Warren C. Dickerson (1853-1936) Collection, circa 1890-1920
Finding aid created by Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County staff using
RecordEXPRESS
Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
2015
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90007-4057
(213) 763-3359
seavercenter@nhm.org.
http://www.nhm.org/site/research-collections/seaver-center
Title: Warren C. Dickerson (1853-1936) Collection, circa 1890-1920
Dates: circa 1890-1920
Collection Number: P-005
Creator/Collector:
Dickerson, Warren C.
Extent: 55.2 linear feet (Boxes: letter, 5x7, 3 ov)
Online items available
Repository:
Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Los Angeles, California 90007-4057
Abstract: Warren C. Dickerson was a commercial postcard photographer whose work covers the late nineteenth century through about 1920.
While Dickerson’s work as a whole is inclusive of photographs from throughout the United States, about one-third of the photographs
are of California, which make up this collection. The photographs feature diverse subjects such as architecturally unique
southern California residences, amusement parks, cityscapes and mountain scenes located throughout the counties and cities
of the state.
Language of Material: English
Research is by appointment only.
Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Warren C. Dickerson (1853-1936) Collection, circa 1890-1920. Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History
Museum of Los Angeles County
The Warren C. Dickerson Collection was transferred to the museum in 1934 directly from the photographer. Cataloging was completed
in 1945 when the collection was integrated into the museum’s negative collection.
Biography/Administrative History
Very little is known about Warren C. Dickerson, who donated his collection of work to the museum in 1934, two years before
his death. He traveled throughout the United States ranging from New York and Maine to Southern California, selling photographs
to commercial postcard companies. A majority of the Dickerson Collection is contained within the bulk years of 1890-1920,
with work that is illustrative of diverse aspects of the United States during the early twentieth century.
During the winter of 1991, an edition of Terra, produced by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, featured Dickerson’s
work. In a segment titled “Focus on the West”, an image of a new federal building construction site, featuring horse-drawn
wagons in front of a city street background, was taken during late 1906 or early 1907.
Scope and Content of Collection
While Dickerson photographed throughout the United States extensively, about one-third of the donated work is made up of images
from throughout California. The Seaver Center houses Dickerson’s work in its entirety as it was donated. However, the scope
of the Warren C. Dickerson Collection specified within this finding aid includes only work from California in order to fit
with the mission and scope of the repository.
Photographs depict significant landmarks, buildings, or events from eighteen California counties. Dickerson’s dry plate glass
negatives contain a diverse array of locations and subjects, ranging from Yosemite landscapes to Los Angeles seaside amusement
park scenes. The series have been arranged according to county, and further subdivided into subseries by city or locale. For
certain counties, an additional subseries is included to hold photographs that cannot be identified on the city of locale
level.
De Longpré, Paul, 1855-1911
University of California, Berkeley
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.)
Berkeley (Calif.)
Oakland (Calif.)
Eureka (Calif.)
Provo (Utah)
Inyo County (Calif.)
Skidoo (Calif.)
Bakersfield (Calif.)
San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.)
San Gabriel Valley (Calif.)
Alhambra (Calif.)
Bunker Hill (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Dominguez Hills (Calif.)
Garvanza (Calif.)
Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Los Angeles River (Calif.)
Long Beach (Calif.)
Port of Long Beach
Wilshire Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Venice (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Beverly Hills (Calif.)
Pasadena (Calif.)
Pomona (Calif.)
Redondo Beach (Calif.)
San Gabriel (Calif.)
San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.)
Santa Clarita (Calif.)
Santa Monica (Calif.)
Sawtelle (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Mount Wilson (Calif.)
Lowe, Mount (Los Angeles County, Calif.)
Tamalpais, Mount (Calif.)
Muir Woods National Monument (Calif.)
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)
Mammoth Lakes (Calif.)
Monterey County (Calif.)
San Jacinto Mountains (Calif.)
Riverside (Calif.)
Daggett (Calif.)
Ontario (Calif.)
Redlands (Calif.)
Arrowhead Springs (Calif.)
San Bernardino Mountains (Calif.)
San Bernardino (Calif.)
Point Loma (Calif.)
San Diego (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.)
Santa Barbara (Calif.)
San Jose (Calif.)
Stanford (Calif.)
Santa Cruz (Calif.)
Ventura (Calif.)
Tulare (Calif.)
Cities and towns – California
Harbors – California
Amusement parks – California
Pike, The (Long Beach, Calif. : Amusement park)
Parks--California--Los Angeles
Mountains – California
Waterfalls--California--Yosemite National Park
Lakes – California
Arrowhead Springs (Calif.)
Railroads, Cable – California
Air shows
Church buildings
Hotels – California
Piers – California
Libraries – California
Auditoriums -- California -- Los Angeles
Houses
Dwellings – California
Architecture, Spanish colonial--California, Southern
Buildings -- California -- Los Angeles
Architecture -- California
Courthouses – California
Mount Lowe Railway
Astronomical observatories – California
Rivers – California
Steamboats
Battleships -- United States
Lighthouses – California
Automobiles
Bridges – California
Indians of North America
Carnegie libraries
Missions--California
Streetcar cars -- California -- Los Angeles
City traffic -- California -- Los Angeles