Kenny Collection of Photographs of South Pasadena

This collection contains 799 photographs of people and places in South Pasadena, California, taken by photographer Herbert J. Kenny (1863-1956) from approximately 1908-1937. The collection chiefly comprises studio portraits of individuals and images of people posing in outdoor settings. Portraits depict women; men; children and young adults; and groups, including couples, families, Boy Scouts, students, sports teams, lodge members, and a church congregation. Most people are unidentified, though some captions identify professions including minister or dancer, and two photographs identify a sitter by name (Peggy Ryan, Items 405 and 406). Many of the photographs feature early twentieth century fashion, including formal wear, various types of uniforms, graduation gowns, and other forms of dress.

The collection also includes photographs depicting residences, commercial and other buildings, and landscaping and agriculture in and around South Pasadena, chiefly in the early 1920s. A few photographs show house interiors, and several depict automobiles and roads. Notably, several photographs show retail establishments holding clearance or going-out-of-business sales (Items 62 and 79-82). There are also a few photographs showing imagery from outside of South Pasadena and other miscellaneous items, including beach scenes and single images of a desert home, a harbor, a driving glove, a set of business school materials, and a trophy and first prize ribbon from 1922. The photographs are later prints chiefly from glass-plate negatives and, to a lesser extent, from copy film negatives; these prints were made by the Huntington photo lab between 1985 and 1989.