Olive Percival collection

This collection contains the papers of Southern California author, gardener, book and art collector, photographer, and activist Olive Percival (1869-1945), dating chiefly from 1899 to 1946 and consisting of manuscripts (including biographical sketches, diaries, notebooks, poems, and short stories), correspondence, and ephemera.

Manuscripts

There are 376 pieces of manuscripts, the majority of which are by Olive Percival. The manuscripts comprise of biographical sketches, diaries, notebooks, poems, short stories, typescripts, and miscellaneous notes. The manuscripts are arranged alphabetically by author then title. Many of Olive Percival's unpublished short stories are set in Chinatown, Los Angeles.

Percival's notebooks, diaries, and sketchbooks are semi-cataloged and are arranged chronologically. The subjects covered in Percival's diaries and notebooks include life in Los Angeles, Pasadena, the Arroyo Seco, Chinatown; descriptions of travel in California and United States; museums and libraries; the Friday Morning Club (Los Angeles, Calif.); the collecting of books, bookplates, prints, hats, dolls, Japanese art, Chinese art, and Chinese porcelain; and gardening.

Notable people mentioned in Olive Percival's diaries are: Ruth St. Denis, Mrs. George M. Millard, Max Heinrich, Hildegarde Flanner, Grace Nicholson, Charles Fletcher Lummis, W. Irving Way, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jack London, and Wilbur Macey Stone.

Correspondence

There are 122 pieces of correspondence, the majority of which are by Ellen Dame Terry writing to Anna Held. It is arranged alphabetically then by date. Correspondence relating to Olive Percival mainly concerns letters from her friends and publisher. Notable authors include: Ellen Dame Terry, Anna Held, Anna Blake Mezquida, and Max Heinrich.

Ephemera

There are 341 pieces of ephemera. It is arranged by type and subject, and consists of an appointment book, bookmarks, bookplates, bulletins, empty envelopes, fliers, invoices, legal documents, military records, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, excerpts of periodicals, receipts, scrapbooks, tracts, and miscellaneous United States permits and a passport. The majority of the ephemera relates to Sheffield, Illinois, where Olive Percival was born.

Additional newspaper clippings were added in May 2017. The clippings primarily relate to the Nuestro Pueblo column for the Los Angeles Times from 1937 through 1939. These clippings are in Box 14.