Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Visual Materials
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Visual Materials
This collection contains 430 albumen photographs by photographer Carleton E. Watkins that chiefly depict buildings, points of interest, and locales in Northern and Southern California in the 1870s and 1880s, as well as 223 card photographs by photographer Alfred A. Hart documenting the construction of the western half of the transcontinental railroad by the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) in the 1860s, which were later published by Watkins under his own imprint. Images by Watkins depict locations in Arizona and California including: Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, the Mammoth Tree Grove, Paso Robles, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Pedro, Santa Monica, Soda Springs, Wilmington, and Yosemite, as well as views related to the Southern Pacific Railroad and of the Colorado River. There are a few images of Native Americans in Arizona and California, and several images related to trains and railroads. The photographs have been removed from the original album, which is a large leather album with brass bindings (Box 10). There are some handwritten identifications in the album pages, most likely written after if was received by the Library.
photCL 74
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Visual Materials
Imprint/Negative #: 23
photCL 496
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Visual Materials
The collection consists of approximately 6,700 photographs, which includes photographic prints and 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives, glass positives, film negatives and lantern slides depicting Southern California (mainly Los Angeles and nearby communities). The collection provides quite a comprehensive picture of the growth and development of Los Angeles at the turn of the twentieth century. The smaller format items are mostly copy negatives (not originals) taken by Ellis of images in other collections. Ellis copied the photographic holdings of, among others, Bancroft, Behrendt, Tyler, Hill, Ingersoll, Forman, Rowan, Foxley, Guinn, Fryer, A.W. Francisco, McPherson, Charles Prudhomme and William Burton. The collection is particularly strong in images of Central Los Angeles from the 1880s to the 1910s and Los Angeles County beach communities in the 1900s and 1910s. Also of note are images of sites and themes of historic or cultural significance, and portraits. In addition to images of central Los Angeles, the collection includes images of Los Angeles County beach communities, Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, and Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties. The historic and cultural sites include photographs of missions and churches; commercial, municipal and residential buildings, including historic adobes; schools and parks; railroads, emigration, and stagecoach routes; Campo de Cahuenga; Busch Gardens in Pasadena; the Modjeska home in Santa Ana; the Lake Vineyard, Sunnyslope, and the Rowland properties in the San Gabriel Valley; and images of Native Americans and Native American culture. Portraits include those of California pioneers, prominent Angelinos and San Diegans, including J. Lancaster Brent, George Horatio Derby, Hillard Dorsey, the Ellis Family, Judge A.J. King and family, Vicente Lugo, Charles Prudhomme, Truman H. Rose, William Rubottom, Abel Stearns, 1st Worshipful Master of the California Masonic Lodge Levi Stowall, and the Workman family. Some of the 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives and lantern slides depict historic sites of Northern California, including mining camps of the California Gold Rush. There are also miscellaneous images pertaining to themes with no direct relationship to California or the American West, such as Freemasonry and general United States history. The United States history images include copies of Abraham Lincoln portraits and the Lincoln home in Kentucky as well as early American figures including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
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Visual Materials
The collection consists of approximately 6,700 photographs, which includes photographic prints and 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives, glass positives, film negatives and lantern slides depicting Southern California (mainly Los Angeles and nearby communities). The collection provides quite a comprehensive picture of the growth and development of Los Angeles at the turn of the twentieth century. The smaller format items are mostly copy negatives (not originals) taken by Ellis of images in other collections. Ellis copied the photographic holdings of, among others, Bancroft, Behrendt, Tyler, Hill, Ingersoll, Forman, Rowan, Foxley, Guinn, Fryer, A.W. Francisco, McPherson, Charles Prudhomme and William Burton. The collection is particularly strong in images of Central Los Angeles from the 1880s to the 1910s and Los Angeles County beach communities in the 1900s and 1910s. Also of note are images of sites and themes of historic or cultural significance, and portraits. In addition to images of central Los Angeles, the collection includes images of Los Angeles County beach communities, Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, and Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties. The historic and cultural sites include photographs of missions and churches; commercial, municipal and residential buildings, including historic adobes; schools and parks; railroads, emigration, and stagecoach routes; Campo de Cahuenga; Busch Gardens in Pasadena; the Modjeska home in Santa Ana; the Lake Vineyard, Sunnyslope, and the Rowland properties in the San Gabriel Valley; and images of Native Americans and Native American culture. Portraits include those of California pioneers, prominent Angelinos and San Diegans, including J. Lancaster Brent, George Horatio Derby, Hillard Dorsey, the Ellis Family, Judge A.J. King and family, Vicente Lugo, Charles Prudhomme, Truman H. Rose, William Rubottom, Abel Stearns, 1st Worshipful Master of the California Masonic Lodge Levi Stowall, and the Workman family. Some of the 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives and lantern slides depict historic sites of Northern California, including mining camps of the California Gold Rush. There are also miscellaneous images pertaining to themes with no direct relationship to California or the American West, such as Freemasonry and general United States history. The United States history images include copies of Abraham Lincoln portraits and the Lincoln home in Kentucky as well as early American figures including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
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Visual Materials
This collection consists of 278 lantern slides comprising a variety of different images of Southern California and its residents. The first section consists of images of central Los Angeles, primarily street scenes, including a number of images of La Fiesta celebrations and World War I-era parades. Other landscapes and cityscapes in the collection include views of Hollywood and Santa Monica; locations in the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys, with an emphasis on Monrovia; communities in Orange, San Bernardino and Kern Counties; scenes in Yosemite and other central California locations; and Tijuana. Also included are a number of images of Santa Barbara in the late nineteenth century. The collection is notable for a number of images of Los Angeles area high schools and universities, especially Los Angeles High School. Also included are photographs by members of, and about, the Los Angeles Camera Club; these include photographs by C.C. Pierce, W.M. Frisbie, F.H. Maude, C.C. Valentine, and O. Granicher. Studio portraits and group photographs can be found in the collection; among the identified images are a group portrait of the Los Angeles City Council in 1888; and portraits of Mrs. O.W. Childs, wife of the early Los Angeles pioneer; Isidore Dockweiler, an influential Southern California Democrat; Max Meyberg, organizer of the first La Fiesta celebration in 1894; and Caroline Severance, founder of the Friday Morning Club. The collection also contains images of Native Americans, and Chinese in Chinatown. In addition to the Los Angeles Camera Club photographers, the collection contains images created by Penney and Bennett, James B. Blanchard, and Carleton Watkins.
photCL 400 volume 27
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Visual Materials
Imprint/Negative #: 3048
photCL 496
photCL 188
photCL 188