Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
The golden era
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Manuscripts
The collection, which contains 10,844 items, consists of correspondence, letter books, manuscripts, speeches, diaries, account books, published articles, legal papers, financial statements and business records. The 10,528 pieces of correspondence are chiefly addressed to James De Barth Shorb, James M. Tiernan and Maria de Jesus Wilson Shorb. The 17 letter books are related to the business and financial affairs of Shorb and Benjamin Davis Wilson. The 75 manuscripts consist of items chiefly written by Shorb and Wilson family members. The 224 items in the Business Papers include material related to Shorb's many companies including the San Gabriel Wine Company. The following subjects are covered in the Shorb collection: the Shorb, Wilson, and Patton families, David Jacks, Mariano Vallejo, Santa Catalina Island, the Mount Wilson Observatory, California government and politics, African Americans and the Chinese in California, agriculture, the citrus fruit industry, Indians of California, irrigation, lend tenure, mining, railroads, ranching, water rights, and the wine industry. The collection also documents the history and development of the following California cities: Alhambra, Elsinore, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Ramona, San Gabriel, San Marino, and Wilmington.
mssShorb papers
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Manuscripts
The Manuscripts series contains various poems, stories, and historical accounts written by Samuel L. Kreider. Many of these accounts relate to individuals like Charles Victor Hall and Mary Hall (original homesteaders of Los Angeles' West Adams area), structures like the Los Angeles High School, and other California histories. It also includes notes, reports, and other documents from the Friday Morning Club and its prominent members. Beyond the private papers, this series holds many documents relating to U.S. trade with Japan and the federal General Accounting Office branch in Los Angeles. There is also a Japanese poem. The series is arranged in alphabetical order and then chronologically. The Correspondence series is primarily related to Samuel L. Kreider. Most of the letters are work-related with a large percentage of them pertaining to U.S. trade with Japanese businesses. Moreover, there is also private correspondence. Mr. Kreider corresponded with many locally and nationally prominent people. The list includes, but is not limited to Fletcher Bowron, Herbert Hoover, and Lansing Hoskins Beach. He also has correspondence from C.C. Julian & Royalties Co. The series also contains letters Mr. Kreider wrote to various newspapers and magazines about publishing his historical accounts and stories. Lastly, there is correspondence pertaining to Mr. and Mrs. Kreider's philanthropic work within the Los Angeles High School Alumni Association and the Friday Morning Club. One letter is specifically from Caroline M. Severance. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by author and then by addressee.
mssKreider
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Manuscripts
The collection contains correspondence, business papers, 16 ledger books, maps and reports of the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company. 112 maps (1876-1947) in the collection document the early period, the general mining district, and other mines on the Comstock Lode such as the Ophir mines and the Mexican Gold and Silver Mining Company.
mssConsolidated Virginia Mining Company