Collections in Calisphere
All of the items in Calisphere are organized into collections. Collections bring context to images, documents, videos, and audio recordings. Some collections represent a particular topic or format, some have items created by the same person, and some showcase an institution’s special project or initiative. Use the tabs below to explore the hundreds of collections in Calisphere.
Curious about where these collections come from and how they’re described? Learn more about the collections in Calisphere, including: how primary source records are described; how shared community values and standards guide access to historical materials; how we strive to provide responsible access to digital primary sources--and how you can help!
Workman-Temple Homestead Museum Collection, 1830-1930
The Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum Collection, 1830-1930 consists of materials from the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in the City of Industry, California. The Homestead Museum is located in a former Mexican rancho and is home to rich collections documenting many aspects of Southern California history between 1830 and 1930. Staff from the Homestead Museum have selected approximately 500 photographs and ephemera highlighting Mexican-American, Chinese-American, and Japanese-American life in the Los Angeles region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among these items are broadsides from two Mexican-American theatres in Boyle Heights during the 1920s and …
Institution: University of Southern California Digital Library
284 Items
World War I Poster Collection
Posters from the American homefront during World War I. Includes posters advertising recruitment, fundraising, community service, food conservation, and more.
Institution: Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Center
110 Items
World War II Posters Collection
Posters from the American homefront during World War II. Includes posters advertising recruitment, fundraising, community service, food conservation, and more.
Institution: Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Center
93 Items
World War II Propaganda Posters
A selection of World War Two propaganda posters.
Institution: Chapman University, Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives
3 Items
World War One American Poster Collection
A selection of World War One American posters.
Institution: Chapman University, Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives
11 Items
Worlds Fair Collection
The Donald G. Larson Collection on International Expositions and Fairs is the largest comprehensive world's fair research collection on the West Coast. The collection contains more than 16,000 official guides, pamphlets, postcards, photographs, sheet music, and other materials from over 200 different fairs from 1851 to the present. The nucleus of the collection was donated in the 1970s by Donald G. Larson, an avid collector and local college instructor. Since then, the collection has grown significantly and continues to expand every year.
Institution: California State University, Fresno
6,888 Items
WPA household census cards and employee records, Los Angeles
The Works Progress Administration Los Angeles Household Census Cards collection dates from 1939. The physical cards which number nearly half a million items are owned by the USC Libraries. More than a quarter of the collection has been digitized. The household survey cards (or "dwelling schedules"), one for each street address in greater Los Angeles, document a wide variety of information ranging from the type of dwelling, the value of the property, the monthly rent or mortgage, to whether or not there were flush toilets. While these cards form the bulk of the collection, other digitized documents include "block face …
Institution: University of Southern California Digital Library
146,584 Items
WPA Land use survey maps for the City of Los Angeles, 1933-1939
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted a land use survey from December 18, 1933 to May 8, 1939 for the city of Los Angeles, Department of City Planning. It covered approximately 460 square miles within the boundary of the City of Los Angeles and resulted in this series of 345 hand-colored land use survey maps. They are collected in 10 books (averaging 35 maps per book) each corresponding to a geographic region within the City's boundary. Each original map measures bout 2 ft. x 3.5 ft.
Institution: University of Southern California Digital Library
345 Items
Wulzen (Albert H.), Panorama of Oakland, California, ca. 1879
This collection consists of a portfolio containing a panorama photograph, divided into 7 photoprints, hinged together. The photograph was taken from San Pablo and 14th Streets in Oakland, California, circa 1879. The photographer was Albert H. Wulzen. The following is the text from a note on the inner front cover of the album from J. C. Rowell, a University of California librarian:...
Institution: UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library
7 Items
Wurster (William W.)/Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons Collection, 1922-1974
Contains records related to the life and career of architect William Wilson Wurster (1895-1973) and the architectural firm Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons. Documents Wurster's collaborative relationships and professional friendships as well as Wurster and WBE projects. Records include correspondence, reports, photographs, clippings, scrapbooks, and drawings. Contains records relating to residential and commercial buildings, as well as defense housing and other large planning projects. Drawings by landscape architect Thomas Church and photographs by Roger Sturtevant are also included for some projects.
Institution: UC Berkeley, Environmental Design Archives
18 Items
