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Exhibits

William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection

Item set

Title
William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection
Description
Capturing the rich history of the early twentieth century, the William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection (Identification #96-07-08) highlights well-known landmarks, historic events, and scenic vistas from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, from the Deep South to Canada, and from Mexico to Cuba. Scenes across the Golden State are captured in stunning shots from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite and the Central Coast to Southern California cities. The collection features nearly 3,000 photographs taken by native Californians William M. and Grace McCarthy from approximately 1905 to 1938. The McCarthys traveled extensively during the early years of automobile travel, as newly constructed highways connected people and places throughout the United States and beyond, providing pictorial documentation of a pivotal period in our nation's history.

William M. McCarthy (1876 – 1956) and Grace C. Kane (1878 – 1957) wed in the early 1900s and lived in San Francisco for most of their lives where William was stationed as an armament expert for the U.S. War Department. The collection features photographs of the McCarthys' travels, as well as the many family members and friends they encountered along the way. Always ready with his camera, William McCarthy also captured remarkable images of significant events, including shots of San Francisco before and after the 1906 earthquake, the fire that destroyed that city's iconic Cliff House in 1907, the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and their 1938 journey into Mexico along the newly constructed Pan American Highway. The original black and white photographs, mounted in eleven albums, make up one of the few private collections preserved by the California State Archives. The entire collection was digitized by the State Archives' curatorial staff.

To request a high-resolution scan of one or more of these images, contact the California State Archives at ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov or (916) 653-2246. Please include the Title or Identifier for each photograph in which you are interested, as well as the desired format (tiff, jpg, pdf) and resolution (DPI) for the requested scan. Duplication fees will apply.

DISCLAIMER
The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the creators of the materials presented (William and Grace McCarthy) are theirs alone. As noted in image descriptions, certain photographs are restricted or have been cropped due to sensitive content deemed unsuitable for online distribution.
Date
1905-1938
Contributor
Audrey Fullerton-Samora of Sacramento, great niece of William and Grace McCarthy, donated the William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection to the California State Archives in 1996.
Creator
William M. McCarthy
Publisher
California State Archives, a division of the California Secretary of State's Office
Rights
The California State Archives, a division of the California Secretary of State’s Office, owns the copyright to the William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection. The images and content may be used for personal use, research, or educational purposes. For any use of these materials, please credit the “California State Archives, William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection, Identification #96-07-08.” Commercial use or distribution of the images or content is not permitted without prior written permission from the California State Archives. Please note that the materials contained in this collection may include copyrighted material (such as postcards) not held by the California State Archives. Additionally, other limitations, such as the right of publicity, may limit use of the materials in this collection.

For more information about the copyrights related to this collection or to request permission to use the digital images or content, please contact the California State Archives at ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov or (916) 653-2246.
Identifier
Collection ID#96-07-08

