Shaw family papers

This collection consists of 837 items relating to the Shaw family.

The family correspondence spans from 1919 to 1961. The letters are primarily from Hartley and Fern Shaw, writing to their daughters, Dorothy and Evelyn, at Pomona College in Claremont, California. Most of the letters are written from Glendale, California. Occasionally, the letters are written in an automobile, which they frequently refer to as the "machine." There are a couple of letters from Lucien Shaw, written on his Supreme Court of California letterhead. In one letter, Lucien Shaw offers some sage advice on the consequences of procrastination to Dorothy: "It is an awfully bad habit, making inconvenience for yourself, and what is worse, causing inconvenience to nearly everybody with whom you are associating. And there is no excuse for it" (1922, Jan. 8). The contents of the letters are general updates on family, friends, church, finances, and travels. However, in the wake of certain events, remarks about the Great Depression, World War II, Japanese relocation, the Korean War, racial segregation, and the advent of color television are mentioned.

The diaries and notebooks primarily pertain to Hartley and Fern Shaw's travels. In most of the diaries, Fern meticulously details the itinerary, general expenses, auto expenses, and miscellaneous notes. The entries are general remarks, for example, on the Redwood Highway the "road was very crooked, much of it rough or under construction. Beautiful scenery and much of it along ocean" (1940).

The subject files primarily include material related to Lucien Shaw, Hartley Shaw, and Fern W. Shaw. There are mostly newspaper clippings related to Lucien and Hartley Shaw's career and death. The printed material related to Los Angeles High School belonged to Fern W. Shaw. The letters found in this section are mostly sympathy letters.

The remainder of the collection consists of photographs, photo albums, and scrapbooks. They include family photographs of the West and Shaw family. One of the photo albums includes photographs as early as 1845. The scrapbooks contain many postcards and printed matter, particularly of national parks, related to the Shaw's travels around the United States and Canada. The newspaper clippings are mostly related to court cases Hartley Shaw presided over.

There is one oversize folder containing a play entitled: Merchant of Venice.