Visual Materials
San Juan Capistrano in about 1875 (created 1961); Laguna Rancho; Rancho Cañada de Los Alisos
- Description
- The majority of the Ana Bégué de Packman collection consists of portraits of Southern California rancho families and their descendants, as well as photographs of the town of San Juan Capistrano and its environs, including Mission San Juan Capistrano and the adobe houses surrounding the mission. Also included are photographs, correspondence, maps, ephemera, and newspaper clippings related to Southern California ranchos and the Spanish-Mexican families who owned them, as well as Los Angeles during the late 1800s. Photographers include: Charles C. Pierce, Charles J. Prudhomme, Charles C. Puck, and Edward Vischer. A small number of the California rancho families are pictured in both professional and amateur portraits, with a focus on the Dominguez, Machado, Sepulveda, and Yorba families. Other portraits include those of Los Angeles mayors and pioneers, such as Matthew Keller, Cameron Erskine Thom, and Elijah H. Workman. Photographs of Mission San Juan Capistrano show the mission complex in ruins, with views of the church, courtyard, bell tower, and outside workspaces. The interior of the restored Serra Chapel are also shown, with an emphasis on the altarpiece and its statuary. Other missions that are shown in the collection are Missions Santa Barbara, San Antonio de Padua, and San Gabriel Arcangel. Another emphasized portion of the collection concerns adobe houses, specifically ones that are or had been located in the western and southern parts of San Juan Capistrano. Among these adobes are the Blas Aguilar Adobe, Casa de Los Rios, the Burruel Adobe, the Manuel Garcia Adobe, and the Domingo Yorba Adobe. Other Southern California adobes that are also included are the Yorba-Slaughter Adobe, the Dana Adobe, and the Workman-Temple Homestead. Oversized photographs show La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles (Plaza Church) and the statue of Felipe de Neve in Los Angeles Plaza. An interesting photograph of Plaza Church shows Don Antonio F. Coronel surveying the church exterior. Another photograph relating to the Los Angeles area is one of the Beverly Hills Centennial Parade with Eugene W. Biscailuz, Leo Carrillo, and William Boyd on horseback. Of particular interest are two tintypes related to photographer Charles J. Prudhomme. The first is of his mother, Maria Merced Tapia de Prudhomme, and the other is of Prudhomme's daughter. The rest of the collection contains correspondence, maps, notes, ephemera, and negatives. Noteworthy items from these materials include: a manuscript letter written by Manuel Dominguez; postcards from Bruce Condé (Alfonso de Bourbon Conde) to Ana Bégué de Packman; death notices for Isaac Williams and Henry Mellus; a glass plate negative of Horton House in San Diego; a film negative of Juan Bandini and his daughter Ysidora; and an index book with the names of rancho families written in Packman's hand. Photographs with corresponding film negatives are: (12), (26), and (29).
