Title supplied by cataloger.; In episode #10001 of "California's Gold," Huell Howser visits the Los Angeles Public Library to see this collection of Ansel Adams photographs. Around 1939, Ansel Adams was commissioned by Fortune magazine to photograph a series of images for an article covering the aviation history of the Los Angeles area. For the project, Adams took 217 photographs showing everyday life, businesses, street scenes, aerospace employees, and a variety of other subjects, but when the article, "City of Angels," appeared in the March 1941 issue, only a few of the images were included. In the early 1960s, approximately 20 years later, Adams rediscovered all of the photographs among papers at his home in Carmel, and sent a letter of inquiry to the Los Angeles Public Library, asking if the institution would be interested in receiving the collection as a donation. In his letter, Adams expressed that, "the weather was bad over a rather long period and none of the pictures were very good" and "if they have no value whatsoever, please dispose of them in the incenerator [sic]." He went on to write that "I would imagine that they represent about $100.00 minimum value." In response, the Los Angeles Public Library gladly accepted the gift of 135 contact prints and 217 negatives, and the staff concluded that a fair value for the collection would be $150.00. Several large oil derricks drill for oil in a field in Signal Hill next to Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Sunnyside Cemetery (Long Beach, Calif.) Oil well drilling rigs--California--Signal Hill Oil fields--California--Signal Hill Cemeteries--California--Long Beach Boring--California--Signal Hill Sepulchral monuments--California--Long Beach Long Beach (Calif.) Signal Hill (Calif.) Ansel Adams Fortune Magazine Collection photographs
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
