Cawston Ostrich Farm Papers

This collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, documents, and ephemera of the Cawston Ostrich Farm of Southern California chiefly reflecting financial, business, and legal affairs of the company and one of its owners, the Vatcher Family, as well as the ostrich feather industry. The collection is semi-catalogued and consists of 1,156 items in six boxes. There are 322 manuscripts and documents, most of which pertain to the legal and financial dealings of Cawston Ostrich Farm. There are a few items pertaining to the Atlanta Ostrich Farm and the California Zoological Society. There are also some documents of the Vatcher family and Herbert J. Vatcher, Jr.'s other business interests.

The correspondence consists of 499 items, the majority of which deal with the financial and legal affairs of the Cawston Ostrich Farm and its affiliates. This includes ostrich feather stores in New York and the operation of the Atlanta Ostrich Farm located at the Atlanta Fair Grounds in Georgia. The correspondence from E.V. Edmonds includes five cartoons of an ostrich inspired by the artist's trip to the Cawston Ostrich Farm. The correspondence also includes the private letters of the Vatcher family and their friends, including the business endeavors of Herbert J. Vatcher, Jr. These projects include the California Zoological Society, various land deals, and investment in oil exploration in Southern California. The letter from W.K. Kellogg is an inquiry to the Cawston Ostrich Farm regarding ostrich leather products. There are several letters written in 1914 between Frederick L. Lewton of the Smithsonian Institution and Herbert J. Vatcher, Jr. regarding the creation of an exhibit on ostrich feathers for the Division of Textiles. Letters pertaining to the Atlanta Fair Association discuss the relationship between the association and the Atlanta Ostrich Farm and the possibility that the association would buy the farm.

The ephemera consists of 335 pieces regarding the ostrich feather industry, the Vatcher Family and businesses Herbert J. Vatcher, Jr. was involved in. Included are a 1920 edition of In Atlanta this Week, three editions of The City Builder and other materials related to the Atlanta Fair Association and the Atlanta Ostrich Farm. There are various brochures, catalogues and pamphlets from ostrich feather dealers and sellers and newspaper clippings regarding the industry. The collection also includes materials relating to the California Zoological Society such as a brochure, insurance map, a photo of Louise Ward Watkins with a lion, and blueprints of the grounds. Material related to Jonathon S. Dodge's 1920 campaign for Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Subjects include: Al G. Barnes Wild Animal Circus; alligator farming in Florida; animal trainers; Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; Atlanta Fair Association; Willis H. Booth; California and Los Angeles County politics and government; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; oil fields in California; Pacific Electric Railway Company; San Francisco Zoo; Smithsonian Institution exhibitions; Union Oil Company of California; and zoos.