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Arthur M. Ellis Collection of Photographic Negatives: Finding Aid
photCL 188
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Title: Arthur M. Ellis Collection of Photographic Negatives
Dates (inclusive): 1849-1923
Bulk dates: bulk 1880s-1890s
Collection Number: photCL 188
Collector:
Ellis, Arthur M. (Arthur McDonald), 1875-1932.
Extent:
approximately 6700 photographs (including prints, negatives, positives, and lantern slides) in 67 boxes (28 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: This collection contains photographs, negatives, positives, and lantern slides depicting Southern California, primarily in
the late 19th century, that were compiled by Los Angeles
lawyer and writer Arthur M. Ellis (1875-1932), often for use in his research and lectures on California history. The images
focus mainly on Los Angeles and nearby communities and provide quite a comprehensive picture of the
growth and development of the region at the turn of the twentieth century. The collection dates from the years ca. 1850 to
the 1920s and includes 1366 photographic prints (mostly copy prints from 8 x 10 inch glass-plate
and film negatives), 1520 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives, glass positives, film negatives and lantern slides, 203
8 x 10 inch glass plate negatives, and 734 8 x10 inch film negatives.
Language of Material: English
Advance arrangements for viewing glass plate negatives and positives, lantern slides, and film 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.
Arthur M. Ellis Collection of Photographic Negatives. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Mrs. Arthur (Bessie) Ellis in 1945, 1946, and 1950.
The collection was organized and partially rehoused in 1982 by Huntington Library staff. At that time, The Huntington Library
made prints of approximately 816 of the 8 x 10” glass and film negatives in the collection.
Catalog cards were also created for the photographs (numbers 1-1303) and are still available for consultation in the Huntington's
photo card catalog. In December 2005-March 2006, Jessica Gambling rehoused all the photographs.
She also rehoused the unprinted glass plates and lantern slides (numbers 1304-2535), reorganizing them by location and subject.
There are currently no prints or other viewing surrogates for this portion of the collection.
Arrangements to view these images must be made through the Curator of Photographs.
Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements
No viewing surrogates are available for the collection's glass plate negatives and positives, lantern slides, and film negatives
located in boxes 11-47.
Arrangements for viewing these items must be made with the Curator of Photographs.
Arthur McDonald Ellis (1875-1932) was born in Missouri. When he was two years old, his parents moved the family to California,
where his grandfather had settled in the early 1850s. Ellis was educated in Pomona and at the
University of California, Berkeley. Upon graduation he began a teaching career, but left the profession after a few years
to study law. He established his practice in Los Angeles in 1903.
Ellis studied history while at Berkeley, and his interest in the subject was life-long. He served as director of the Historical
Society of Southern California, and was its president during 1927-1928. He was also a trustee of
the Southwest Museum. He lectured statewide on California history and accumulated a large collection of photographs and slides
depicting Southern California and the Southwest, which he used in his presentations. He published a
number of books, including
The Indians of Los Angeles County (1926), a collection of letters of early pioneer Hugo Reid that provided firsthand accounts of the Native Americans of California
and their treatment by the Mission padres.
This collection contains photographs, negatives, positives, and lantern slides depicting Southern California, primarily in
the late 19th century, that were compiled by Los Angeles
lawyer and writer Arthur M. Ellis (1875-1932), often for use in his research and lectures on California history. The images
focus mainly on Los Angeles and nearby communities and provide quite a comprehensive picture of the
growth and development of the region at the turn of the twentieth century. The collection dates from the years ca. 1850 to
the 1920s and consists of 1366 photographic prints (mostly copy prints from 8 x 10 inch glass-plate
and film negatives), 1520 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives, glass positives, film negatives and lantern slides, 203
8 x 10 inch glass plate negatives, and 734 8 x10 inch film negatives.
There are no prints or other viewing surrogates for the smaller format
glass negatives and lantern slides; viewing must be arranged through the Curator of Photographs. These smaller format items
are mostly copy negatives (not originals) taken by Ellis of images in other collections,
apparently for reference purposes or to document already existing collections. Ellis copied the photographic holdings of,
among others, Bancroft, Behrendt, Tyler, Hill, Ingersoll, Forman, Rowan, Foxley, Guinn,
Fryer, A.W. Francisco, McPherson, Charles Prudhomme and William Burton.
The collection is particularly strong in images of central Los Angeles from the 1880s to the 1910s and Los Angeles County
beach communities in the 1900s and 1910s. Also of note are images of sites and themes
of historic or cultural significance, and portraits. In addition to images of central Los Angeles, the collection includes
images of Los Angeles County beach communities; Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley;
and Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties. The historic and cultural sites include photographs of missions
and churches; commercial, municipal and residential buildings, including historic
adobes; schools and parks; railroads, emigration, and stagecoach routes; Campo de Cahuenga; Busch Gardens in Pasadena; the
Modjeska home in Santa Ana; the Lake Vineyard, Sunnyslope, and the Rowland properties
in the San Gabriel Valley; and images of Native Americans and Native American culture. Portraits include those of California
pioneers, prominent Angelenos and San Diegans, including J. Lancaster Brent, George
Horatio Derby, Hillard Dorsey, the Ellis Family, Judge A.J. King and family, Vicente Lugo, Charles Prudhomme, Truman H. Rose,
William Rubottom, Abel Stearns, 1st Worshipful Master of the California
Masonic Lodge Levi Stowall, and the Workman family.
