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Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Leuschner Collection of Photographs: Finding Aid
photCL 400 Volume 29  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Overview of the Collection
  • Access
  • Administrative Information
  • Related materials in the Huntington Library
  • Historical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • Index Terms

  • Overview of the Collection

    Title: Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Leuschner Collection of Photographs
    Dates (inclusive): approximately 1893-1905
    Collection Number: photCL 400 Volume 29
    Collector: Leuschner, Herbert.
    Extent: 83 photographs in 1 box (0.42 linear feet)
    Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo Archives
    1151 Oxford Road
    San Marino, California 91108
    Phone: (626) 405-2191
    Email: reference@huntington.org
    URL: http://www.huntington.org
    Abstract: Collection of 83 loose card photographs primarily depicting Los Angeles, California, from circa 1893 to 1905. The photographs were originally donated to the Historical Society of Southern California by Herbert Leuschner. The collection includes a number of photographs by the Garden City Foto Company and F. H. Maude and Company depicting Los Angeles parks, homes and buildings; California missions; the Fiesta de los Flores of 1901; Mount Lowe attractions; and Catalina Island.
    Language: English.

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Administrative Information

    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

    Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Leuschner Collection of Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    Donated to the Huntington Library by the Historical Society of Southern California, 1992.
    The collection, identified by Huntington Library catalogers as "Volume 29," was received as a part of the Historical Society of Southern California Collection. The photographs had been given to the Historical Society by Herbert Leuschner. There is no additional information regarding the donor or the circumstances of the donation.

    Processing Information

    The collection was rehoused by Huntington Library volunteers prior to 2006. In April 2006, Jessica Gambling organized the photographs, assigned numbers and created this finding aid.

    Related materials in the Huntington Library

    The sub-collections of the Historical Society of Southern California Collection (photCL 400) are individually cataloged in the Huntington Online Catalog.  

    Historical Note

    Founded in 1883, the Historical Society of Southern California (HSSC) is the oldest historical society in California. As part of its mission to collect and preserve Southern California’s history, the HSSC amassed a photo archive over many decades. The HSSC shifted its emphasis to programs and publications in the 1980s and, in 1992, the organization donated its photo archive to The Huntington Library.
    The Historical Society of Southern California Collection contains approximately 15,000 photographs and negatives focused on Southern California from approximately 1870 to 1980. As such, it is an important visual record of the growth and history of the region. The collection represents a variety of donations made to the Society over many years. It is organized into discrete sub-collections (each with a unique “volume” number) within the overall collection, which is identified by call number photCL 400.

    Scope and Content

    Collection of 83 loose card photographs primarily depicting Los Angeles, California, from circa 1893 to 1905. The photographs were originally donated to the Historical Society of Southern California by Herbert Leuschner. The images consist of 22 (9-1/2 x 6-3/4 inch) mounted photographs and 61 (5 x 8 inch and smaller) mounted photographs. The collection includes a number of photographs by the Garden City Foto Company and F. H. Maude and Company depicting Los Angeles parks, homes and buildings; California missions; the Fiesta de los Flores of 1901; Mount Lowe attractions; and Catalina Island.
    Number 1-48 are almost exclusively by the Garden City Foto Company and F. H. Maude and Company. They depict Los Angeles parks, homes and buildings; California missions; the Fiesta de los Flores of 1901; Mount Lowe attractions; and Catalina Island.
    Number 49-68 are predominantly images of the Fiesta de los Flores of 1901 taken by the Garden City Foto Company. Photographs show participants in the Fiesta parade, including children, as well as flower decorated carriages, wagons, floats, automobiles, and bicycles. Unidentified marching bands, military and civilian groups, and spectators are also depicted. There are also unidentified floral parade photographs which may be depictions of participants in the same event. The Fiesta de los Flores was a later embodiment of the Fiesta de Los Angeles which had been cancelled for three years due to insecurities about its Spanish character during the Spanish-American War. Like the Fiesta de Los Angeles, the celebration was meant to attract tourists and stimulate commerce for the city of Los Angeles and the surrounding communities, but its themes focused less on California's Spanish Colonial past and highlighted its more contemporary and patriotic attributes. The first Fiesta de los Flores coincided with President William McKinley's visit to Los Angeles in 1901.
    Number 69-78 are miscellaneous images. This group includes photographs by the Garden City Foto Company, one portrait by the Dewey Company, and one stereo image published by Underwood and Underwood.

    Arrangement

    The photographs are organized by subject: Los Angeles parks; general Los Angeles views; California missions and historic sites; Pasadena, Santa Monica, and Catalina Island; Fiesta de los Flores; unidentified flower parade images; and miscellaneous.

    Index Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

    Organizations:

    Fiesta de las Flores, Los Angeles, Calif.--Photographs.
    F.H. Maude and Co.
    Garden City Foto Company.

    Places:

    Lowe, Mount (Los Angeles County, Calif.)--Photographs.
    Santa Catalina Island (Calif.)--Photographs.

    Subjects:

    Commercial buildings--California--Los Angeles--Photographs.
    Dwellings--California--Los Angeles--Photographs.
    Missions--California--Photographs.
    Parades--California--Los Angeles--Photographs.

    Document Types:

    Photographs.