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California Family Photograph Album Collection, circa 1890-1955Part of the Edith
C. Smith Photograph Collection
ECS01.08
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Title: California Family Photograph Album
Collection
Date (inclusive): circa
1890-1955
Collection Number: ECS01.08
Creator:
Multiple families and
individuals
Extent:
2 cubic feet
Repository:
Sourisseau Academy for State and
Local History,
San Jose State University
San Jose, California 95192
Abstract: This collection of photograph albums provides pictorial
documentation of the material culture and life events shared by several families
living in Northern California during the late nineteenth century and the first half
of the twentieth century. Recurring themes include images of residential life,
gatherings of family and friends, travel to cities such as San Francisco, Monterey,
Long Beach, and retreats to regions in the Sierra Nevada such as Yosemite, or
coastal areas, such as Sea cliff Beach in Santa Cruz.
Language:
English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Sourisseau Academy. Neither the original
photographs nor the digital images held by the Sourisseau Academy may be
reproduced, published, or used on the Internet without the expressed, written
permission of the Executive Secretary. Permission for publication is given on
behalf of the Sourisseau Academy 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 by the researcher. The credit line, "Courtesy of the Edith C. Smith
Trust Collection, Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History" must accompany
any such use.
[Identification of item], California Family Photograph Album Collection,
ECS01.08, [Box number]: [Folder number], Edith C. Smith Photograph Collection,
Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, San Jose State University, San
Jose, California
Albums in the California Family Photograph Album Collection were donated to the
Sourisseau Academy by the Edith Corinne Smith Trust between 2003 and 2009.
The historical significance within these albums rest on the fact that prior to their
creation, amateur photography was too expensive and technically advanced for most
Americans. If a person could afford it, a local or itinerant photographer would be
hired to create a photograph. Subjects who "sat" for a photography session
typically wore their finest clothes and approached the occasion with a degree of
formality and poise. For several decades, camera film often required several minutes
to be correctly exposed to light, meaning subjects would need to hold the same
position and facial expression for several minutes to create a sharp photograph.
This often led to photographs that appeared contrived, cold, or impersonal. These
limitations started to give way in 1880's with the development of amateur
camera equipment, simpler film, and commercial film processing. By the year 1900,
middle class families could easily purchase and operate a camera on their own,
producing their own photographs. The time of photography for only special occasions
had ended; with greater accessibility, homemade photograph albums like those found
in this collection became possible. Photography had ascended to a common but
culturally significant activity of visually recording life in both the public and
private spheres. (1)
Evidence of the American revolution in automobile technology can also be found in
this collection. Prior to the innovations of Henry Ford's Model T in 1908,
automobiles were costly toys for the affluent, prone to mechanical problems, poorly
standardized, and expensive to maintain (2). With increasing improvements in mass
production, the cost of owning an automobile continued to decline. Middle class
families could finally experience the freedom of owning an automobile. With a far
wider range than a horse drawn carriage, families that had rarely traveled fifty
miles beyond their home could now travel hundreds of miles further with relative
ease. Numerous portraits with the family automobile and images chronicling travel in
the automobile are early demonstrations of a revolution in technology, culture, and
travel. It is here, in the early 20th century, that the automobile begins to be seen
as not only an essential piece of technology, but a declaration of autonomy,
freedom, and success. (3)
(1) Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler et al.
Photographs:
Archival Care and Management.
Chicago: Society of American
Archivists, 2006.
(2) James J. Flink,
The Automobile
Age.
Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1988.
(3) Ibid.
The following terms may be used to index this collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California, Northern--History
Corbus Family
Cook, Judy Ann
Cook Family
Family life
Family vacations
Hammond, Berta
L.
Lashell, Laura
Monterey
(Calif.)
Photograph Albums--19th
century
Photograph Albums--20th
century
Salas Family
San Jose
(Calif.)
Santa Cruz
(Calif.)
Secrest,
Edward
Travel--California
Turlock
(Calif.)
The bulk of this collection consists of photograph albums created by families native
to California during the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first half of
the twentieth century. This is one of several photograph album collections owned by
the Sourisseau Academy that document this period in Californian history.
Geographically, images within this collection are especially diverse. While a
majority of the photographs were taken in California, portions were taken in South
East Asia, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska. Within California, most images
were created in Berkeley, Los Gatos, Monterey, San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa
Cruz. Locales visited by the families include locations such as Seacliff Beach,
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, Yosemite National Park; events included
rodeos in Livermore, horse races at Bay meadows, and hunting trips near the Hamilton
Mountain Range.
Arrangement of the California Family Photograph Album Collection
The albums in this collection are organized numerically.