Some of the 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives and lantern slides depict historic sites of Northern California, including
mining camps of the California Gold Rush. There are also miscellaneous
images pertaining to themes with no direct relationship to California or the American West. These images depict a number of
unrelated themes including Freemasonry (with a few documents and images depicting
early Californian Masonic Temples and the Alexandria Temple in Virginia) and general United States history. The United States
history images include copies of Abraham Lincoln portraits and the Lincoln
home in Kentucky as well as early American figures including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
Many of the 8 x 10 inch glass negatives are bythe Graham Photo Company. There are also a number of photographs by William
H. Fletcher. Among the 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives are a significant
number of images by William H. Godfrey depicting central Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. There are also photographs
by F.H. Rogers, Parker, W.A. Vale and Carleton Watkins in addition to photographs
of a number of Edward Vischer illustrations. Ellis also took photographs of land surveys by George Hansen, Edward Otho Cresap
Ord and Frank Lecouvreur.
Many of the copy prints exist in duplicate and all prints are annotated with location information and description on the reverse,
when known. Some of the 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives and lantern slides depict the same image two or more times,
but as they appeared in the albums or collections of different individuals. Details and enlargements are also present. Description
and location information are noted on the envelope of the negatives when known.
Boxes 1-10 contain copy and original photographs; they have been described at the folder level. Every effort has been made
to be as inclusive as possible in the description of
the folder contents; some folders labeled “Miscellaneous,” span multiple subjects without any apparent relationship to
one another.
Boxes 11-47 contain 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives, glass positives, film negatives and lantern slides. There are
no prints or other viewing surrogates for this portion of the collection.
Viewing must be arranged in advance through the Curator of Photographs. These images have been organized by geographic region
where possible, starting with Central Los Angeles and Los Angeles County and
moving out into the surrounding California counties. Locations and subjects not related to California history follow. Miscellaneous
and unidentified images, photographs by William M. Godfrey, and a very
small number of 5 x 7 inch glass negatives are at the end of the collection.
Boxes 48-67 contain 8 x 10 inch glass plate and film negatives corresponding to the collection's black and white prints.
The collection has also been intellectually described by geographic region and subject matter. These indexes follow the Container
List. The geographical index is arranged by proximity to central Los Angeles. The subject index is arranged alphabetically.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Brent, Joseph Lancaster, 1826-1905 -- Photographs.
Derby, George Horatio, 1823-1861 -- Photographs.
Dorsey, Hillard -- Photographs.
Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 -- Portraits.
King, A. J., Judge -- Photographs.
Lincoln, Abraham 1809-1865 -- Portraits.
Lugo, Vicente -- Photographs.
Prudhomme, Charles J., 1854-1934 -- Photographs.
Rose, Truman H.
Rowland, John, 1791-1873 -- Photographs.
Rubottom, William -- Photographs.
Stearns, Abel, 1798-1871.
Stowall, Levi -- Photographs.
Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Portraits.
Wilson, Benjamin Davis, 1811-1878 -- Homes and haunts -- Photographs.
Workman family -- Photographs.
Amusement parks — California — Los Angeles County — Photographs.
Beaches — California — Los Angeles County — Photographs.
Cityscapes — California — Los Angeles — Photographs.
Church buildings — California — Los Angeles — Photographs.
Commercial buildings — California — Los Angeles — Photographs.
Dwellings — California — Los Angeles — Photographs.
Farms — California — San Gabriel Valley — Photographs.
Freemasonry — Photographs.
Gold mines and mining — California — Photographs.
Historic buildings — California — Photographs.
Indians of North America — Portraits.
Missions — California — Photographs.
Municipal buildings — California — Photographs.
Orchards — California — San Gabriel Valley — Photographs.
Parks — California — Los Angeles — Photographs.
Railroads — Trains — Photographs.
Ranches — California — San Gabriel Valley — Photographs.
Schools — California — Photographs.
Seaside resorts — California — Los Angeles County — Photographs.
Stagecoaches — Photographs.
United States — History — 18th century — Photographs.
United States — History — 19th century — Photographs.
Vineyards — California — San Gabriel Valley — Photographs.
Wagon trains — Photographs.
Busch Gardens (Pasadena, Calif.) — Photographs.
Campo de Cahuenga (Universal City, Calif.) — Photographs.
Los Angeles County (Calif.) — Photographs.
Lincoln Homestead State Park, Kentucky — Photographs.
Modjeska Ranch (Calif.) — Photographs.
Orange County (Calif.) — Photographs.
Pasadena (Calif.) — Photographs.
San Bernardino County (Calif.) — Photographs.
San Diego County (Calif.) — Photographs.
San Gabriel Valley (Calif.) — Photographs.
Sunny Slope Ranch (Calif.) — Photographs.
Ventura County (Calif.) — Photographs.
Photographs.
Fletcher, W. H. (William H.), photographer.
Godfrey, W. M. (William Mollock), 1825-1900, photographer.
Vale, W. A., 1847-, photographer.
Watkins, Carleton E., 1829-1916, photographer.
Vischer, Edward.
Hansen, George, 1824-1897.
Ord, Edward Otho Cresap, 1818-1883.
Lecouvreur, Frank, 1829-1901.
Graham Photo Co.
F.H. Rogers & Co.