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Jackson (B.D.) Collection of Negatives and
Photographs
photCL 332
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: B.D. Jackson collection of negatives and photographs
Creator:
Jackson, B. D., 1850 or
1851-1937
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 332
Physical Description:
35 Linear Feet
(62 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1903-1950s
Date (bulk): 1920s-1930s
Abstract: The B.D. Jackson Collection of
Negatives and Photographs consists of more than 4,800 photographs, glass plate negatives,
and film negatives, as well related manuscript and ephemeral materials, created by Southern
California photographer B.D. Jackson (ca. 1850-1937). The collection dates from 1903 to the
1950s (bulk 1920s-1930s) and provides a visual history of the growth of the San Gabriel
Valley and Southern California's suburban communities, a survey of California and the West's
notable landscapes, and an overview of Jackson's career as a landscape and scenic view
photographer.
Language of Material: English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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.
B.D. Jackson collection of negatives and photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Mrs. Ruth L. Green, 1966.
The collection was partially rehoused, arranged and numbered, and a preliminary Container
List created, by Jane Apostol in the 1980s. In October-November 2006, Sue Luftschein
completed the rehousing and arranging, and created this finding aid based, in part, on the
original Container List.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
RESTRICTED: Boxes 54-62: housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time
required.
The majority of photographs are copy prints, unless otherwise noted. Most of the copy
prints were made from glass plate negatives, unless otherwise noted. Film negatives are
housed in cold storage. The majority of the film negatives are unprinted.
Bradford "Dan" Jackson (ca. 1850/51-1937) was born in Sullivan, Ohio, around 1850. He began
his career as a portrait photographer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1901, in search of a
better climate, he moved with his wife, Cora, and his stepdaughter, Ruth, to Pomona,
California, where he purchased a portrait studio. In addition to portrait work, he began
photographing the surrounding towns, mountains, and beaches of Southern California. Jackson
lived and worked at various times in Pomona, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Hollywood, La Canada,
Glendora, La Crescenta, and Glendale, all of which figure in his work. Eventually he gave up
the portrait aspect of the business and concentrated on landscape views for the production
of stereographs and postcards. As he said, "Views don't talk back."
Jackson was one of the first photographers to document the construction and completion of
the Angeles Crest Highway, and his images of the Montrose-La Crescenta flood of 1934 were
used by Los Angeles County officials to document the drainage patterns of the mountains in
that area.
The B.D. Jackson Collection of Negatives and Photographs consists of 804 4 x 5 in. and 8 x
10 in. glass plate negatives, 1782 film negatives (including stereo negatives), 2302 black
and white photographs (including stereos, postcards, and photograph albums), and related
manuscript and ephemeral materials, 1903-1950s (bulk 1920s-1930s). The collection provides a
visual history of the growth of the San Gabriel Valley and Southern California's suburban
communities, a survey of notable landscapes of California and the American West, and an
overview of Jackson's career as a landscape and scenic view photographer. The collection is
complemented and supplemented by the Glendora Historical Society Collection of B.D. Jackson
Photographs and Negatives (photCL 448), also in the Huntington's Photo Archives. Many of the
negatives in the Jackson Collection exist in print form in the Glendora Collection, and many
of the images in the Glendora Collection round out series in the Jackson Collection.
The first part of the collection concentrates on many of the San Gabriel Valley's growing
communities and scenic landscapes. The photographs of Glendale, Burbank, La Crescenta, La
Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Altadena, Monrovia, Glendora, and
San Dimas include views of public buildings, businesses, churches, residences, and schools.
The Glendale images include many photographs of Glendale's business district and the
Rossmoyne development. The La Canada images include photographs of the Jacob Lanterman House
(Homewood), the Roy and Emily Lanterman House (El Retiro), El Nido (the residence of
Lieutenant Governor A.J. Wallace), and Dryborough Hall. The Pasadena images include numerous
photographs of Busch Gardens, the Colorado Street Bridge, and Tournament of Roses parades
from the mid-1920s and 1935. The photographs of Glendora include numerous views of streets
in downtown Glendora as well as photographs of Judge Charles Silent's home. Images of Mount
Wilson and Mount Lowe include the Observatory, the incline railway, and the Mount Lowe
Railway. Images of the San Gabriel Mountains depict Orchard Camp, Camp Oak Wilde, Camp
Coldbrook, Angeles Crest Highway, Switzer's Camp, Ice House and Wolfskill Canyons, and Mint
Canyon.
