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
Image not available
Visual Materials
Approximately 50 black-and-white prints (4 x 5 inches or smaller) of people and scenes in the Philippines. Some have handwriting, and some have been removed from a photograph album, including a large print of possibly military barracks in Cavite. Several of the prints are standard postcard size, including a photograph of two native men holding a human head.
photCL 701
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Visual Materials
Consists of 731 photographic postcards depicting a variety of subjects and locations throughout the Philippines. The images are black-and-white photographs printed directly on postcard stock, primarily 3.25 x 5.5 inches, and most are captioned in the photograph. Some have writing or stamps. There are also 81 color photomechanical postcards, including four reproduced drawings. These postcards were produced in large quantities by photography studios and publishers often based in the Philippines and circulated internationally. A few have credits for studios run by Japanese photographers. Additionally, there are approximately 50 black-and-white photographic prints (4 x 5 inches or smaller) of people and scenes in the Philippines.
photCL 701
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Visual Materials
Approximately 200 loose photographs, 100 color postcards, and some ephemera. The photographs are small, black and white snapshots of unidentified people and scenes in the Philippines. Images are grouped together as they were received, in individual sets of prints acquired from various sources. Many have handwriting on the back. The large photographic color postcards were made approximately 1967 to 1997, and feature dancers, festivals, tourist attractions and others. Almost all published by the National Book Store, Manila. Ephemera consists of Philippines postage stamps; paper money printed with "The Japanese Government"; and a club card and photograph for the Mariner's Club, Manila, 1930s.
photCL 719
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Visual Materials
A collection of 731 photographic postcards and 81 photomechanical or printed postcards of the Philippines, spanning the years of transition from the end of the Spanish colonial government through decades of American administration. Many were sent through the mail to U.S. destinations, including Berkeley, Seattle, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sioux Falls, as well as to recipients in Hong Kong and Portugal. A number of postcards have handwritten inscriptions, stamps, and printed captions, indicating how they were viewed, circulated, and used for tourism and government propaganda. Postcard imagery covers a variety of subjects in the Philippines, including people and communities, with many Indigenous people represented; agriculture; buildings and houses under construction; social and cultural activities; prisons; street and market scenes; weaving and textile production; religious ceremonies; and landscapes. There are several studio portraits, primarily of women and couples, and several color photomechanical postcards of various scenes. The collection also includes some related photographic prints and tourist guides, pamphlets and maps of the Philippines. Please note that this collection contains historical images and language that library users may find harmful, offensive, or inappropriate.
photCL 701
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Visual Materials
Gelatin silver prints and photograph-based zines created by Valerie J. Bower. The We Are Essential (Mahalaga Tayo) portfolio includes eighty 8"x12" gelatin silver prints with a custom box: photographs 2021, printed 2024. Bower produced this set of prints from the photographs used in the We Are Essential (Mahalaga Tayo) zine, a homage to food distributors, farmworkers and the Manong generation of Filipino immigrants to Central California in the 1920s-1970s. For the zine, Bower visited the town of Delano, north of Los Angeles, to photograph the grape farms and historic Filipino Community Hall, where much of the 1965 Delano Grape Strike organizing took place. While researching the zine, Bower also had conversations with her mother, an immigrant to California from Butuan, Philippines, about the roots and significance of food in Filipino culture. She also photographed restaurants and cultural signage of Historic Filipinotown near downtown Los Angeles, Filipino markets in Long Beach and Carson, a major Filipino food product distributor, and followed volunteers who were preparing and delivering food to Filipino eldersOther prints include seven miscellaneous prints from 2016-2019, and eight 8"x12" gelatin silver prints: photographs 2015, printed 2024. These photographs were originally reproduced in Gusmano Cesaretti's Fotofolio publication featuring car club and lowrider scenes taken around Watts, North Hollywood, Crenshaw, and East Los Angeles.
photCL 747
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Visual Materials
A binder of approximately 400 images of the Philippines, chiefly black-and-white photographic postcards, 3.25 x 5.5 inches, with titles imprinted by the publisher. There are also color photomechanical postcards, and a few loose photographs. Some postcards have writing and stamps and have been mailed to the U.S. and elsewhere. Of note is one oversized panoramic format, hand-colored photo postcard of Baguio. These postcards were produced in large quantities by photography studios and publishers often based in the Philippines and circulated internationally.
photCL 719