1895-1907), created and/or collected by members of the Patton family and friends. Also included are photographs of Lake Vineyard II, 1971. The collection provides an intimate look into the private lives of one of Southern California's prominent families around the turn of the twentieth century.
    Language of Material: English.

    Access

    Advance arrangements for viewing negatives must be made with the Curator of Photographs. The collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, please visit the Huntington's website: www.huntington.org.  

    Publication Rights

    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

    Patton family Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    Gift of Anne Wilson Patton, 1957.

    Processing Information

    The glass plate negatives and prints made from those negatives were rehoused, numbered and arranged by Brita Mack and Jane Apostol in the late 1980s. Jane Apostol rehoused, numbered and arranged the remainder of the collection, and created the original Container List, in 2005. In November 2006, Sue Luftschein created this finding aid based, in part, on the original Container List.

    Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements

    The collection consists of glass plate and film negatives, copy prints from these negatives, and original photographs. Boxes 1-2 contain the copy prints, plus some photographs for which there are no existing negatives. Original glass plate negatives are housed in boxes 6-12. Original film negatives, boxes 13-16, are housed in cold storage.

    Biographical Note

    In 1844, Benjamin D. Wilson, second Mayor of Los Angeles, married Ramona Yorba, daughter of Bernardo Yorba, a well-known land owner during California's Mexican period. After Ramona's death, Wilson married Margaret S. Hereford in 1853. He was the father of one son and three daughters. Mariona Wilson married James DeBarth Shorb (1842-1896) and Ruth Wilson married George Smith Patton (1856-1927) (one-time District Attorney of Los Angeles and the first Mayor of San Marino) on December 10, 1884. Ruth and George sired two children, George Smith Patton, Jr. (1885-1945) or "Georgie" and Anne Wilson Patton (1887-1971) or "Nita." George Smith Patton, Jr., General in the United States Army, became famous in World War II as "Old Blood and Guts."
    Patton and his family resided at Lake Vineyard, apparently built by Benjamin Wilson on 128 acres in the heart of present-day San Marino. This house, Lake Vineyard I, was torn down in 1910 to make way for a larger house, Lake Vineyard II, which was the site of planning sessions for the incorporation of present-day San Marino.
    Ann Wilson, Ruth Wilson Patton's sister, lived with the Patton family at Lake Vineyard and may have been the photographer for the images in the first four boxes of the collection, and was the photographer and creator of the photograph album in Box 5.
    The Patton and Banning Families, both prominent in the history of Southern California, shared a close relationship; Benjamin Wilson and Phineas Banning (founder of the Port of Los Angeles and of Wilmington, California) were business partners. George S. Patton, Jr., married Beatrice Banning Ayer.

    Scope and Contents

    The Patton Family Collection consists of 156 glass plate negatives, 218 film negatives, 875 photographs, and a negative book, 1885-1945 (bulk 1895-1907), created and/or collected by members of the Patton family and friends. The collection provides an intimate look into the private lives of one of Southern California's prominent families around the turn of the twentieth century.
    Boxes 1 and 2 contain copy prints of glass plate negatives taken by Ann Wilson, sister of Ruth Wilson Patton, and printed in her darkroom on the family's Lake Vineyard property. These photographs depict members of the Patton family and friends of the family; interiors of both of the Lake Vineyard houses in San Marino, California (Lake Vineyard I and II); views of the Lake Vineyard property; and photographs of the Patton family and friends on Santa Catalina Island and views of Catalina. Box 2 also contains photographs of Lake Vineyard II taken in 1971. Box 3 contains photographs of the Banning residence in Wilmington, California, along with images of the Patton and Banning families at family celebrations; and photographs (many created by studio photographers) of members of the Patton family, including George S. Patton, Jr.; Anne Wilson Patton; Ruth Wilson Patton; and George Smith Patton, Sr. Box 4 contains snapshots taken by an unidentified individual of (presumably) Patton family friends at various resort locations in California, including Catalina Island and Mount Tamalpais, as well as photographs of the Patton family at Lake Vineyard. Box 5 contains a photograph album created by Ann Wilson that contains images of members of both the Patton and Shorb families.
    In addition to the images created by Ann Wilson, the collection includes photographs created by Joseph Harrison Lamson, Frank G. Schumacher, George Steckel, and James D. Westervelt.
    Many photographs have annotations on the verso added in 1976 by Hancock Banning.

    Arrangement

    The collection is generally arranged by photographer and subject. Copy prints of Ann Wilson's glass plate negatives form the first part of the collection, followed by copy prints of photographs taken by an unidentified individual. Box 5 houses a photograph album compiled by Ann Wilson.

    Related materials in the Huntington Library

    1. Banning Family Collection of Photographs, Part I (photCL 180)  
    2. Banning Family Collection of Photographs, Part II (photCL 451)  

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Long Beach (Calif.)--Photographs
    Lowe, Mount (Los Angeles County, Calif.)--Photographs
    San Gabriel River Valley (Calif.)--Photographs
    San Marino (Calif.)--Photographs
    Santa Catalina Island (Calif.)--Photographs
    Santa Cruz (Calif.)--Photographs
    Wilson, Mount (Calif. : Mountain)--Photographs
    Tamalpais, Mount (Calif.)--Photographs
    Wilmington (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
    Bicycles -- Photographs
    Children -- Photographs
    Dwellings -- California -- San Marino -- Photographs
    Horsemanship -- California -- San Marino -- Photographs
    Interiors -- California -- San Marino -- Photographs
    Military cadets -- Photographs
    Parades -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs
    Recreation -- California -- Photographs
    Ships -- California -- Photographs
    Tennis -- California -- San Marino -- Photographs
    Clippings.
    Negatives.
    Notes.
    Photograph albums.
    Photographs