Collection on Albert W. Miller

Finding aid prepared by Mary Jones, Head of Secured Collections, and Eric Milenkiewicz, Assistant Archivist.
Special Collections & University Archives
The UCR Library
P.O. Box 5900
University of California
Riverside, California 92517-5900
Phone: 951-827-3233
Fax: 951-827-4673
Email: specialcollections@ucr.edu
URL: http://library.ucr.edu/libraries/special-collections-university-archives
© 2010
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Collection on Albert W. Miller
Date (inclusive): 1888-1957, undated
Date (bulk): 1950-1954
Collection Number: MS 088
Extent: 0.42 linear feet (1 box)
Repository: Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The Collection on Albert W. Miller contains materials that document the professional work of Albert W. Miller. The collection primarily consists of photographs, press clippings, and other material regarding the Albert W. Miller Manufacturing Company and the Magnolia Automobile Company that were owned and operated by Albert W. Miller in Riverside, California during the early twentieth century. Additionally, this collection also contains postcards, press clippings, and other material on cities in Southern California and vintage automobiles.
Languages: The collection is in English.

Access

The collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [date if possible]. Collection on Albert W. Miller (MS 088). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.

Acquisition Information

Provenance unknown.

Processing History

Initial processing completed by Mary Jones, Head of Secured Collections, 2008. Final processing completed by Eric Milenkiewicz, Assistant Archivist, 2010.

Biographical Note

Albert W. Miller, a resident of Riverside, California, was a wood worker, car manufacturer, and owner of the Albert W. Miller Manufacturing Company. He was the inventor of the Miller Lock Mortiser, a machine used to cut openings in doors for mortise locks. Miller also established and owned the Magnolia Automobile Company in Riverside, California along with friend Watt L. Morland. This venture was short lived as the first automobile produced, the Magnolia, failed to work and the company went defunct.

Collection Scope and Contents

The Collection on Albert W. Miller contains materials that document the professional work of Albert W. Miller. The collection primarily consists of photographs, press clippings, and other material regarding the Albert W. Miller Manufacturing Company and the Magnolia Automobile Company that were owned and operated by Albert W. Miller in Riverside, California during the early twentieth century. Additionally, this collection also contains postcards, press clippings, and other material on cities in Southern California and vintage automobiles.

Collection Arrangement

This collection is arranged into five series as follows:
  • Series 1. Albert W. Miller family papers, 1919-1957, undated
  • Series 2. Albert W. Miller Manufacturing Company, 1888-1903, undated
  • Series 3. Magnolia Automobile Company, 1902-1954
  • Series 4. Southern California, 1903-1953, undated
  • Series 5. Vintage automobiles, 1903-1956, undated

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Albert W. Miller Manufacturing Company
Magnolia Automobile Company
Miller, Albert W.
Antique and classic cars
Riverside (Calif.)

Genres and Forms of Materials

Clippings (information artifacts)
Photographs
Postcards


 

Series 1. Albert W. Miller family papers 1919-1957, undated

Series Scope and Contents

This series contains documents, photographs, and other material regarding Albert W. Miller and his family. Includes financial contracts and photographs of Albert W. Miller.

Series Arrangement

This series is arranged alphabetically by format type.
Box 1, Folder 1

Document titled "Notes on Riverside Talk to School Children." 1957.

Box 1, Folder 1

Handwritten contract between Albert W. Miller and J.W. McBrie regarding oil shares. September 8, 1919.

Box 1, Folder 1

Handwritten document regarding Albert W. Miller and his wife, Emma's finances. undated.

Box 1, Folder 1

Photograph of Albert W. Miller standing next to a wire bending machine in the A.W. Miller Manufacturing Company at 196 Eighth Street in Riverside, California. undated.

Box 1, Folder 1

Photograph of Albert W. Miller using belt-driven equipment in a workshop. undated.

 

Series 2. Albert W. Miller Manufacturing Company 1888-1903, undated

Series Scope and Contents

This series contains photographs, blueprints, and other material regarding the Albert W. Miller Manufacturing Company. Includes blueprints,photographs, and advertisements for the Miller Lock Mortiser as well as a brochure and photographs of the Albert W. Miller Manufacturing Company.

Series Arrangement

This series is arranged alphabetically by format type.
Box 1, Folder 2

Advertisement for the A. W. Miller Manufacturing Company's Miller Lock Mortiser. undated.

Box 1, Folder 2

Blueprint of the Miller Lock Mortiser Fig. 1 through Fig. 2 (quantity, 2). undated.

Box 1, Folder 2

Blueprint of the Miller Lock Mortiser Fig. 3 through Fig. 8 (quantity, 2). undated.

Box 1, Folder 2

Brochure for the A.W. Miller Mill and Manufacturing Establishment. undated.

