C.C. Pierce Collection of Photographs

The C.C. Pierce collection contains 10,100 historical photographs of early California and Los Angeles that were assembled by Charles C. Pierce, a photographer and long-time operator of a thriving Los Angeles photographic business. The collection is divided into nine topical headings assigned by Pierce: Los Angeles Historical; Indians; Missions; California cities, counties, etc.; Industries and Agriculture, Transportation; Natural History; Art and Architecture; Miscellaneous Scenery. Within these large sections are smaller categories that focus on the history, landscape, people, civic and cultural events, built environment, and development of Southern California and the Southwest from approximately 1845-1930. Of particular interest are the various Indian tribes depicted as well as all twenty-one of the California Missions. Pierce described the latter as "a very extensive and superior collection of this subject, covering a period of over sixty years" that includes copies of paintings and etchings made by Edward Vischer from 1842-1876 and Henry Chapman Ford (1883).

Pierce's practice of copying other photographer's images and supplying his own identification should alert the researcher to treat the descriptive and date information on the photographs with some skepticism.

There are two numbers on the back of each photograph: the regular penciled number is the negative number assigned by Pierce; the red penciled number is that assigned by the Huntington. Researchers should refer to the red number at all times when ordering reproductions.