Other Southern California landscapes and scenic views include San Juan Capistrano and
other missions; Avalon Harbor and the Hotel St. Catherine on Catalina Island; Hollywoodland,
Bernheimer Gardens, Lake Hollywood, Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Dam, and Easter Services
at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood; Sunset Canyon, Sylvan Crest Trail, oil wells, Echo Park,
Griffith Park, and the Greek Theater in Los Angeles; Point Fermin in San Pedro; beaches and
surf at Santa Monica, Venice, Ocean Park, Redondo Beach and Laguna Beach; Pacoima Canyon,
Big Tujunga Canyon, Encino Country Club grounds, and the Santa Susanna Pass in the San
Fernando Valley area; Palm Canyon in Riverside County; Ramona's Marriage Place, Mission
Cliff Gardens, La Jolla, and Torrey Pines in San Diego County; Agua Dulce Canyon and Vasquez
Rocks in Los Angeles County; and sunsets and sunrises taken from southern California beaches
and mountains.
Jackson also ventured beyond the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County for landscape
views, and these make up the bulk of the latter part of the collection. The collection
contains numerous images of the San Bernardino Mountains including Big Bear Lake, Seven Oaks
Camp, and Lake Arrowhead; Mount Baldy and the surrounding area, including Kelly's Camp, Camp
Baldy, Mirror Lake, San Antonio Canyon, and San Antonio Falls; Yosemite National Park;
scenic canyons, including Red Rock Canyon in Kern County and Painted Canyon in Riverside
County; Lake Tahoe, Mount Whitney, Temple Crag, Mount Tallac, and the Devil's Postpile in
the Sierra Nevada Mountains; Mount Shasta; redwoods in Sequoia National Park; Yellowsone;
Crater Lake and Mount Hood in Oregon; and Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in Utah.
Other scenic views depict images of ships, including the U.S.S. California, the steamer
"Ruth Alexander," and a wrecked warship off Point Honda; the aftermath of the 1925 Santa
Barbara Earthquake, including many views of the Hotel Californian and the Santa Barbara
Mission; dams, including the ruins of the St. Francis Dam, and the Boulder Dam; the 1918 San
Jacinto Earthquake; the Montrose-La Crescenta flood of 1934; and the construction and
completion of the Angeles Crest Highway.
Other images portray parade scenes (in Glendale, Burbank, and Azusa?); the 1925 National
Orange Show in San Bernardino; rural and mountain roads (including views of the Ridge
Route); unidentified individuals; Malibu Lake Mountain Drive; surf and beach scenes;
residential interiors; and personal snapshots of B.D. and Cora Jackson on various trips, at
home, and in front of Jackson's shop in Glendora.
The collections also contains sample stereo cards, used by Jackson to advertise this
aspect of his business, and photograph albums that display many of his postcards and scenic
photographs. Ephemeral materials include brochures and leaflets about Jackson's stereo views
and the Angeles Crest Highway, and type blocks for two of his stereographs. Manuscript
materials include correspondence regarding the printing of a client's stereo negatives. The
collection also contains family photographs taken after Jackson's death, presumably by his
stepdaughter, Ruth Green, and postcards of Gold Rush Country scenes, presumably collected by
Cora Jackson or Ruth Green.
The collection is arranged primarily by subject, and each subject has been assigned a
"folder" number. The same folder number can span several physical folders. Copy and original
prints, photograph albums, postcards and lantern slides are in boxes 1-16, manuscript
material is in box 17, boxes 18-51 house glass plate negatives, and boxes 52-62 contain film
negatives (and are housed in cold storage).
The Huntington's Photograph Archives contains additional photographs that complement and
supplement this collection. These additional photographs, created and collected by B.D.
Jackson, his wife, Cora, and his stepdaughter, Ruth Green, form the Glendora Historical
Society Collection of B.D. Jackson Photographs and Negatives, and contains similar and
related subjects, photographic prints of many of the Jackson Collection's unprinted
negatives, and photographs of Jackson and his extended family.
