Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Manuscripts
A.L. Orcutt letter to Lucy W. Orcutt
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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 642 items in this collection consist primarily of letters written to Orcutt from fellow botanists and other representatives of historical societies, nurseries, museums, and related institutions. These items are arranged in alphabetical order by author last name. Orcutt corresponded frequently with botanists, collectors, and other scholars in the field of natural history in the buying, selling, and exchange of specimens such as seedlings, plants, and trees. He also collected seashells. Some of these discoveries were showcased in "The West American Scientist," a monthly magazine containing news, articles, editorials, illustrations and advertisements broadly related to the study of natural history on the Pacific coast and Mexico. As a result, the collection also includes numerous receipts and invoices, inquiries of pricing and shipping fees, and requests for copies of the publication. Orcutt also corresponded regularly with members of the American Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. There are several noteworthy items. A handwritten translation of a description of the Washington robusta genus details the origins, characteristics, and growth patterns of the California palm tree. Letters from George Frederick Kunz of Tiffany and Company include requests to send pearls and shells as well as books and articles on mineralogy. He also seeks Orcutt's knowledge and personal observations of pearls and other precious and ornamental stones found along the California coast. Two letters from Alice A. Gray, the niece of the botanist Asa Gray, are of a personal nature. She responds to Orcutt's inquiries regarding a potential shared ancestry and attempts to trace their genealogy. In a letter written to Orcutt in 1887, John Dickinson, Professor of Mathematics and Mineralogy at the University of Southern California, requests a donation of all back copies of "The West American Scientist" magazine to help build a library and promote interest in the study of the natural sciences. Correspondents include: Asa Gray, Edward Lee Greene, George Frederick Kuntz, Charles Christopher Parry, George Vasey, and Serno Watson and others.
mssOrcutt
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Manuscripts
The 642 items in this collection consist primarily of letters written to Orcutt from fellow botanists and other representatives of historical societies, nurseries, museums, and related institutions.
mssOrcutt
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Manuscripts
Series of letters written by Robert L. Harris to his fiancée Lucy W. Kimball in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The letters begin with Harris' stay in Boston in early 1861 while awaiting instructions to travel to California as a railroad engineer. While in Boston Harris writes of his attendance of meetings held by the Franklin Club and the Freemasons, of an Easter service and festival, and of early Civil War fervor, particularly around the Lynn Armory (he writes that "I never before witnessed such perfect wildness of enthusiasm as was manifested in the streets today"). In late April Harris sailed for California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and he writes extensively of both life aboard the ship and of the scenery in Dominican Republic, Panama, and Mexico, particularly Acapulco. He also writes of stopping "mid-ocean" to exchange letters and parcels with the Northern Light (and also to "put them on their guard against Jeff Davis' pirates"). Harris arrived in San Francisco in mid-May 1861 and was "stupefied, overwhelmed, [and] confounded by my first vision of the Golden State." Once in California Harris writes of his plans for a horse-drawn railway, of climbing the Sierra Nevada mountains in a snowstorm, of the possibility of a railroad near Washoe City, Nevada, and of his visits to the Ophir Silver Mining Company and encounters with Captain George Blunt Wendell, San Francisco and San Jose Railroad president Timothy Dame, and Jerome Lincoln (brother of Harris' mentor Ezra Lincoln). He also writes of his dismay at the news of the Battle of Fredericksburg and of his religious views (he notes visiting Roman Catholic cathedrals, Jewish synagogues, and "African camp meetings," but that "I have not so strong sectarian feelings as most people.") Also included are three sketches of pastoral life in California.
mssHM 74761-74783, HM 83852-83853
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Visual Materials
The 424 photographs document events and activities of the Southern California Division of the California Centennials Commission that commemorate California's centennial, 1948 to 1950. Included are images of parades, such as the centennials of Beverly Hills and Long Beach; the 1948 Tournament of Roses Parade that included centennial-themed floats; and Gold Rush and pioneer-related parades such as those held in Paso Robles, San Bernardino, Redlands, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Monica. Photographs that document celebrations commemorating historic events and places include the Fort Moore celebration held at the Hollywood Bowl and images of the Portola Trek reenactment. The collection also includes a large number of images of the dedication of the Commission's Historical Caravan, held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Speaking at that event was Lieutenant Governor Goodwin J. Knight. Other images of the Historical Caravan include pictures of the exhibits inside the van and the van on location in Sycamore Grove (the Highland Park area of Los Angeles), at the Pio Pico Adobe in Whittier, and at China Lake. The collection contains photographs of the Centennial Commission float at the Hollywood High School premiere of "California's Golden Beginnings"; and at the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the centennial of Los Angeles's first post office. Notable figures in California politics and culture appear in the photographs. These include Eldred L. Meyer, past Grand President of Native Sons of the Golden West and Walter N. Bailey, Grand President of the Native Sons of the Golden West at the opening of the gold mining exhibit in Pershing Square; Goodwin J. Knight, Lloyd D. Mitchell, Manager of the Southern California Division, and Governor Earl Warren. The collection contains photographs by Otto Rothschild, Coy Watson, J. Allen Hawkins, David F. Stevens, Lew Nichols, Louis, Gerhardt, Dick Whittington Studio, Inman Company, Woro Studios, Randolph Studios, Pacific Press Photos, Merriman Photo Art, Junis & Pearson Photo, and Frashers Inc.
photCL 400 volume 28
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Manuscripts
In these four letters, Rowse talks about several of his publications and offers to send Abbott copies of some of them. He also mentions a TV appearance he made regarding Shakespeare (1989). The letters were written from Rowse's home in St. Austell, Cornwall.
mssHM 78355-78358
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Manuscripts
2 letters to Caroline M. Seymour (Caroline Maria Seymour) Severance, 1820-1914.
mssSeverance