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Manuscripts

Grace Nicholson Papers and Addenda

Description

The collection consists of two distinct sections: the Grace Nicholson papers (2,926 pieces) and addenda (1,444 pieces). The papers are primarily correspondence, while the addenda is primarily notes. Both relate to Grace Nicholson (d. 1948) and her work in the fields of Native American and Asian art.

There are many letters in the collection of Native Americans corresponding with Nicholson about what it is they are working on as well as thanking her for the copies of pictures she took of them. Complementing these letters are the extensive diaries and notes that Nicholson kept on her buying trips through Native American territory, especially of the Karok, Klamath, and Pomo Indians, covering the subjects of 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, as well as from Nicholson herself on the trip she took there in 1929. Asian art figures well in the collection and covers a broad range of subjects such as 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 (1847-1928), W. Herbert Dunton (1878-1936), Sadakichi Hartmann (1867-1944), Elizabeth Conrad Hickox (1872-1947), Louise Merrill Hickox (1896-1962), Grace Carpenter Hudson (1865-1937), George Wharton James (1858-1923), Lilian Miller, Hovsep T. Pushman (1877-1966), Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), and Millard Sheets (b. 1907).

Nicholson was also in contact with and purchased materials for many fine art and historical 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 (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Her intimate relationships with Native Americans give particular insight into their lives and culture. Thus she was a key source of information about them and historians and academics sought her out, including A. L. (Alfred Lewis) Kroeber (1876-1960), Charles Fletcher Lummis (1859-1928), and C. Hart (Clinton Hart) Merriam (1855-1942).

Nicholson also received correspondence from political figures such as Frederick Webb Hodge (1864-1956), Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), Hiram Johnson (1866-1945), and Franklin D. (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt (1882-1945).

Two people who figure prominently in the collection are Estelle Bynum and Thyra H. Maxwell. These two women were assistants of Grace Nicholson and after her death were also the executors of her estate.

Type
Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date
1784-1975
Call number
mssNicholson papers and addenda

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    This collection contains approximately 10,000 photographs, negatives and ephemera created or compiled by Grace Nicholson (1877-1948), a collector and dealer of Native American and Asian arts and crafts in Pasadena, California. The bulk of the collection dates from 1903 to the 1920s and includes photograph albums and individual photographs with views of Native Americans of the Northwest Coast, California, and the Southwest of North America; pictures documenting Nicholson's basket collecting trips primarily between 1902 and 1912; images of Nicholson's stores and residences in Pasadena, including the building of the "Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art" in the mid-1920s; and personal photographs of Nicholson, her family, friends, and associates. Nicholson's personal snapshots and photograph albums provide a valuable resource for studying Native American communities, particularly in Northern California, in the early 20th century. Many of the photographs depict daily life and include images of homes, community events, dances and rituals, families and children, and portraits. Most of these photographs were taken by Grace Nicholson or her assistant, Mr. Carroll S. Hartman, and are often accompanied by Nicholson's handwritten identifications.

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    Visual Materials

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    Visual Materials

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    Visual Materials

    This collection contains approximately 10,000 photographs, negatives and ephemera created or compiled by Grace Nicholson (1877-1948), a collector and dealer of Native American and Asian arts and crafts in Pasadena, California. The bulk of the collection dates from 1903 to the 1920s and includes photograph albums and individual photographs with views of Native Americans of the Northwest Coast, California, and the Southwest of North America; pictures documenting Nicholson's basket collecting trips primarily between 1902 and 1912; images of Nicholson's stores and residences in Pasadena, including the building of the "Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art" in the mid-1920s; and personal photographs of Nicholson, her family, friends, and associates. Nicholson's personal snapshots and photograph albums provide a valuable resource for studying Native American communities, particularly in Northern California, in the early 20th century. Many of the photographs depict daily life and include images of homes, community events, dances and rituals, families and children, and portraits, which are often accompanied by Nicholson's handwritten identifications. The collection is organized into five series, with Series 1-3 containing the bulk of the collection and consisting of photograph albums and loose photographs. Series 4 holds a small group of related ephemera and other materials, and Series 5 is composed mainly of negatives and copy prints that correspond to images found in Series 1-3. Series 1, Native Americans and Basket Collecting Trips, primarily contains views of Native Americans of the Northwest Coast, California, and Southwest of North America. The series includes several photograph albums compiled by Nicholson, and individual prints organized geographically by tribe and subject matter, often with people and places identified in Nicholson's handwriting. Most of these photographs were taken by Grace Nicholson or her assistant, Mr. Carroll S. Hartman. There are 6 negative cases with Nicholson's handwritten ledgers that were used to identify and date some of the photographs. Finally, there are many postcards and commercial photographs collected by Nicholson, which include views of native peoples from other parts of North America. Notably, there are two postcards showing women with flattened skulls (Box 1, Items 27-28). Series 2, Grace Nicholson's stores; building of Treasure House; Asian art, contains construction and finished views of her store and residences in Pasadena, California, the galleries and garden courtyard, and artists and artwork exhibited. There are also views of Chinese art objects and architecture in China. Series 3, Personal, contains personal photograph albums and individual prints of Grace Nicholson and family, friends and associates; Pasadena, California; travels in California and elsewhere; California missions and bells; and miscellaneous scenes. Series 4, Ephemera and other materials, contains one box of ephemera such as brochures, advertisements, publications, and notes, as well as three photograph album covers. Series 5, Negatives, transparencies, and copy prints, contains original negatives and duplicate prints created by Nicholson, as well as copy prints, negatives, and transparencies created by The Huntington Library. The images in this series are represented in Series 1-3 above.

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