See also:
Glendora Historical Society Collection of B.D. Jackson
Photographs and Negatives (photCL 448)
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Agua Dulce Region (Calif.)--Photographs
Altadena -- Photographs
American River (Calif.)--Photographs
Angeles Crest Highway (Calif.)--Photographs
Arroyo Seco (Calif.)--Photographs
Avalon (Calif.)--Photographs
Big Bear Lake (Calif.)--Photographs
Big Pines Camp (Calif.)--Photographs
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)--Photographs
Burbank (Los Angeles County, Calif.)--Photographs
Busch Gardens (Pasadena, Calif.)--Photographs
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Photographs
Crater Lake National Park (Or.)--Photographs
Devil's Gate Dam (Los Angeles County)--Photographs
Devils Postpile National Monument (Calif.) --Photographs
Eagle Rock (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Echo Park (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Encino (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Glacier Point (Calif.)--Photographs
Glendale (Calif.)--Photographs
Glendora (Calif.)--Photographs
Griffith Park (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Hollenbeck Park (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Hood, Mount (Or.)--Photographs
Hoover Dam (Ariz. and Nev.)--Photographs
Ice House Canyon (Calif.)--Photographs
La Canada Flintridge (Calif.)--Photographs
La Crescenta (Calif.) --Photographs
La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.)--Photographs
Laguna Beach (Calif.)--Photographs
Lake Arrowhead (Calif.)--Photographs
Lassen County (Calif.)--Photographs
Lincoln Highway -- Photographs
Little Bear Lake (Calif.)--Photographs
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Photographs
Lowe, Mount (Los Angeles County, Calif.)--Photographs
Mecca Hills Wilderness (Calif.)--Photographs
Merced River (Calif.)--Photographs
Mint Canyon (Calif.)--Photographs
Mission Cliff Gardens (San Diego, Calif.)--Photographs
Monrovia (Calif.)--Photographs
Montrose (Calif.)--Photographs
Mount Baldy (Calif.)--Photographs
Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.)--Photographs
Mount Rubidoux (Calif.)--Photographs
Mulholland Dam (Hollywood, Calif.)--Photographs
Ocean Park (Calif.)--Photographs
Oregon -- Photographs
Palisade Glacier (Calif.)--Photographs
Palm Canyon (Palm Springs, Calif.)--Photographs
Pasadena (Calif.)--Photographs
Point Fermin (Calif.)--Photographs
Pomona (Calif.)--Photographs
Red Rock Canyon State Park (Calif.)--Photographs
Redlands (Calif.)--Photographs
Redondo Beach (Calif.)--Photographs
Ridge Route (Calif.)--Photographs
Riverside County (Calif.)--Photographs
Saint Francis Dam (Calif.)--Photographs
San Bernardino Mountains (Calif.)--Photographs
San Diego County (Calif.)--Photographs
San Dimas (Calif.)--Photographs
San Fernando Valley (Calif.)--Photographs
San Gabriel Canyon (Calif.)--Photographs
Santa Barbara (Calif.)--Photographs
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.)--Photographs
Santa Monica (Calif.)--Photographs
Santa Monica Mountains (Calif.)--Photographs
Sequoia National Park (Calif.)--Photographs
Shasta, Mount (Calif. : Mountain)--Photographs
Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.)--Photographs
South Pasadena (Calif.)--Photographs
Sun Valley (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Sunland (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.)--Photographs
Topanga (Calif.)--Photographs
Torrey Pines State Reserve (Calif.)--Photographs
Tujunga (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Utah -- Photographs
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park (Calif.)--Photographs
Venice (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Photographs
Verdugo Mountains (Calif.)--Photographs
Whitney, Mount (Calif.)--Photographs
Wildwood Canyon (Calif.)--Photographs
Wilson, Mount (Calif.)--Photographs
Wolfskill Canyon (Calif.)--Photographs
Yellowstone National Park -- Photographs
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)--Photographs
Zion National Park (Utah)--Photographs
Animals -- California -- Photographs
Beaches -- California -- Los Angeles County -- Photographs
Beaches -- California -- Orange County -- Photographs
Business districts -- California -- Burbank -- Photographs
Business districts -- California -- Glendale -- Photographs
Business districts -- California -- Glendora -- Photographs
Business districts -- California -- Monrovia -- Photographs
Business districts -- California -- San Dimas -- Photographs
