Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Rare Books
"Those who enjoy Chinese meals will be glad to know how the dishes can be prepared, and those who are not familiar with Chinese cooking will be delighted with the novelties to which they are introduced. Chinese cookery is especially suited to wartime conditions; its nutritive value is high, little meat need be used, and with limited materials great variety can be obtained"--From dust jacket.
642417
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Manuscripts
This collection consists of two series: the Grace Nicholson papers (2,926 items) and addenda (1,444 items). The papers consist primarily of correspondence, while the addenda is primarily notes. Both relate to Grace Nicholson and her work in the fields of Native American and Asian art. There are many letters from Native Americans to Nicholson and extensive diaries and notes that Nicholson kept on her buying trips through Native American territory, especially of the Karok, Klamath, and Pomo Indians. Subject matter includes Native American legends, folklore, vocabulary, tribal festivals, basket making, business in art trade, and living conditions. There is also a considerable amount of correspondence from China, Japan, and Korea between Nicholson and her buyers. Among the subjects covered are Chinese art and architecture, Japanese art, Korean art, Javanese textiles, Siamese art, Philippine art, life and social conditions in Asia, and the business of trading Asian art. Being a well-known dealer in Native American and Asian art, Nicholson was in contact with many artists, such as Frederick Arthur Bridgman, W. Herbert Dunton, Sadakichi Hartmann, Elizabeth Conrad Hickox, Louise Merrill Hickox, Grace Carpenter Hudson, George Wharton James, Lilian Miller, Hovsep T. Pushman, Joseph Henry Sharp, and Millard Sheets. Nicholson also purchased materials for institutions such as the Field Museum of Natural History, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art, the Pasadena Art Museum, and the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, California. Her intimate relationships with Native Americans give particular insight into their lives and culture. Historians and academics sought her out, including Alfred Lewis Kroeber, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Clinton Hart Merriam. Nicholson also received letters from political figures such as Frederick Webb Hodge, Herbert Hoover, Hiram Johnson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
mssNicholsog
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Rare Books
Covers the period from 9000 B.C. to the founding of the republic.
654117
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Visual Materials
The C.C. Pierce collection constitutes one of the most important collections of historical photographs of early California and Los Angeles extant. The collection of 10,100 prints was assembled by Charles C. Pierce, a photographer and long-time operator of a thriving Los Angeles photographic business. The collection is divided into nine topical headings devised by Pierce; these include Los Angeles Historical; Indians; Missions; California cities, counties, etc.; Industries and Agriculture; Transportation; Natural History; Art and Architecture; and Miscellaneous Scenery. Within these large sections are smaller categories that focus on the history, landscape, people, civic and cultural events, built environment, and development of Southern California and the Southwest from approximately 1845-1930. Of particular interest are the various Indian tribes depicted as well as all twenty-one of the California Missions.
photCL Pierce
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Manuscripts
A collection of 51 items which consists of correspondence between members of the Dunning family from 1853 to 1872, with the bulk of the collection falling between 1853-1860. Benjamin P. Dunning is the central figure in this collection; he wrote thirty-three of the letters and received six. There are eleven other authors in the collection, most significantly, his older brother Hiram A. Dunning. The letters describe the conditions of various mining camps in northern California, mainly those in Calaveras and Yuba counties; the letters also comment on the conditions and hardships of mining as well as furnish details on prices for mining supplies and food. They also illustrate several aspects of the California Gold Rush experience including prices of mining claims; the vicissitudes of the postal service; the legend of Joaq̕un Murieta; the struggle with Chinese miners; and descriptions of sea voyages from New York to California via South America and the Isthmus of Panama. Some of Benjamin Dunning's letters discuss the severe illness and death of his beloved sister, Abby, in Maine, while some of Hiram Dunning's letters discuss the death of his wife and baby in childbirth in California. The collection includes a pictorial letter sheet titled "The What Cheer House, San Francisco, Cal," with related autograph letter. Importantly, the pictorial letter sheet is not listed in either Joseph Baird Jr.'s California Pictorial Letter Sheets 1849-1869 (1967), or the Catalogue of the Collection of Henry H. Clifford California Pictorial Letter Sheets (1994). The collection includes six folders of ephemera, including two trade cards (one from The What Cheer House, and the other for The Broadway Wood and Coal Yard in San Francisco), two letter fragments, and various handwritten receipts. The collection also contains a promissory note, a judicial record, and a receipt book of personal accounts. There is a handwritten obituary for Hiram Dunning's wife, Mary Frances, which includes a pressed flower petal.
mssHM 70310-70360
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Manuscripts
A collection of 51 items which consits of correspondence between members of the Dunning family from 1853 to 1872, with the bulk of the collection falling between 1853-1860. Benjamin P. Dunning is the central figure in this collection; he wrote thirty-three of the letters and received six. There are eleven other authors in the collection, most significantly, his older brother Hiram A. Dunning. The letters describe the conditions of various mining camps in northern California, mainly those in Calaveras and Yuba counties, comment on the conditions and hardships of mining as well as furnish details on prices for mining supplies and food. They also illustrate several aspects of the California Gold Rush experience including prices of mining claims; the vicissitudes of postal service; the legend of Joaquín Murieta; the struggle with Chinese miners; and descriptions of sea voyages from New York to California via South America and the Isthmus of Panama. Some of Benjamin Dunning's letters discuss the severe illness and death of his beloved sister, Abby, in Maine, while some of Hiram Dunning's letters discuss the death of his wife and baby in childbirth in California. The collection includes a pictorial letter sheet titled "The What Cheer House, San Francisco, Cal," with related autograph letter. Importantly, the pictorial letter sheet is not listed in either Joseph Baird Jr.'s California Pictorial Letter Sheets 1849-1869 (1967), or the Catalogue of the Collection of Henry H. Clifford California Pictorial Letter Sheets (1994). The collection includes six folders of ephemera, including two trade cards (one from The What Cheer House, and the other for The Broadway Wood and Coal Yard in San Francisco), two letter fragments, and various handwritten receipts. The collection also contains a promissory note, a judicial record, and a receipt book of personal accounts. There is a handwritten obituary for Hiram Dunning's wife, Mary Frances, which includes a pressed flower petal.
mssHM 70310-70360