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San Francisco Biography Collection 1850-present
SF BIO COLL  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Related materials
  • Processing Information
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • Additions to the Collection

  • Title: San Francisco Biography Collection
    Date (inclusive): 1850-present
    Identifier/Call Number: SF BIO COLL
    Physical Description: 45 Linear Feet (in 27 file drawers)
    Contributing Institution: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
    100 Larkin Street
    San Francisco, CA 94102
    415-557-4567
    sfhistory@sfpl.org
    Abstract: Consists of a wide variety of materials relating to people widely known and relatively unknown in San Francisco, the greater Bay Area, and California. Includes materials pertaining to: prominent historical San Franciscans such as past mayors, railroad and mining barons and their heirs, early explorers and Gold Rush and Victorian era figures; police and fire chiefs; local and state politicians and judges; architects, especially Victorian era and practioners of the Bay Region style; bishops and pastors; labor leaders; Olympic Club members; artists, artisans, poets, writers, and composers; restaurateurs, hoteliers, merchants and other ordinary citizens; unique San Francisco personalities such as Emperor Norton and Mary Ellen Pleasant. Also contains genealogical correspondence between relatives and library employees and volunteers, as well as material originating from outside the region contributed by relatives. The subjects of these inquiries are often pioneers, 49ers, or victims of the 1906 earthquake and fire. The range of ephemera includes: newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets, brochures, political mailings and advertisements, biographical sketches, obituaries, court transcripts, certificates, receipts, fliers, correspondence, exhibition catalogs, scrapbooks, drawings, programs and commemorative materials from consecrations, memorials, and other official events. Individual ephemera files can contain a single item or more extensive amounts of material, ranging from photocopies to handwritten documents.
    Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite; some materials require retrieval from separate storage.
    Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has not been assigned to the San Francisco Public Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item/Title of folder], San Francisco Biography Collection, San Francisco Public Library.

    Related materials

    Related ephemera collections at the San Francisco Public Library include: San Francisco Ephemera Collection California Ephemera Collection Grabhorn Ephemera Collection San Francisco Menu Collection

    Processing Information

    Processed by San Francisco History Center staff; additional processing and description by California Ephemera Project staff, funded by a Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources, in 2009-2010.

    Scope and Content

    Consists of a wide variety of materials relating to people widely known and relatively unknown in San Francisco, the greater Bay Area, and California. Includes materials pertaining to: prominent historical San Franciscans such as past mayors, railroad and mining barons and their heirs, early explorers and Gold Rush and Victorian era figures; police and fire chiefs; local and state politicians and judges; architects, especially Victorian era and practioners of the Bay Region style; bishops and pastors; labor leaders; Olympic Club members; artists, artisans, poets, writers, and composers; restaurateurs, hoteliers, merchants and other ordinary citizens; unique San Francisco personalities such as Emperor Norton and Mary Ellen Pleasant. Also contains genealogical correspondence between relatives and library employees and volunteers, as well as material originating from outside the region contributed by relatives. The subjects of these inquiries are often pioneers, 49ers, or victims of the 1906 earthquake and fire.
    The range of ephemera includes: newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets, brochures, political mailings and advertisements, biographical sketches, obituaries, court transcripts, certificates, receipts, fliers, correspondence, exhibition catalogs, scrapbooks, drawings, programs and commemorative materials from consecrations, memorials, and other official events.
    Individual ephemera files can contain a single item or more extensive amounts of material, ranging from photocopies to handwritten documents.

    Arrangement

    Collection is arranged alphabetically by last name.

    Additions to the Collection

    Additions to the collection are ongoing.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Obituaries.
    Programs.
    Receipts (financial records)
    Scrapbooks.
    Certificates.
    Clippings.
    Ephemera.
    Exhibition catalogs.
    Advertisements.
    Brochures.
    California Ephemera Project