C.C. Pierce Collection of Photographs, approximately 1840-1930, bulk 1880-1920

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Summary

Creators:
Pierce, C. C. (Charles C.), 1861-1946
Abstract:
The C.C. Pierce collection constitutes one of the most important collections of historical photographs of early California and Los Angeles extant. The collection of 10,100 prints was assembled by Charles C. Pierce (1861-1946), a photographer and long-time operator of a thriving Los Angeles photographic business. The collection is divided into nine topical headings devised by Pierce. These include Los Angeles Historical; Indians; Missions; California cities, counties, etc.; Industries and Agriculture; Transportation; Natural History; Art and Architecture; and Miscellaneous Scenery. Within these large sections are smaller categories that focus on the history, landscape, people, civic and cultural events, built environment, and development of Southern California and the Southwest from approximately 1845-1930. Of particular interest are the various Indian tribes depicted as well as all twenty-one of the California Missions.
Extent:
10,100 photographs in 63 boxes (51.19 linear feet)
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

The C.C. Pierce collection contains 10,100 historical photographs of early California and Los Angeles that were assembled by Charles C. Pierce, a photographer and long-time operator of a thriving Los Angeles photographic business. The collection is divided into nine topical headings assigned by Pierce: Los Angeles Historical; Indians; Missions; California cities, counties, etc.; Industries and Agriculture, Transportation; Natural History; Art and Architecture; Miscellaneous Scenery. Within these large sections are smaller categories that focus on the history, landscape, people, civic and cultural events, built environment, and development of Southern California and the Southwest from approximately 1845-1930. Of particular interest are the various Indian tribes depicted as well as all twenty-one of the California Missions. Pierce described the latter as "a very extensive and superior collection of this subject, covering a period of over sixty years" that includes copies of paintings and etchings made by Edward Vischer from 1842-1876 and Henry Chapman Ford (1883).

Pierce's practice of copying other photographer's images and supplying his own identification should alert the researcher to treat the descriptive and date information on the photographs with some skepticism.

There are two numbers on the back of each photograph: the regular penciled number is the negative number assigned by Pierce; the red penciled number is that assigned by the Huntington. Researchers should refer to the red number at all times when ordering reproductions.

Biographical / historical:

Charles Chester Pierce was born on November 22, 1861, in Springfield, Massachusetts. An engineer by training, Pierce migrated to Southern California in 1886. Pierce began his photographic career in the thriving boom town of Los Angeles, first in partnership with Albert H. Lohn, and then successively with J.B. Blanchard and A.E. McConnell. He established his own studio around 1900 at 313 Spring Street. He moved several times during his career, eventually expanding his business to include the sale of photographic supplies. The most outstanding aspect of his business, however, was the vast picture library he amassed over three decades at work. Aside from making his own photographs, Pierce acquired the negatives and prints of other regional photographers such as Emil Ellis, Parker and Knight, Ramsey, Herve Friend, L.M. Clendenon, George P. Thresher, George Wharton James, and F.M. Huddleston. Pierce eradicated the existing signatures from the photographs, stamped his own name on the images, and organized the lot into subject files. The consequence of Pierce's business practices assured that most, if not all, of the connections between the images and their original creator are now lost. However, the archive which he advertised as the "C.C. Pierce Collection of Rare, Historical and Curious Photographs, Illustrating California, the Pacific Coast and the Southwest," became an invaluable resource for researchers and boosters alike, all of whom came to Pierce's shop to locate an image for their purposes.

C.C. Pierce died on November 7, 1946, at the age of 84. His prints and negatives are dispersed at several Los Angeles-area repositories including the Title Insurance and Trust Company (or Ticor) at the USC Regional History Center; the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History; and UCLA Special Collections. In addition, UCLA acquired the account books of C.C. Pierce's business dealings from 1909 to 1921 (Call # 170/134). The eight volume manuscript ledgers provide a detailed listing of his clients and the nature of the business.

Acquisition information:
Purchased by the Friends of the Huntington Library in 1939.
Arrangement:

The original order of the collection has been maintained and all subject headings are those assigned by Pierce himself.

Cards for individual items are filed in subject and geographical sections of the Photo Catalog.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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