http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0199q5xn No online items Bullock's Department Store Collection of Photographs: Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Jane Apostol and Jennifer Watts. 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 © August 2005 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Bullock's Department Store photCL 401 1 Collection of Photographs: Finding Aid Overview of the Collection Title: Bullock's Department Store Collection of Photographs Dates (inclusive): 1905-1971 Bulk dates: (bulk 1912-1945) Collection Number: photCL 401 Creator: Bullock's (Department store) Extent: 709 photographs (including prints and glass plate negatives) and ephemera in 15 boxes (15.38 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 Bullock's Department Store Collection consists of 680 photographs and 29 glass plate negatives related to the Los Angeles, California-based department store between 1905 and 1971 (bulk 1912-1945), as well as 2 boxes of ephemera pertaining to Bullock's publicity and events between 1915 and 1952. The collection focuses primarily on the retail spaces, displays, departments, and employees at the downtown Los Angeles store once located at Broadway, 7th, and Hill Streets. The photographs document the various functions associated with the store including the full range of departments; window displays; store merchandising; employee activities and gatherings; children's parties and parades; advertising billboards; the August sales event and crowds; and construction scenes from 1912 and 1928. Photographers include Warren Bowen Studios; Brown and Warrington; duBois Photo Co.; Frank C. Elliott; Jim England; Graham Photo; Keystone Photo; J.C. Milligan; Ernest Pratt; Otto Rothschild; Stagg Photography; Art Streib; "Dick" Whittington Studio; Whitland Locke Commercial Photography; and Witzel Photo. Language: English. Access Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services. 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 Bullock's Department Store Collection of Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Provenance Gift of Ted Stiner, 1996. Processing Information The collection was rehoused and numbered, and a Container List prepared, by Jane Apostol in 2005. The original finding aid was prepared by Jennifer Watts in August 2005. Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements Arrangements for viewing the glass plate negatives must be made with the Curator of Photographs. Historical Note The original Bullock's Department Store was designed by the architectural firm of Parkinson and Bergstrom and opened in March 1907 at 639-657 South Broadway in Los Angeles, California. Bullock's flagship store proved so successful that it expanded quarters in 1912. The company purchased adjacent buildings in 1917 and 1919 for a total of 460,000 square feet. "By 1920," writes Richard Longstreth, "Bullock's and Robinson's functioned as anchors to an elite shopping precinct that was unprecedented in Los Angeles." Between 1923 and 1928, Bullock's added an additional 400,000 square feet through the construction of three more additions while also purchasing two adjacent buildings. Bullock's Inc. eventually opened a second store on Wilshire Boulevard (1929) as well as additional stores in Westwood Village (1932), Pasadena (1947), and Fashion Square in Orange County (1958). Scope and Contents Bullock's Department Store photCL 401 2 Collection of Photographs: Finding Aid The Bullock's Department Store Collection consists of 680 photographs and 29 glass plate negatives related to the Los Angeles, California-based department store between 1905 and 1971 (bulk 1912-1945), as well as 2 boxes of ephemera related to Bullock's publicity and events between 1915 and 1952. The materials focus primarily on the retail spaces, displays, departments, and employees at the downtown Los Angeles store once located at Broadway, 7th, and Hill Streets. The collection is the remnant of (what seems to have been) a larger archive of albums assembled and annotated in-house to document the various functions associated with the store. As such, the photographs depict every aspect of the store's workings including: the full range of departments, many shown with thematic decorations for holidays and special events; window displays; store merchandising; employee activities and gatherings such as dances, holiday parties, Easter worship services and group portraits; children's parties and parades; advertising billboards; the August sales event and crowds; and construction scenes from 1912 and 1928. The collection is particularly strong in its documentation of the store's window displays and merchandising efforts. There are also many pictures of mannequins dressed in the latest fashions for men, women, and children. The World War II home front effort is a theme that occurs throughout the collection in various display motifs and in employee events. Many photographs depict the store's workforce including female sales clerks, male cooks and security guards, and African American employees in various capacities. Eight pictures at the end of Volume 9 depict Bullock's branch locations including the famed Bullock's Wilshire store. Volume 11 contains promotional and ephemeral materials from 1948 through 1952 associated with the Bullock's Wilshire store. Photographers represented in the collection include Warren Bowen Studios; Brown and Warrington; duBois Photo Co.; Frank C. Elliott; Jim England; Graham Photo; Keystone Photo; J.C. Milligan; Ernest Pratt; Otto Rothschild; Stagg Photography; Art Streib; "Dick" Whittington Studio; Whitland Locke Commercial Photography; and Witzel Photo. Arrangement The collection is arranged by format: loose photographs (Box 1), photograph albums (Boxes 2-11), ephemera (Boxes 12-13), and glass plate negatives (Boxes 14-15). • "Dick" Whittington Studio Collection of Negatives and Photographs (photCL Whitt) Index Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog. Persons: Elliott, Frank C. England, Jim. Milligan, J. C. Pratt, Ernest Mitchell, 1876-1945. Rothschild, Otto. Streib, Art. Organizations: Bullock's Wilshire (Department store)--Photographs. Bullock's (Department store)--Employees--Photographs. Bullock's (Department store)--Recreational use--Photographs. Brown and Warrington. Dick Whittington Studio. Dubois Photo Company. Graham Photo Co. (Los Angeles, Calif.). Keystone Photo Service. Stagg Photographers (Los Angeles, Calif.). Warren Bowen Studios. Whitland Locke Commercial Photography. Witzel Photo. Subjects: African-Americans--Employment--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Building construction--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Children--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Bullock's Department Store photCL 401 3 Collection of Photographs: Finding Aid Children's clothing--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Department stores--California--Los Angeles County--Photographs. Display of merchandise--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Fashion design--Photographs. Furniture--Photographs. Holiday decorations--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Indians of North America--Clothing--Exhibitions--Photographs. Indians of North America--Photographs. Indian pottery--North America--Photographs. Indian textile fabrics--North America--Photographs. Mannequins (Figures)--Photographs. Pageants--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Sales promotion--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Selling--Cosmetics--Photographs. Show-windows--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. War work--California--Los Angeles--1910-1920--Photographs. War work--California--Los Angeles--1940-1950--Photographs. Women--Employment--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Women's clothing--California--Los Angeles--Photographs. Document Types: Ephemera. Negatives. Photograph albums. Photographs. Container List Box 1 Loose Photographs Interior Shots by "Dick" Whittington Studio, 1941-1952 Box 1, Item 1 Cosmetics and hosiery counters, January 1, 1941 Note [Decorative element: figures of Native Americans holding "Red Paint advertisements."] Box 1, Item 2 "Spring trim." Suggestions for Easter gifts, 1941 Note [Decor: hanging fern baskets; suggestions of religious imagery] Box 1, Item 3 Jewelry counters, July 10, 1942 Note [Posters advertise War Savings Bonds and Stamps.] Box 1, Item 4 Town and Country interior display, February 1943 Note [Female mannequin behind sign "Aircraft workers only;" airplane painted on background.] Bullock's Department Store photCL 401 4 Collection of Photographs: Finding Aid Container List Loose Photographs Box 1, Item 5 Down escalator, with cardboard bombs raining down and signs reading "6th War Loan. Buy more Bonds," ca. 1941-1952 Box 1, Item 6 Cosmetics counters. Promotion, "Fresh as a daisy with Tussy," ca. 1941-1952 Note [Decorations: