Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Visual Materials
The Citrus label collection contains more than 1,500 lithographed labels related to the California citrus industry in the United States from 1880 to 1960, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1890 to 1940. The vast majority of the collection consists of lithographed labels produced for Californian growers, packers, and distributors to identify brand names and packing locations on wooden shipping crates of oranges, lemons and grapefruits. Many of the labels were printed by Los Angeles and San Francisco lithographers. The collection includes a range of lithography techniques from crayon drawing and hand stippling to the use of Ben Day screen patterns and half-tone lithography. The collection also includes more than 100 examples with "bronzing," a printing technique where varnish is printed on the label, followed by a dusting of fine bronze powder. A significant number of labels are stamped on verso with a received date by the Fruit Growers Supply Company, and some include signatures of approval or notations about printing corrections. The collection provides a broad view of the development of citrus fruit advertising over time, and also touches upon topics of commerce, manufacturing, travel and tourism, and promotion of the western United States. In the earliest examples, themes include naturalistic designs of flowers, animals, women, historical subjects, and scenic landscapes. Brand names, simple designs, block letters, and geometric patterns dominate in later examples. Many of the labels depict orange groves, scenic views, or flowers, though the collection also includes a wide variety of imagery beyond these themes including Native Americans, transportation, children, and portraits of famous or fictional people.
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Manuscripts
The James William Eldridge collection consists of letters, manuscripts, documents, printed military forms, autographs, ephemera, and approximately 4000 portraits and contemporary photographs, which date from 1797-1902. The collection documents military history of the Civil War, from both the Union and Confederate sides, concentrating on commanding officers, military and naval operations and administration, the armed forces of South Carolina and Virginia, and the everyday life of the common soldiers (including prisons and medical care). Also included are materials on civilian administration and politics during the war years, concentrating on governors, mayors, and congressmen. The bulk of the collection deals with the American Civil War, although there is some material on the antebellum and post-war politics and military history, including the raid on Harpers Ferry and the post-war Navy. The collection contains materials from US presidents James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, and Rutherford B. Hayes.
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