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Historical Society of Southern California -- Charles Prudhomme Collection of Photographs: Finding
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photCL 400 volume 4
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Title: Historical Society of Southern California -- Charles Prudhomme Collection of Photographs
Dates (inclusive): 1870s-1933
Bulk dates: 1923-1933
Collection Number: photCL 400 volume 4
Creator:
Prudhomme, Charles J., 1854-1934.
Extent:
3 boxes (1.83 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: The collection consists of photographs, negatives, and a blueprint dating from the 1870s to 1933 (bulk 1923-1933) primarily
related to the history of the Los Angeles and the
Southern California region, that were compiled by Los Angeles historian Charles J. Prudhomme (1854-1934). The images mainly
depict sites within Los Angeles and California, as well as people associated
with the history of the Los Angeles region.
Language: English.
Advance arrangements to view negatives must be made with the Curator of Photographs. 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.
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.
Historical Society of Southern California -- Charles Prudhomme Collection of Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Donated to the Huntington Library by the Historical Society of Southern California, 1992.
The collection, identified by Huntington Library catalogers as "Volume 4," was received as a part of the Historical Society
of Southern California Collection.
The collection was organized, numbered and rehoused by Virginia Neely, August 1998; this finding aid was prepared by Sue Luftschein,
February-March 2006.
Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements
Box 3, negatives, is housed in Cold Storage. Permission to view negatives must be made with the Curator of Photographs.
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.
Biographical and Historical Notes
Biographical Note of Charles J. Prudhomme
Charles J. Prudhomme (1854-1934) was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Leon Victor Prudon (Prudhomme), a transplanted
Frenchman, and Mercedes Tapia, a native Californian. Prudhomme’s father played a
role in early California history, participating in the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846. Prudhomme was the historian for Ramona Parlor
109, Native Sons of the Golden West, and collected historic relics related to
California history. Prudhomme died on September 24, 1934.
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.
The collection consists of 249 black-and white-photographs (some exist in duplicate), 235 negatives, and 1 blueprint, dating
from the 1870s to 1933 (bulk 1923-1933), that are primarily related to the
history of the Los Angeles and the Southern California region. The collection was compiled by Los Angeles historian Charles
J. Prudhomme, and Prudhomme took the bulk of the photographs.
The images mainly depict sites within Los Angeles and California, as well as people associated with the history of the Los
Angeles region. Included are images of streets in Central Los Angeles
including Olvera Street; Los Angeles parks and squares; adobes and homes in the Los Angeles area; and photographs of members
of pioneer families associated with the history of Los Angeles and
Southern California. These include Don Juan Bautista Alvarado, members of the Alvarado family, members of the Dominguez family,
Senora Luisa Avila de Garfias, Don Juan de la Guerra, members of
the Lugo family, Senorita Josephine Ocampo, Eugene R. Plummer and members of the Plummer family, Andrea Alvarado Rowland and
Viola Rowland, members of the Sepulveda family, members of the Tapia
family, Francisco Viejar, and Maria Ybarra de Lopez.
Some images exist only in negative format; cards indicating this are interfiled within the collection of photographs. Negatives
are housed in Box 3.
The collection is generally arranged in subject order. The photographs in the first half of the collection are filed by geographic
location, with Los Angeles locations first, followed
by Los Angeles environs, the remainder of the state, and out of state locations. The second half of the collection consists
of portraits; these are filed alphabetically.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.) -- Photographs
Alvarado, Juan Bautista, 1809-1882--Portraits.
Avila de Garfias, Luisa--Portraits.
de la Guerra, Juan--Portraits.
Ocampo, Josephine--Portraits.
Plummer, Eugene R.--Portraits.
Rowland, Andrea Alvarado--Portraits.
Rowland, Viola--Portraits.
Viejar, Francisco--Portraits.
Ybarra de Lopez, Maria--Portraits.
Alvarado family -- Portraits.
Dominguez family -- Portraits.
Lugo family -- Portraits.
Plummer family -- Portraits.
Sepulveda family -- Portraits.
Tapia family -- Portraits.
Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Photographs
La Puente (Calif.) -- Photographs
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Photographs
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- Portraits -- Photographs
Los Nietos (Calif. : Township) -- Photographs
Malibu (Calif.) -- Photographs
San Fernando Valley (Calif.) -- Photographs
Santa Monica Canyon (Los Angeles County, Calif.) -- Photographs
Watts (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Photographs
Adobe houses -- California -- Photographs
Historic sites -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Parks -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Streets -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Photographs.
Blueprints.
Negatives.