California Family Photograph Album Collection, circa 1890-1955
Part of the Edith
C. Smith Photograph Collection
Guide prepared by Daniel Jarvis
Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History
San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0147
Phone: (408) 808-2064
Email: research@sourisseauacademy.org
URL: http://www.sourisseauacademy.org
©July 2010
Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History. All rights reserved.
California Family Photograph Album Collection circa 1890-1955
Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History
San Jose State
University
Contact Information:
- Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History
- San Jose State University
- One Washington Square
- San Jose, CA 95192-0147
- Email: research@sourisseauacademy.org
- URL: http://www.sourisseauacademy.org
- Collection processed and guide prepared and encoded by:
- Daniel Jarvis
- Date Completed:
- July 2010
©July 2010. Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History. All rights
reserved.
Descriptive Summary
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
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
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.
Preferred Citation
[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
Acquisition Information
Albums in the California Family Photograph Album Collection were donated to the
Sourisseau Academy by the Edith Corinne Smith Trust between 2003 and 2009.
Historical Note
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.
Indexing Terms
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.)
Scope and Content
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.
Box 1, Album 1
Album 1,
circa 1920's
Scope and Content Note
Salas
family baby book with
Bible
verse placards. 1 Booklet. 1 certificate. 3 placards.
Box 1, Album 2
Album 2,
circa 1915-1926
Scope and Content Note
Salas Family Photograph Album. 58 Photographs. Images include trips to Alum Rock, San
Francisco, Seabright beach, San Lorenzo River, a picnic on Monterey Road, a
cottage in Carmel belonging to a Miss Collis [?], and a visit to Swanton
Beach (now Natural Bridges beach)in Santa Cruz.
Box 1, Album 3
Album 3,
circa 1930's
Scope and Content Note
Salas Family Photo Album. 29 photographs. Most images depict the Salas family children at
their residence at South 9th Street in San Jose or playing at various
beaches in Santa Cruz.
Box 1, Album 4
Album 4,
circa 1930-1955
Scope and Content Note
Salas Family album, mostly candid portraits of the Salas children and social
gatherings at the Salas residence. 131 photographs. Donated by Don Gagliardi.
Box 1, Album 5
Album 5,
circa 1915-1930
Scope and Content Note
Album given to Mary Corbus by Edward Secrest of Los Gatos. 385 photographs. Numerous
photographs of orchards, houses, and people in Los Gatos, Pacific Grove,
other Californian locations, the Pacific Fleet in Monterey Bay, 1919;
military parades in Monterey. Copious notes and personal names are
included.
Box 1, Album 6
Album 6,
circa 1915-1940
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified Family Album from Turlock. 361 Photographs. Images include the Sunmaid Raisin
Growers Factory, an unidentified mining facility near Turlock, the
Livingston Department Store, and Yosemite National Park. Recurring portraits
with the family automobile are present, as are scenes of vacations, wedding
celebrations, and other social events.
Box 1, Album 7
Album 7,
circa 1890-1905
Scope and Content Note
Album belonging to Berta L. Hammond, from San Jose, California, 464 Minor
Avenue. 48 photographs. Images include views of Lover's Point, Lobos point and unknown
lighthouses, the Del Monte Hotel, Washington Hotel and Colton Hall in
Monterey, and the first house built in Monterey. There are also views of the
first theater built in California, the Methodist Episcopal Church in Pacific
Grove, San Carlos Mission, San Jose High School, San Jose City Hall, and San
Jose Normal School.
Box 1, Album 8
Album 8,
circa 1906-1930
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family album. 277 photographs. Primarily images of hunting trips in Sonoma
County, near Geyserville; and in the Mount Hamilton Range near Lick
Observatory and Smith Creek Hotel.
Box 1, Album 9
Album 9,
circa 1910-1929
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family album. 187 photographs. Views of Seacliff beach, Santa Cruz Board Walk,
and coastal railroad trestle construction, Spanish missions, the California
State Capitol Building under renovation or construction, possible images of
Sacramento, portraits of woman with San Diego banner, and sailors aboard the
ship
West Caruth.
Box 2, Album 10
Album 10,
1891-1892; 1912-1914
Scope and Content Note
Photo Album of Mrs. George M. [Laura] Lashell. 110 photographs. Recording her travels through
Eustice, Nebraska; Denver, Colorado; and Long Beach, California. View of the
George M. Lashell business in Long Beach.
Box 2, Album 11
Album 11,
circa 1920-1935
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family photo album. 132 photographs. Comprised of images displaying social
gatherings, theatrics, horseback riding, swimming, women dressed as nurses,
large buildings possibly serving as a training hospital, possibly San Jose
State College, and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, which includes a view of its
indoor saltwater pool, "The Plunge."
Box 2, Album 12
Album 12,
circa 1905-1911
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family album. 62 photographs. Unidentified houses said to belong to a
"Stella." The grave of Mr. Serler in Hollister and numerous views
of the family in their home and garden are included.
Box 2, Album 13
Album 13,
circa 1940's
Scope and Content Note
Created by Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Cook. 243 photographs. This album depicts their daughter Judy-Ann.
Locations include San Jose and Monterey. Predominantly, baby
photographs.
Box 2, Album 14
Album 14,
circa 1941
Scope and Content Note
Album of Lois (Lyman) and Carl Minarick. 184 photographs. Views of social gatherings, home
life, automobile trips. Images of San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley.
Wedding and greeting cards, newspaper clippings relating to WWII.
Box 2, Album 15
Album 15,
circa 1928-1936
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family album. 283 photographs. Views of the ocean going vessels
Silver spruce, the
Santa
Clara
, and the
Santa Rita. Images of
South East Asian countries, exotic animals in transit on a ship. Views of a
hydroelectric power plant owned by the Southern California Edison Company.
Images of home life and social gatherings in several Californian regions
which include the Sierra Nevada.
Box 2, Album 16
Album 16,
circa 1920-1946
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family. 283 photographs. Recurring portraits with the family automobile. Numerous
travels to locations such as Pinnacle Peak, Lake LaCount, Paso Robles, Santa
Ysabel, Pismo Beach, Echo Lake (near Lake Tahoe).
Box 2, Album 17
Album 17,
circa 1900-1920
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family album. 136 photographs. Images of Santa Margarita, residences in San Jose,
portraits of women atop the Santa Clara County courthouse, the State Normal
School and Lake Tahoe.
Box 2, Album 18
Album 18,
1936-1939
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified Family photographs of the American Southwest, especially the
Grand Canyon. 502 photographs. Other locations include images of San Francisco, Oakland
Airport, the San Diego Zoo, the Russian River, the Livermore Rodeo, San
Mateo, and Bay Meadows.
Box 2, Album 19
Album 19,
circa 1906
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family. 125 photographs. Views of San Francisco, Cliff House, San Jose, and
Stanford University following the 1906 earthquake.
Box 2, Album 120
Album 20,
1906; 1930-1931
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified family. 33 photographs. Many images display an unidentified San Jose farm
family. Images of San Jose, cigar shops, the Santa Clara County courthouse,
burial sites, and possibly St. James Park.