http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt8r29r2j1 Online items available Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives: Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Sue Luftschein. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Photo Archives 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © September 2007 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Harold A. Parker Studio Collection photCL 402 1 of Negatives: Finding Aid Overview of the Collection Title: Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives Dates (inclusive): 1889-1958 Bulk dates: bulk 1913-1949 Collection Number: photCL 402 Creator: Parker, Harold A. (1878-1930). Extent: 5157 photographs in 60 boxes and 4 binders (44.47 linear feet) Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo Archives 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: The Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives consists of 5157 glass plate negatives, film negatives, and panoramic negatives, 1889-1949, that depict commercial, residential and landscape sites in and around Pasadena and Southern California. The images provide a look at the commercial, residential and social development of Pasadena and surrounding areas during the early years of the twentieth century. The collection is especially rich in images of residential architecture in Pasadena, Altadena, and San Marino; images of Lake Tahoe; depictions of, and activities at, the Raymond, Maryland, and Huntington Hotels in Pasadena; and the commercial, social and cultural landscapes of Pasadena. The collection also provides, through its breadth and depth of subject matter, an example of the career activities of a commercial photographer in Southern California in the early years of the twentieth century. Language: English. Access Advance arrangements for viewing the collection must be made with the Curator of Photographs. The collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, please visit the Huntington's website: www.huntington.org. Publication 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 necessary permissions rests with the researcher. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Harold A. Parker Collection of Negatives and Photographs, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Provenance The panoramic and glass plate negatives were donated by Donald Parker in 1996; the film negatives were Donated by Donald Parker in 1999. Processing Information The collection was rehoused shortly after donation; copy prints were made of some of the negatives. The panoramic negatives underwent conservation treatment in 2005. They were humidified, flattened and housed in mylar by Ann Lindsey, project conservator. All the negatives were digitized in 2005, and the digital files are available on CD-ROMs for viewing. Most of the older glass plate negatives (dated ca. 1905-ca. 1925) and 6 film negatives underwent conservation in May-July 2007. In July 2006, Sue Luftschein assigned new numbers to a small percentage of the glass plates, and created this finding aid using, in part, the database created by Donald Parker. A number of images, specifically those at the beginning of the Container List, were transferred to the Parker Collection from the Hawkins Collection. Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements The collection consists entirely of glass plate and film negatives. The glass plates are extremely fragile. Surrogates in the form of photocopies exist for the majority of the glass plate negatives; these are housed in binders, and indicated in the Container List. Harold A. Parker Studio Collection photCL 402 2 of Negatives: Finding Aid The film negatives (smaller format and panoramic) have been placed in cold storage for preservation. Arrangements for access to the smaller format negatives must be made with the Curator of Photographs. Surrogates in the form of copy prints and digital images exist for a small percentage of these negatives; the copy prints are housed in boxes 58 and 59 and are noted in the Container List, and digital surrogates are available on CD-ROM through the office of the Curator of Photographs. Access to the panoramic negatives is available on CD-ROM through the office of the Curator of Photographs. Some panoramas are also available in print form; this is indicated in the Container List. Due to the length of these negatives, all digital images were scanned in sections. An image may only be ordered in its entirety. Patrons are responsible for assuming the cost of digitally stitching the image together by the Huntington's photography lab. Biographical/Historical Note Harold A. Parker (1878-1930) was born in Iowa and immigrated to Pasadena with his parents in 1892 at the age of 14. He became interested in photography at an early age, and began working professionally in 1900. Parker opened his Pasadena studio in 1904 and operated it until his death in 1930 at the age of 52. Parker also operated a studio in the Tahoe Tavern at Lake Tahoe between 1908 and 1910, where he produced a number of images of the Tavern, Lake Tahoe, and the surrounding areas. Parker was noted for his photographs of California, especially his images of the California Missions and the Tournament of Roses parades; he was also responsible for the earliest aerial images of Pasadena. A commercial photographer, Parker worked as a contract photographer for the Pasadena Star-News Tournament of Roses edition, and took pictures of civic and social organizations, local retailers, and private individuals who commissioned him to record their gatherings, buildings, and various rites of passage. After Parker's death in 1930, operation of the studio fell to his wife, Marjorie. Sometime in the 1930s, Dickson and Thurber Studios purchased the business and operated it until shortly after World War II when it was subsequently purchased by the firm of Lee and Mac. J. Allen Hawkins, who had worked for Parker as a teenager, purchased approximately 35,000 glass plates and negatives from Lee and Mac and moved them to his studio on North Lake Avenue, Pasadena. The Parker negatives were stored at Hawkins' studio until construction of the 210 Freeway in the 1970s forced a relocation. Hawkins destroyed many of the negatives prior to the move, selling the remainder to a movie photographer who subsequently gave them to Donald Parker, Harold Parker's son. Scope and Contents The Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives consists of 5157 glass plate negatives, film negatives, and panoramic negatives, 1889-1949, that depict commercial, residential and landscape sites in and around Pasadena and Southern California. The images provide a look at the commercial, residential and social development of Pasadena and surrounding areas during the early years of the twentieth century. The collection is especially rich in images of residential architecture in Pasadena, Altadena, and San Marino; images of Lake Tahoe; depictions of, and activities at, the Raymond, Maryland, and Huntington Hotels in Pasadena; and the commercial, social and cultural landscapes of Pasadena. The collection also provides, through its breadth and depth of subject matter, an example of the career activities of a commercial photographer in Southern California in the early years of the twentieth century. The collection's 599 glass plate negatives (which are primarily 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches), 4429 film negatives (which are primarily 8 x 10 inches but also include 5 x 7 and 4 x 6 inch negatives), and 127 panoramic negatives depict a wide variety of subjects. These include, but are not limited to, aerial views of Pasadena taken on Roy Knabenshue's 1913 dirigible flight over Pasadena, which can be found at the beginning of the collection, and aerial views taken in 1949, which can be found at the end of the film negatives section; Yosemite; many of the California Missions; Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Tavern; images of Catalina Island; the Raymond, Maryland and Huntington Hotels in Pasadena, including the aftermath of the fire at the Maryland Hotel; Pasadena schools, consisting of construction photographs, interiors, exteriors, school children in and out of classrooms; businesses, primarily window and floor displays, views of interiors and exteriors, employees on the job, and construction photographs of new business buildings (of especial note are the many photographs of markets and grocery stores, and laundries); churches, hospitals, libraries, theaters, and civic buildings, consisting of construction photographs and views of interiors and exteriors (of especial note are the images of hospitals in Pasadena during the 1919 influenza epidemic); residences in Pasadena, Altadena, and San Marino, consisting of street scenes, exteriors, interiors, furniture, architectural details, and architectural renderings by architects such as Wallace Neff, Marston, Van Pelt and Maybury, and Myron Hunt; prefabricated houses and tract homes in the Pasadena area; gardens, both public and private; the Colorado Street bridge; the Rose Bowl; airplanes, including the Vin-Fiz Flyer, the airplane piloted by Calbraith Perry Rodgers that completed