Biography
Scope and Contents
Access
Processing Information
Acquisition Information
Preferred Citation
Publication Rights
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Davis Library, Dept. of Special Collections
Title: Eastman's Originals Collection
Creator:
Eastman,
Jervie Henry, 1880-1969
Identifier/Call Number: D-051
Physical Description:
113 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1890-1960
Abstract: Collection includes photographs, negatives, and
postcards for a wide variety of northern California locations and events, including dam construction, logging, mining, food
processing, and community buildings and activities.
Physical Location: Researchers should contact Archives and Special
Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Biography
Jervie Henry Eastman was born, July 20, 1880, in White Cloud, Michigan. His family moved to northern California in 1886.
In 1898, Eastman launched his photographic career in Sisson, California (later named Mount Shasta), as a view photographer.
He became a partner in the Shasta View Company in 1907. Eastman lost his entire stock of plates and cards in a fire in
1912.
In 1921, Jervie Henry Eastman moved to Susanville and established Eastman & Company as a commercial photography and
post card studio. In 1936 he hired Mirl Simmons, a young photographer from Hillsborough, West Virginia, to help with the
postcard photography. In 1947, Eastman and Simmons became partners. The business had expanded to provide photographic
supplies to southeastern Oregon and studios in Westwood, Weed, and Susanville.
Eastman retired from photography in 1959 and sold his share of the business to Simmons. He died in Susanville on February
11, 1969.
Simmons ran the Eastman Studios until 1980, when he retired and sold the business to John and Shirley Castle. Mirl Simmons
died on April 27, 1987, in Jamestown, California. From 1983 to 1993, George F. Kliewer owned Eastman Studios in Susanville.
Following George Kliewer’s death, his wife Marilyn worked with friend and photographer Henry Martinez, Jr. to organize and
index the negatives. Marilyn Kliewer subsequently sold the business and offered the photograph collection to Henry
Martinez.
A portion of the Eastman's Originals Collection (the historical postcards and negatives) was sold to Anne Fisher in 1982.
She managed this portion of the collection until her retirement in 1994, at which time she donated the materials to the
University of California, Davis. Following the sale of Eastman Studios, Henry Martinez, Jr. purchased the portion of the
collection remaining with the studio. These images, which include all of George F. Kliewer’s works, were donated to the
University of California, Davis in 2019.
Scope and Contents
Photographs, negatives, and postcards for a wide variety of northern California locations and events, including dam
construction, logging, mining, food processing, and community buildings and activities.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Processing Information
Processed by Levi D. Phillips, Ph.D, Pamela Wilson, and Rebecca L. Wendt; machine-readable finding aid created by Jim
Sylva.
Acquisition Information
Collection and publication rights - except for the production of commercial postcards by commercial establishments - were
donated to the Regents of the University of California by Anne Fisher on March 22, 1994. A second portion of the collection
was donated by Henry Martinez, Jr. in 2019.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Eastman's Originals Collection, D-051, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library,
University of California, Davis.
Publication Rights
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is
not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California, Northern -- Pictorial works
California, Northern -- History -- Pictorial works
Eastman, Jervie Henry,
1880-1969 -- Archives