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Historical Society of Southern California Collection of Portrait Photographs: Finding
Aid
photCL 400 volume 31
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Table of contents
Title: Historical Society of Southern California Collection of Portrait Photographs
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1850s-1997
Bulk dates: 1860s-1930s
Collection Number: photCL 400 volume 31
Collector:
Historical Society of Southern California
Extent:
809 photographs in 12 boxes (13.92 linear feet)
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: rarebooks@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of 809 photographs of individual and group portraits, dating from circa 1850s-1997 (bulk 1860s-1930s),
that formed part of the Historical Society of
Southern California Photo Archives. It is a reference collection and includes images of both prominent and lesser-known
Los Angeles and Southern California figures from both the 19th and 20th centuries.
Language: English.
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.
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.
Historical Society of Southern California Collection of Portrait Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Donated by the Historical Society of Southern California in 1992.
The collection, identified by Huntington Library catalogers as "Volume 31," was receieved as part of the Historical Society
of Southern California Collection and was compiled
from photographs contributed by multiple donors to the HSSC over many years. Includes gifts to the HSSC by Clement Gagliano,
Gery Gamero/Dean Witter Reynolds, Estate of Flora B. Houston, Florence M. Kreider,
the LaMorie Gift, Gregg Layne, Mrs. J.H. McCarthy, Harry F. Maidenberg, Mrs. Beatrice Sabichi Mitchell, Kathryn Murdock,
Frank Rolfe, Leonora Rowland, Chester Rude, and the Sabichi Family.
Prior to 2006, Huntington volunteers created a preliminary inventory of the collection. In 2006, Sue Luftschein alphabetized
the collection, rehoused the photographs, and created this finding aid based, in part, on the original inventory.
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.
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.
This collection consists of 809 photographs of individual and group portraits, dating from circa 1850s-1997 (bulk 1860s-1930s),
that formed part of the Historical Society of Southern California
Photo Archives. It is a reference collection and includes images of both prominent and lesser-known Los Angeles and Southern
California figures from both the 19th and 20th centuries.
The collection contains images in a variety of formats that were created by a number of well-known California photographers.
These include James B. Blanchard, Boyé, Curtis Studios, George N.
Dewey, Edouart and Son, Garden City Foto Co., William M. Godfrey, A.C. Golsh, Hayward and Muzzall, Fred Hartsook, Hiller
and Mott, Theodore C. Marceau, Francis Parker (as Parker and Co.,
Parker and Hasselman, and Parker's Photographic Parlors), Payne Stanton and Co., Henri Penelon, Steve A. Rendall, Frank
G. Schumacher, William Shew, John Pitcher Spooner, George Steckel,
Isaiah West Taber, William Nutting Tuttle (as Tuttle and Lee, and Tuttle and Co.), O.E. Tyler, Davidson Roby Weaver, Michael
A. Wesner, James D. Westervelt (also in partnership with Charles
J. Coules), and Valentin Wolfenstein.
The Griggs portraits depict young women in various settings; the Kathryn Murdoch gift is primarily of album pages with snapshots
of local sites in Los Angeles.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by sitter, followed by identified groups, unidentified individuals, unidentified
groups, miscellaneous images, and publicity photographs. The unidentified images are subdivided by
known photographers and unknown photographers. The known photographers are listed alphabetically, with California photographers
heading the list.
Following the Container List is a list of all photographers, a list of the cartes-de-visite, and a list of photographs donated
by the Sabichi family.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Cartes-de-visite.
Group portraits.
Photographs.
Portraits.
Tintypes.