http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt7v19r25p No online items Charles Francis Saunders and Mira Culin Saunders Collection of Photographs and 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 © December 2006 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. photCL 276 1 Overview of the Collection Title: Charles Francis Saunders and Mira Culin Saunders Collection of Photographs and Negatives Dates (inclusive): approximately 1871-1965 Bulk dates: 1910s-1920s Collection Number: photCL 276 Creator: Saunders, Charles Francis, 1859-1941. Creator: Saunders, Mira B. Culin. Extent: approximately 10,000 photographs in 58 boxes (24.98 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 Charles Francis and Mira Culin Saunders Collection of Photographs and Negatives consists of 5826 black and white photographs, 68 glass plate negatives, 3832 film negatives, 10 photographs albums, 261 lantern slides, and related ephemera, ca. 1871-1965 (bulk 1910s-1920s), collected and created by Charles Francis Saunders, Elisabeth Hallowell Saunders, and Mira Culin Saunders. The collection provides a comprehensive overview of Charles Saunders' activities as a naturalist and travel writer. Language: English. Access Advance arrangements for viewing unprinted negatives 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 Charles F. and Mira Culin Saunders Collection of Photographs and Negatives. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Provenance Gift of Mira Culin Saunders in 1952, 1956, 1958, 1966. Two boxes transferred to the Photo Archives from the Manuscripts Department, Huntington Library, in 1994. Processing Information In the mid-1990s, Jane Apostol arranged, numbered and rehoused a majority of the collection, and created a Container List. In December 2006, Sue Luftschein completed the rehousing and arrangement and created this finding aid based, in part, on the original Container List. Biographical Note Charles Francis Saunders (1859-1941) was born to Quaker parents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He and his first wife, Elisabeth Hallowell Saunders (d. 1910), were both avid naturalists; Charles began publishing essays on botany as early as the 1890s. Charles and Elisabeth also collaborated on a number of publications, he as author, she as illustrator. After a honeymoon trip to California and the Southwest in 1902, the couple moved permanently to California in 1906 and settled in a Craftsman bungalow on North Lake Avenue in Pasadena, where Charles devoted himself full time to writing. He eventually published more than a dozen books inspired by California and the Southwest. Both Charles and Elisabeth were amateur photographers, and many of their photographs were used to illustrate Saunders' books, The Indians of the Terraced Houses (1912) and Under the Sky in California (1913). In 1921, Saunders married Mira Barrett Culin (d. 1968) whom he had met at the Pasadena Garden Club. Also a writer, Mira shared Saunders' interest in gardens, botany, and photography. For many years, Mira published articles on Pasadena gardens, parks and trees in the Pasadena Star News, for which she took dozens of photographs. First with Elisabeth, and then with Mira, Saunders travelled extensively throughout California and the Southwest, photographing all of the California Missions, the regions' natural wonders, Native Americans, and flora, among other things. photCL 276 2 These interests became the subjects of 18 books and numerous essays and articles Saunders published in his lifetime. Many of these books were illustrated with photographs taken by their author on his many excursions. Saunders' collection of Native American pottery and crafts is now in the collection of the Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, and his botanic library is in the possession of the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens. [Source: Apostol, Jane. "Southern California Through the Lens of Charles Francis Saunders," Southern California Quarterly, volume 81 (Spring 1999): 1-88.] Scope and Contents The Charles Francis and Mira Culin Saunders Collection of Photographs and Negatives consists of 5826 black and white photographs, 68 glass plate negatives, 3832 film negatives, 10 photograph albums, 261 lantern slides, and related ephemera, ca. 1871-1965 (bulk 1910s-1920s), collected and created by Charles Francis Saunders, Elisabeth Hallowell Saunders, and Mira Culin Saunders. The collection provides a comprehensive overview of Charles Saunders' activities as a naturalist and travel writer. The collection is broadly divided into four parts: photographs created and collected by Charles and Elisabeth Saunders; photographs created and collected by Mira Saunders; photograph albums assembled by Charles Saunders; and lantern slides. All four parts contain similar and overlapping subject matter. The first part of the collection includes numerous views of Pasadena and Altadena; portraits of Charles Saunders, Mira Saunders, and family and friends; the Saunders home, Ah-Tshi-Quah-Nah, at 580 North Lake Avenue in Pasadena (front and back exterior views, garden views, and interiors); miscellaneous Pasadena residences; vineyards and orchards in and around Pasadena; the San Gabriel Mountains, including Mount Wilson and the Observatory; the Santa Monica Mountains and Los Angeles County (including Topanga Canyon, Malibu Creek, Devil's Punchbowl, and Llano del Rio); Monrovia, San Gabriel, and Sierra Madre in the San Gabriel Valley; Los Angeles city and county (including the Plaza, Olvera Street, the La Brea Tar Pits, Santa Monica, Venice, San Pedro, and Santa Catalina Island); landscape views in numerous California counties (including Inyo, Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Tulare, Fresno, and Ventura); Yosemite National Park; views taken on excursions (including from Santa Barbara to San Franciso, Portland to Pasadena, to Cuyama, to Ballarat, and Ojai to Ensenada); California Missions; camping and picnic scenes (with emphasis on the Mojave Desert); flora; Native Americans and Native American sites in Arizona and New Mexico; New Orleans; Mexico; Central America (including El Salvador, Panama, and Nicaragua); and Canada. The second part of the collection, photographs created and collected by Mira Saunders, includes many views of civic buildings in Pasadena (including City Hall and the Public Library, with an emphasis on the trees and shrubs surrounding these buildings); Pasadena parks (including Carmelita Gardens); Pasadena gardens and homes; the Saunders home and garden; California Missions; botanic gardens (including many views of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden); and flora. The 10 photograph albums were created by Charles Saunders around 1900. Some of the images included in these albums can be found elsewhere in the collection; some of the photographs were taken by Elisabeth Saunders. The subjects of the albums include Southern California mountains and deserts; the Navajo and Zuni Indians; Santa Catalina Island; Pasadena; and Yosemite. The lantern slides depict the same general subjects as found elsewhere in the collection. Approximately half duplicate images found in the collection; the remainder are unique. The majority are hand-colored. Also included in the collection are ephemeral materials. These include a bookplate designed by Charlotte Blazer, used for the Saunders botanic library donated to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden; various notes by Mira Saunders; and cards and postcards. Photographers represented in the collection include A.E. Arnold; Max Munn Autrey; Guy Barry, Swastika Studio; Ernest H. Brooks; Lindley Eddy; Frasher's; Gilbert and Bacon, Philadelphia; F. Gutenkunst, Philadelphia; I.O. Haskin, Oregon; Lamson; Marriott C. Morris; Notel, Pasadena; Harold A. Parker, Pasadena; H.C. Phillips, Philadelphia; Wright M. Pierce; L.S. Slevin, Carmel; Ward Wicart Studios, Santa Barbara; F.A. Wenderoth and Co., Philadelphia; and S.H. Willard. Many photographs have notations by Charles Saunders on the verso. Arrangement The collection is arranged by collector, location, subject, and format. The images of flora are arranged alphabetically by Latin name. • Papers of Charles F. Saunders (mss Saunders papers), Manuscripts Department, Huntington Library. • Apostol, Jane. "Southern California Through the Lens of Charles Francis Saunders," Southern California Quarterly, volume 81 (Spring 1999): 1-88. Index Terms photCL 276 3 The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog. Persons: Arnold, A.E. Autrey, Max Munn. Barry, Guy. Brooks, Ernest H. Chase,