Visual Materials

Photographs of California missions

Image not available

Description: Consists of ten photographs, with exterior and interior views of California missions including Mission San Diego, Mission San Buenaventura, Mission Santa Barbara, Mission Dolores (also known as Mission San Francisco de Asís), Mission Santa Ines, Mission San Miguel, and Mission San Fernando.
Type: Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Production date: approximately 1880s-1943
Call number: photPF 310-319
Provenance: Acquired from Prinz, 1943.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights: The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.

Pictorialist Photographs of California Missions by Louis Fleckenstein

Visual Materials

This disbound album contains 33 pictorial photographs of California mission ruins taken by photographer Louis Fleckenstein around 1930, including Missions San Carlos Borromeo, San Francisco Solano, San Gabriel Arcangel, San Juan Capistrano, San Jose, La Purísima Concepción, San Luis Obispo, San Miguel Arcangel, Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, San Antonio de Pádua, San Buenaventura, San Fernando Rey, San Francisco de Asís, San Juan Bautista, San Luis Rey, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, San Diego, and Santa Inés. Churches and missions that are also shown are Plaza Church (also known as the Church of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels), the Royal Presidio Chapel (also known as San Carlos Cathedral), and San Antonio de Pala Asistencia. Item titles transcribed from penciled captions below photographs.

photCL 411

Image not available

Photographs of California Missions collection

Visual Materials

The collection of mounted albumen California Mission views include seventy various interior and exterior images of the Royal Presidio Chapel of San Carlos de Barromeo de Monterey, Mission Santa Barbara, Mission San Carlos de Barromeo de Carmelo, Mission San Diego de Alcalá, San Fernando Rey de España, San Gabriel Arcángel, Mission San Juan Bautista, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Luis Rey, Mission San Miguel Arcángel, Mission San Antonio Padua, and the Mission San Antonio de Pala. The majority of the collection's annotations note "Hardy, 1945" which may refer to the Grahame Hardy collection acquired in 1945. Several images credit Waite as the photographer.

photPF 3330-3401

Image not available

Photograph Album of California Missions and Catholic Churches

Visual Materials

This photograph album is made up of early 20th century photographs of eight California missions, in both ruined and repaired states. The missions that are depicted in the album are San Luis Rey, Santa Ines, San Fernando Rey, San Miguel, San Francisco Dolores, San Luis Obispo, San Gabriel, San Juan Capistrano, and San Carlos Borromeo. Other photographs also show San Antonio de Pala Asistencia, the Church of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels (also known as Plaza Church), and the Royal Presidio Chapel. Two photographs depict people alongside the missions: photograph (8) shows people going into the Mission San Francisco de Asís and photograph (15) shows two Native American children at Mission San Fernando Rey. One photograph of particular interest is that of a group of Native American school children with three Catholic nuns, who presumably may be their teachers. They are standing in front of an unidentified church building. Some of the photographs are faded or are peeling off the album pages and are bent. Charles Ironmonger is the only photographer that has been identified as a contributor to this album; no other photographers have not been identified, and the compiler of this album is unknown.

photCL 455

Image not available

The Mission of San Juan [Photographer and his equipment visible on left side of photograph]

Visual Materials

A collection of albumen photographs of 12 California Missions, taken by nineteenth-century photographer William Henry Jackson sometime between 1885 and 1890. All of the photographs are titled and signed, "W.H.J. & Co." One or more images of the following missions are included: San Antonio de Padua, San Carlos Borroméo de Carmel, San Diego de Alcalá, San Fernando Rey, San Francisco de Asís, San Gabriel Arcángel, San Juan Bautista, San Juan Capistrano, San Luis Rey, San Miguel Arcángel, Santa Barbara and Santa Ines. The photographs primarily show the missions' front façades or courtyards, both in ruins and with slight repair work.

photCL 444

Image not available

Photographs of California missions and San Xavier del Bac, Arizona

Visual Materials

Mostly cabinet cards with imprints of various photographers. Subjects: San Fernando Mission; San Juan Capistrano; San Luis Rey; Santa Barbara Mission; and San Xavier del Bac, Tucson, Arizona. Includes half-stereograph of San Gabriel Mission showing train station nearby; part of Native American village near Santa Barbara Mission; some interiors.

photPF 470-489

Image not available

Carmel Mission, the only mission built of stone [Photographer: Ironmonger]

Visual Materials

photCL 455

Photographs of California missions

Opening Hours

Admission Info and Tickets

You might also be interested in

Pictorialist Photographs of California Missions by Louis Fleckenstein

Photographs of California Missions collection

Photograph Album of California Missions and Catholic Churches

The Mission of San Juan [Photographer and his equipment visible on left side of photograph]

Photographs of California missions and San Xavier del Bac, Arizona

Carmel Mission, the only mission built of stone [Photographer: Ironmonger]