Manuscripts

Reminiscences of San Francisco and Los Angeles in the late 19th century

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Description: Mrs. Holmes begins her reminiscence with her father, Victor Chevallier, sailing from Paris to San Francisco in 1848; her mother later sailed to California from Bordeaux, France. After he arrived, Chevallier purchased the only pharmacy in San Francisco. Louise recalls some of the stories her father told her about early San Francisco, the Gold Rush and vigilante activity. Due to Louise's father's health, the family moved to Los Angeles in 1874. Mrs. Holmes discusses her memories of growing up in Los Angeles and tells stories about some of the eccentric residents of the city. Her father opened a pharmacy across from the Pico House and Louise remembers some of the famous guests she saw at that hotel and at the Grand Central Hotel, including Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb. She also gives a general description of the layout of the city and includes details about the cities' doctors, merchants, and photographers as well as the locations of stores and schools
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: approximately 1939.

San Francisco pharmacy album

Manuscripts

A bound volume containing over 2,400 manuscript prescriptions filled by an unidentified San Francisco pharmacy. The dated and numbered prescriptions are mounted on both sides of each page, with approximately seven to nine prescriptions per page; the prescriptions are written on various billheads or plain paper issued by many different physicians. The prescriptions provide information about the doctors, surgeons, pharmacists, druggists, and patients in San Francisco during the latter part of the 19th century; among the drugs prescribed are cocaine, morphine, opium, and literally hundreds of other compounds and simples. There are a number of prescriptions written by women doctors, including Isabel Lowry, who studied medicine in Paris with her twin sister Agnes, and Tey Watanabe, who was a graduate of the University of California, San Francisco, the first Japanese physician licensed in California. With contemporary half morocco and cloth covered boards; the pages in the volume are heavily foxed with considerable oxidation on acid paper. The spine has perished, the rear cover is detached, and the front cover is mostly detached; the pages, however, remain bound and can be easily turned, although the binding is tight in several places.

mssHM 84058

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Hannah Hough reminiscences

Manuscripts

Typed four-page manuscript by Hannah Hough about her trip from New York to San Francisco. She talks about the troubles she had on her journey, her arrival in California and her family's difficult life there, and their return to Illinois.

mssHM 84376

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Century Club of San Francisco to

Manuscripts

The collection consists of the personal correspondence of Orrin Peck and his sister, Janet Peck. There are 119 letters from Phoebe Apperson Hearst and these letters discuss her philanthropy in the fields of art and education, her son William Randolph Hearst, their life in California, travels in Europe, and San Francisco and national politics. Other correspondents include: Pablo Casals (1), John Drew (1), William Randolph Hearst (7), Lou Henry Hoover (4), Carl von Marr (179), and John Singer Sargent (17).

mssPeck

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Los Angeles and San Francisco Theatres

Manuscripts

Contains Los Angeles and San Francisco theatre programs with photographs of actors and actresses interspersed with news clippings. Includes programs for the Orpheum Theatre, Hazard's Pavilion, Turnerein Hall, Tivoli Opera House, the Baldwin Theatre, and other theatres.

mssBehymer

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Mary Ann Standlee's reminiscences of life in Southern California

Manuscripts

The author's recalls life in Southern California where she first lived on the Ballona or Malaga Ranch where her father was a sheep and cattle rancher. When she was four years old, they moved to San Gabriel and lived on the estate of De Barth Shorb when her father was appointed overseer of the Benjamin D. Wilson Ranch. She describes the ranch, its inhabitants and the San Gabriel Valley. In 1868 her parents bought land from John G. Downey in Los Nietos Valley near what is now Pico Rivera. Their ranch home was on the banks of the Rio Hondo River across the river from one of the Able Sterns ranchos. Standlee describes pioneer life; agriculture including orange, lemon and walnut orchards; dairy farming; stock ranching, schools and the coming of the railroads. Mrs. Standlee documents her marriage to Joel W. Standlee and the birth of her children. Some place names mentioned are: Los Angeles, Wilmington, San Gabriel, [Pico] Rivera, El Monte, Pasadena, Montebello and Downey.

mssHM 27978

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The Founding of the Mission and Presidio of San Francisco

Manuscripts

This diary is Father Palóu's description of the establishment of a mission at San Francisco Bay, and the exploration of the surrounding area. The diary also claims to contain the first authenticated account of the arrival of a sailing vessel to the Bay. Translated to English by Frank de Thoma in 1899.

mssHM 290

Reminiscences of San Francisco and Los Angeles in the late 19th century

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San Francisco pharmacy album

Hannah Hough reminiscences

Century Club of San Francisco to

Los Angeles and San Francisco Theatres

Mary Ann Standlee's reminiscences of life in Southern California

The Founding of the Mission and Presidio of San Francisco