Finding aid prepared by Sue Luftschein.
The Huntington Library
March 2006
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA
91108
Phone: 626-405-2180
Email: jwatts@huntington.org
Overview of the Collection
Repository:
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA
91108
Phone: 626-405-2180
Email: jwatts@huntington.org
Title: Historical Society of Southern California Collection of Lantern Slides
Dates: 1870s-1932
Quantity: 3.75 linear ft., 9 boxes
Abstract: This collection of lantern slides comprises one portion of the Historical Society of Southern California (HSSC) Collection,
which was donated to the Huntington Library in 1992. The HSSC Collection as a whole contains approximately 15,000 photographs
and negatives covering the period circa 1870 to circa 1980, and almost exclusively depicts Southern California. As such, it
is an important visual record of the growth and history of the region.
Identification: photCL 400 volume 27
Language of Material: English
Biographical Note
This collection of lantern slides comprises one portion of the Historical Society of Southern California (HSSC) Collection,
which was donated to the Huntington Library in 1992. The HSSC Collection as a whole contains approximately 15,000 photographs
and negatives covering the period circa 1870 to circa 1980, and almost exclusively depicts Southern California. As such, it
is an important visual record of the growth and history of the region.
Scope and Contents
Volume 27 consists of 278 (3 x 4 inch) lantern slides, comprising a variety of different images of Southern California and
its residents.
The first section consists of images of central Los Angeles, primarily street scenes, including a number of images of La Fiesta
de Los Angeles celebrations and World War I-era parades. Other landscapes and cityscapes in the collection include views of
Hollywood and Santa Monica; locations in the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys, with an emphasis on Monrovia; communities
in Orange, San Bernardino and Kern Counties; scenes in Yosemite and other central California locations; and Tijuana. Also
included are a number of images of Santa Barbara in the late nineteenth century.
The collection is notable for a number of images of Los Angeles area high schools and universities. It is especially rich
in images of Los Angeles High School students from the early years of the twentieth century.
Photographs by members of, and about, the Los Angeles Camera Club are included in the collection. These include photographs
by C.C. Pierce, W.M. Frisbee, F.H. Maude, C.C. Valentine, and O. Granicher. Also included is a photograph of the Camera Club
building in downtown Los Angeles and images of its logo.
Studio portraits and group photographs can be found in the collection, the majority of which are unidentified. Among the identifiable
images are an 1888 photograph of the Los Angeles City Council; Mrs. O.W. Childs, wife of the early Los Angeles pioneer; Isidore
Dockweiler, an influential Southern California Democrat; Max Meyberg, organizer of the first La Fiesta de Los Angeles celebration
in 1894; and Caroline Severance, founder of the Friday Morning Club. The collection also contains images of Native Americans,
and Chinese in Chinatown.
In addition to the Los Angeles Camera Club photographers, the collection contains images created by Penney and Bennett, James
B. Blanchard, and Carleton Watkins.
Arrangement
The slides are arranged generally by subject: geographic locations, schools and universities, the Los Angeles Camera Club,
images of people, and miscellaneous images.
Indexing Terms
Personal Names
Childs, O.W. Mrs., d. 1935
Dockweiler, Isidore B. (Isidore Bernard), 1867-1947.
Meyberg, Max, 1850-1934.
Severance, Caroline M. Seymour (Caroline Maria Seymour), 1820-1914.
Corporate Names
Los Angeles (Calif.). City Council—Photographs.
Friday Morning Club (Los Angeles, Calif.)—Photographs.
Los Angeles Camera Club—Photographs.
Los Angeles High School—Photographs.
La Fiesta de Los Angeles—Photographs.
Subjects
Cityscapes—California—Los Angeles—Photographs.
Parades—California—Los Angeles—Photographs.
Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)—Photographs.
Kern County (Calif.)—Photographs.
Orange County (Calif.)—Photographs.
San Bernardino County (Calif.)—Photographs.
Santa Monica (Calif.)—Photographs.
Tijuana (Baja California, Mexico)—Photographs.
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)—Photographs.
Genres and Forms of Material
Lantern slides.
Contributors
Blanchard, James B.
Frisbie, William M.
Granicher, O.
Maude, F. H. (Frederic Hamer).
Pierce, C. C. (Charles C.), 1861-1946.
Valentine, C. C.
Watkins, Carleton E., 1829-1916.
.
Penney and Bennett.
Restrictions on Access
Access is granted to qualified researchers and by appointment.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish photographs must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Photographs. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Huntington as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or
imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation: photCL 400 volume 27, Historical Society of Southern California Collection of Lantern Slides, 1870s-1932.
Acquisition Information
Donated to the Huntington Library by the Historical Society of Southern California, 1992.
Processing Information
The collection was rehoused by volunteers prior to 2006. In March 2006, Sue Luftschein organized the slides, assigned numbers,
and created this finding aid.
Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements
The lantern slides are extremely fragile; arrangements for viewing must be made with the Curator of Photographs.
Box 1, Item 1-32
Central Los Angeles. Plaza; Temple Block; Downey Block;
1st through 4th Streets, Spring to Broadway,
1880s-1905,
1922-1932,
undated
Box 2, Item 33-64
Central Los Angeles. 4th to 9th Streets, Hill to Figueroa;
Washington and Hoover Streets; Subway Terminal Building; Pershing Square; Rosslyn Hotel; Biltmore Hotel; Hazard’s Pavilion;
Alexandria Hotel; Security Building; Friday Morning Club,
1870s-1926,
undated
Box 3, Item 65-96
Central Los Angeles. Angelus Temple; Unidentified
buildings; La Fiesta de Los Angeles; WWI-era parades; Eastlake Park; Hollywood,
1880s-1932,
undated
Box 4, Item 97-128
Hollywood, cont’d; Santa Monica; North Hollywood; San
Fernando Valley; Glendale; Pasadena; Sierra Madre; Monrovia; Ventura; Santa Barbara,
1887-1930,
undated
Box 5, Item 129-160
Santa Barbara, cont’d; Catalina; Orange County;
Victorville; Fort Tejon; Yosemite; San Francisco; Tahoe; Santa Cruz; Tijuana; Los Angeles High School,
1870s-1909,
1926,
1930,
undated
Box 6, Item 161-192
Los Angeles High School, cont’d; Los Angeles area
schools and universities,
1885,
1898-1899,
1904-1909,
1914,
undated
Box 7, Item 193-224
Los Angeles area schools and universities, cont’d; Los
Angeles Camera Club,
1880s-1907,
undated
Note
[Includes photograph by James B. Blanchard.]
Box 8, Item 225-256
People (group and individual portraits); Native
Americans,
1915,
1930,
undated
Note
[Includes photograph by Carleton Watkins.]
Box 9, Item 257-278
Chinese; Miscellaneous,
1889-1900,
undated
