B.D. Jackson collection of negatives and photographs

The B.D. Jackson Collection of Negatives and Photographs consists of 804 4 x 5 in. and 8 x 10 in. glass plate negatives, 1782 film negatives (including stereo negatives), 2302 black and white photographs (including stereos, postcards, and photograph albums), and related manuscript and ephemeral materials, 1903-1950s (bulk 1920s-1930s). The collection provides a visual history of the growth of the San Gabriel Valley and Southern California's suburban communities, a survey of notable landscapes of California and the American West, and an overview of Jackson's career as a landscape and scenic view photographer. The collection is complemented and supplemented by the Glendora Historical Society Collection of B.D. Jackson Photographs and Negatives (photCL 448), also in the Huntington's Photo Archives. Many of the negatives in the Jackson Collection exist in print form in the Glendora Collection, and many of the images in the Glendora Collection round out series in the Jackson Collection.

The first part of the collection concentrates on many of the San Gabriel Valley's growing communities and scenic landscapes. The photographs of Glendale, Burbank, La Crescenta, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Altadena, Monrovia, Glendora, and San Dimas include views of public buildings, businesses, churches, residences, and schools. The Glendale images include many photographs of Glendale's business district and the Rossmoyne development. The La Canada images include photographs of the Jacob Lanterman House (Homewood), the Roy and Emily Lanterman House (El Retiro), El Nido (the residence of Lieutenant Governor A.J. Wallace), and Dryborough Hall. The Pasadena images include numerous photographs of Busch Gardens, the Colorado Street Bridge, and Tournament of Roses parades from the mid-1920s and 1935. The photographs of Glendora include numerous views of streets in downtown Glendora as well as photographs of Judge Charles Silent's home. Images of Mount Wilson and Mount Lowe include the Observatory, the incline railway, and the Mount Lowe Railway. Images of the San Gabriel Mountains depict Orchard Camp, Camp Oak Wilde, Camp Coldbrook, Angeles Crest Highway, Switzer's Camp, Ice House and Wolfskill Canyons, and Mint Canyon.

Other Southern California landscapes and scenic views include San Juan Capistrano and other missions; Avalon Harbor and the Hotel St. Catherine on Catalina Island; Hollywoodland, Bernheimer Gardens, Lake Hollywood, Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Dam, and Easter Services at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood; Sunset Canyon, Sylvan Crest Trail, oil wells, Echo Park, Griffith Park, and the Greek Theater in Los Angeles; Point Fermin in San Pedro; beaches and surf at Santa Monica, Venice, Ocean Park, Redondo Beach and Laguna Beach; Pacoima Canyon, Big Tujunga Canyon, Encino Country Club grounds, and the Santa Susanna Pass in the San Fernando Valley area; Palm Canyon in Riverside County; Ramona's Marriage Place, Mission Cliff Gardens, La Jolla, and Torrey Pines in San Diego County; Agua Dulce Canyon and Vasquez Rocks in Los Angeles County; and sunsets and sunrises taken from southern California beaches and mountains.

Jackson also ventured beyond the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County for landscape views, and these make up the bulk of the latter part of the collection. The collection contains numerous images of the San Bernardino Mountains including Big Bear Lake, Seven Oaks Camp, and Lake Arrowhead; Mount Baldy and the surrounding area, including Kelly's Camp, Camp Baldy, Mirror Lake, San Antonio Canyon, and San Antonio Falls; Yosemite National Park; scenic canyons, including Red Rock Canyon in Kern County and Painted Canyon in Riverside County; Lake Tahoe, Mount Whitney, Temple Crag, Mount Tallac, and the Devil's Postpile in the Sierra Nevada Mountains; Mount Shasta; redwoods in Sequoia National Park; Yellowsone; Crater Lake and Mount Hood in Oregon; and Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in Utah.

Other scenic views depict images of ships, including the U.S.S. California, the steamer "Ruth Alexander," and a wrecked warship off Point Honda; the aftermath of the 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake, including many views of the Hotel Californian and the Santa Barbara Mission; dams, including the ruins of the St. Francis Dam, and the Boulder Dam; the 1918 San Jacinto Earthquake; the Montrose-La Crescenta flood of 1934; and the construction and completion of the Angeles Crest Highway.

Other images portray parade scenes (in Glendale, Burbank, and Azusa?); the 1925 National Orange Show in San Bernardino; rural and mountain roads (including views of the Ridge Route); unidentified individuals; Malibu Lake Mountain Drive; surf and beach scenes; residential interiors; and personal snapshots of B.D. and Cora Jackson on various trips, at home, and in front of Jackson's shop in Glendora.

The collections also contains sample stereo cards, used by Jackson to advertise this aspect of his business, and photograph albums that display many of his postcards and scenic photographs. Ephemeral materials include brochures and leaflets about Jackson's stereo views and the Angeles Crest Highway, and type blocks for two of his stereographs. Manuscript materials include correspondence regarding the printing of a client's stereo negatives. The collection also contains family photographs taken after Jackson's death, presumably by his stepdaughter, Ruth Green, and postcards of Gold Rush Country scenes, presumably collected by Cora Jackson or Ruth Green.