Cactus -- California -- Photographs
Campers (Persons)--California -- San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.) --
Photographs
Canyons -- California -- San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.) --
Photographs
Canyons -- California -- Riverside County (Calif.) --
Photographs
Churches -- California -- Glendale -- Photographs
Churches -- California -- Glendora -- Photographs
Churches -- California -- La Canada Flintridge -- Photographs
Churches -- California -- Monrovia -- Photographs
Churches -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs
Churches -- California -- San Dimas -- Photographs
Dams -- California -- Photographs
Dwellings -- California -- Eagle Rock -- Photographs
Dwellings -- California -- Glendale -- Photographs
Dwellings -- California -- Glendora -- Photographs
Dwellings -- California -- Hollywood -- Photographs
Dwellings -- California -- La Canada Flintridge --
Photographs
Dwellings -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs
Earthquakes -- California -- San Jacinto -- 1918 --
Photographs
Earthquakes -- California -- Santa Barbara -- 1925 --
Photographs
Floods -- California -- La Crescenta -- 1934 -- Photographs
Floods -- California -- Montrose -- 1934 -- Photographs
Flowers -- Photographs
Historic bridges -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs
Interiors -- California -- Eagle Rock -- Photographs
Library buildings -- California -- Glendale -- Photographs
Library buildings -- California -- Monrovia -- Photographs
Library buildings -- California -- South Pasadena --
Photographs
Mountain Roads -- California -- San Bernardino Mountains --
Photographs
Mountain Roads -- California -- San Gabriel Mountains --
Photographs
Oil wells -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Palms -- California -- Photographs
Parades -- California -- Los Angeles County -- Photographs
Parade floats -- California -- Los Angeles County --
Photographs
Parade floats -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs
Parks -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Public buildings -- California -- Glendale -- Photographs
Rural roads -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Rural roads -- California -- San Fernando Valley --
Photographs
Rural roads -- California -- San Gabriel Valley --
Photographs
Schools -- California -- Burbank -- Photographs
Schools -- California -- Glendale -- Photographs
Schools -- California -- Eagle Rock -- Photographs
Schools -- California -- La Canada Flintridge -- Photographs
Schools -- California -- Monrovia -- Photographs
Schools -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs
Schools -- California -- San Dimas -- Photographs
Schools -- California -- South Pasadena -- Photographs
Streets -- California -- Altadena -- Photographs
Streets -- California -- Burbank -- Photographs
Streets -- California -- Glendale -- Photographs
Streets -- California -- Hollywood -- Photographs
Streets -- California -- La Canada Flintridge -- Photographs
Streets -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs
Sun -- Rising and setting -- Photographs
Warships -- Photographs
Waterfalls -- California -- Photographs
Autochromes.
Black-and-white negatives
Lantern slides.
Leaflets.
Positives.
Photographs.
Photograph albums.
Postcards.
Stereographs.
Type (composition equipment)
Jackson, Cora.
Lanterman, Jacob -- Homes and haunts --
Photographs
Lanterman, Roy -- Homes and haunts --
Photographs
Silent, Charles, Judge -- Homes and haunts --
Photographs
Wallace, Albert Joseph -- Homes and haunts --
Photographs
Wattles, Gurdon H.--Homes and haunts --
Photographs
Bernheimer Gardens (Hollywood, Los Angeles,
Calif.) -- Photographs
Catalina Casino -- Photographs
Greek Theatre (Los Angeles, Calif.) --
Photographs
Lowe observatory (Calif.) --
Photographs
Mission Inn -- Photographs
Mission San Carlos Borromeo (Carmel, Calif.) --
Photographs
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.) --
Photographs
Mission San Juan Capistrano -- Photographs
Mount Lowe Railway -- Photographs
National Orange Show (1925 : San Bernardino,
Calif.)
Pottenger Sanatorium for Diseases of the Lungs
and Throat -- Photographs
Ramona's Marriage Place (San Diego, Calif.) --
Photographs
San Diego Mission -- Photographs
San Fernando, Rey de Espana (Mission : San
Fernando, Calif.) -- Photographs
San Luis Rey Mission (Calif.) -- Photographs
Santa Barbara Mission -- Photographs
Santa Ines Mission (Solvang, Calif.) --
Photographs
Tournament of Roses -- Photographs