Box 1, Folder 2

Photograph of a man in a workshop with belt-driven equipment. undated.

Box 1, Folder 2

Photograph of a street fair in Riverside, California featuring the A.W. Miller Mill and Manufacturing Establishment booth. 1903.

Box 1, Folder 2

Photograph of men standing in front of the Schweinbold & Miller Planing Mill. 1888.

Box 1, Folder 2

Photograph of the A.W. Miller Manufacturing Company at 196 Eighth Street in Riverside, California. undated.

Box 1, Folder 2

Photograph of the Miller Lock Mortiser. undated.

Box 1, Folder 2

Photograph of two unidentified men in a workshop. undated.

 

Series 3. Magnolia Automobile Company 1902-1954

Series Scope and Contents

This series contains photographs and press clippings regarding the Magnolia Automobile Company, a manufacturing company started in Riverside, California by Albert W. Miller in the early twentieth century that produced the Magnolia automobile.

Series Arrangement

This series is arranged alphabetically by format type.
Box 1, Folder 3

Photograph of the Magnolia. 1902.

Box 1, Folder 3

Photograph of the Magnolia in front of the Magnolia Automobile Company in Riverside, California. 1903.

Box 1, Folder 3

Photograph of two people seated in the Magnolia with the inscription "Mother Miller in car with her Uncle." 1903.

Box 1, Folder 3

Press clipping titled "Magnolia Had Bad Moments in Good Days of Long Ago" from the Riverside Daily Press (originals/photocopies). September 4, 1950.

Box 1, Folder 3

Press clipping titled "Magnolia's Fate Proves Good Old Days Had Bad Moments" from the Riverside Daily Press (original/photocopy). September 3, 1950.

Box 1, Folder 3

Press clipping titled "Old Auto Story Jogs Memories" from the Daily Press (original/photocopy). September 5, 1950.

Box 1, Folder 3

Press clipping titled "Riverside Figured Prominently in Early Days of the Hand Crankers" from the Riverside Daily Press (original/photocopy). October 21, 1954.

Box 1, Folder 3

Press clipping titled "Transportation World Owes Much to Vision of Watt L. Moreland" from the Los Angeles Examiner (original/photocopy). October 25, 1953.

 

Series 4. Southern California 1903-1953, undated

Series Scope and Contents

This series contains photographs, postcards, and other material regarding various cities located in Southern California including Riverside, Calico, and Oak Glen.

Series Arrangement

This series is arranged alphabetically by format type.
Box 1, Folder 4

Line drawing titled "Eighth and Main at the turn of the Century" from Citizens National Trust & Savings Bank of Riverside. June 7, 1952.

Box 1, Folder 4

Photograph of a street fair on Main Street in Riverside, California (backed with photograph of dolls and other items on display). 1903.

Box 1, Folder 4

Photograph of a street fair on Main Street in Riverside, California (backed with photograph of two young children seated). 1903.

Box 1, Folder 4

Postcard featuring a horse-drawn fire wagon and man-drawn reel cart in Calico Ghost Town, California. undated.

Box 1, Folder 4

Postcard featuring the Parent Naval Orange Tree in Riverside, California. undated

Box 1, Folder 4

Press clipping titled "Oak Glen Apple Kingdom Visited" from the Los Angeles Examiner. October 25, 1953.

 

Series 5. Vintage automobiles 1903-1956, undated

Series Scope and Contents

This series contains postcards and press clippings featuring vintage automobiles including Rambler, Stearns Touring Car, Rolls Royce, and Studebaker.

Series Arrangement

This series is arranged alphabetically by format type.
Box 1, Folder 5

Postcard featuring a 1904 Rambler vintage automobile from Pennzoil to Stanley Y. Yelton. undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Postcard featuring a 1907 Maxwell vintage automobile from Pennzoil to J.R. Thornsburg. undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Postcard featuring a 1908 Reo Roadster vintage automobile from De Anza Chevrolet to Jerome Thompson. March 6, 1956.

Box 1, Folder 5

Postcard featuring a 1910 Stearns Touring Car vintage automobile from Pennzoil to Francis J. Williams. undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Postcard featuring a 1910 Stearns Touring Car vintage automobile from Pennzoil to J.H. Thompson. undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Press clipping of an unidentified man assembling a vintage automobile. 1903.

Box 1, Folder 5

Press clipping of a vintage automobile with the inscription "1902 Rambler." undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Press clipping of a vintage automobile with the inscription "1906 Autocar." undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Press clipping of a vintage automobile with the inscription "1907 Rolls-Royce." undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Press clipping of a vintage automobile with the inscription "1907 Studebaker." undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Press clipping of four people riding in a vintage automobile. undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Press clipping titled "First Steam-Driven Fire Pump." undated.

Box 1, Folder 5

Press clipping titled "Gasoline Age...New Era for Fire Pumping ." undated.