Items

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  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 411
    Caption: "You can drive your car into the lobby of the Hotel American. Note the ornamental ceiling and colonnades - Puebla, Mex."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 410
    Caption: "This convent was operated secretly since 1857, - discovered in 1935. Garden in the Santa Monica convent which has been closed by the government and is now a museum. Puebla, Mexico." William and Grace McCarthy standing by a fountain in the garden described above.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 409
    Caption: "Street Market - Calle Norts - Puebla, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 408
    Caption: "Business district of Puebla, Mexico - view taken from the Cathedral Belfry - Easter Sunday - April 17th, 1938.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 407
    Caption: "Easter Sunday, April 17, 1938. Immense 6 foot diameter bell. San Miguel Cathedral, Puebla, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 406
    Caption: "Interior of chapel - Templo de Santa Domingo - Puebla, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 405
    Caption: "Cathedral San Miguel - Puebla. Easter Sunday, Mexico April 17th 1938," opened in 1690.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 404
    Caption: Interior of the Church of San Francisco Acatepeck [sic] - Cholula." The church's construction was begun in 1590, with elaborate Spanish Baroque decorations added during the seventeenth century.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 403
    Caption: "Avenida del Ayuntamiento - principal street of Puebla, Mexico. This is an attractive street - note the arcades on the right."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 402
    No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure, describing the towns of Cholula and Puebla.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 401
    Caption: "Men unloading cement by carrying it in baskets on their heads - building construction - Puebla, Mexico, April 18, 1938."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 400
    Caption: "Post Office Building, antique Spanish architecture, Mexico City."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 399
    Caption: Palace of Fine Arts, Interior beautiful marble effect - Mexico City." Pictured is the interior of the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City, with the famous mural, Man at the Crossroads, painted by Mexican artist Diego Rivera. The work was originally commissioned for New York's Rockefeller Center in 1933 but was destroyed for its perceived anti-capitalist themes. Rivera recreated it for the Palace of Fine Arts in 1934.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 398
    No Caption: A section of an informational tourist brochure describing the Palace of Fine Arts, or National Theater in Mexico City.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 397b
    No Caption: A four-cent Mexican postage stamp.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 397a
    No Caption: A two-cent Mexican postage stamp.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 397
    Caption: "Palace of Fine Arts or National Theater [sic] - built of white marble. Work started in 1900, complete in 1935, cost 35,000,000 pesos." The Palacio de Bellas Artes, is considered the cultural center of Mexico City. It houses the Museum of Architecture, and the National Theater, a performance space for music, dance, and theatre. Murals by renown Mexican artists such as Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Jose Clemente Orozco, and others are exhibited on the top floor and other galleries throughout the building.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 396
    Caption: "Independence column, on the Avenida Paseo de la Reforma." Unofficially known as El Angel (The Angel), and officially as Monumento a la Indenpendencia (Monument to Independence), located in Mexico City.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 395
    Caption: "Paseo de La Reforma, the beautiful boulevard of Mexico City."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 394
    No Caption: A page from an informational tourist brochure describing Mexico City.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 393
    Caption: "In our flower decked tourist court, 46 Neva St. Mexico City." Grace McCarthy is seen sitting on an automobile bumper in the background of this photograph, while three Mexican men wearing sombreros and serapes pose in the foreground.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 392
    Caption: "Pan-American Highway monument marking the highway completion, July 1, 1936 Altitude 8209 feet. Highest point on route - 15 miles south of Octopan [sic], Mexico." Pictured is William McCarthy standing before the "Monument of Good Friendship (El Monumento de Buena Amistad), near Actopan, Mexico.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 391
    Caption: "Primitive method of ploughing, Tizayuca, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 390
    Caption: "Otme [sic] Indian School - these children are very scantily dressed. Their clothes are a product of the Maguey plant - Lagunilla, Mex."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 389
    Caption: "Tasquillo Canyon - Rio Tula, in vicinity of Zimipan, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 388
    Caption: "Maguey, a most useful plant from which is made paper, rope, twine, cloth, vinegar, molases [sic], medicine and native drinks, pulque, mezcal & tequila."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 387
    Caption: "Winding highway in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains - Zimipan, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 386
    Caption: "Old Otomie [sic]Indian lady and her son. She is spinning twine from Maguey fiber onto a spool as she trudges the highway barefooted, Zimipan, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 385
    Caption: "Thatched hut Indian village, near Tamazunchale, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 384
    Caption: "Highway leaving Tamazunchale where the real climb into the Sierra Madre mountains begins - 170 miles to highest point - 8200 ft. elevation."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 383
    No Caption: A section of a tourist brochure describing the route and road conditions from Tamazunchale to Mexico City.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 382
    Caption: "Huasteca Indians transporting pottery - Tamazunchale, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 381
    Caption: "Huasteca Indian and their thatched hut, one tiny room. Tamzunchale, Mexico." **PLEASE NOTE: The electronic image derived from Album 10, Photograph 381 of the William McCarthy Photograph Collection (96-07-08-alb10-381) contains content that may not be appropriate for online distribution, and has therefore been withheld. The image has also been removed from the Secretary of State’s digital storage systems, including hard drives, shared drives, cloud and other online storage, and digital backup systems. To view the original photograph, please contact the California State Archives Reference Desk.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 380
    Caption: "Little girls who live in Mexico are always fully clothed but, this is not a little girl. OH! OH!" Image of a young boy in a small Mexican village. **PLEASE NOTE: The electronic image derived from Album 10, Photograph 380 of the William McCarthy Photograph Collection (96-07-08-alb10-380) contains content that may not be appropriate for online distribution, and has therefore been withheld. The image has also been removed from the Secretary of State’s digital storage systems, including hard drives, shared drives, cloud and other online storage, and digital backup systems. To view the original photograph, please contact the California State Archives Reference Desk.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 379
    Caption: "Hermoso [sic] Dorothy Gandy. A youthful Mexican beauty."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 378a
    Caption: "We stopped at Gandy Courts." A section of a tourist informational brochure describing the village of Tamazunchale, in "the heart of the Huastecan Indian country."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 378
    Caption: "Sam Browns [sic] botanical garden, Huichihuayan, Mexico. Coffee, vanilla, bananas, and many tropical fruits are grown in this garden."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 377
    Caption: "Entering the Tropic of Cancer, fifteen miles south of Victoria, Torrid Zone, Mexico," shows William McCarthy standing beside a sign reading: Tropico de Cancer.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 376
    Caption: "A Spanish type home - Valles, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 375
    Caption: "A natural palm grove on the highway near Villa Juarez, Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 374b
    No Caption: A section of a tourist informational brochure describing the Pan American Highway from Victoria to Tamazunchale.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 374a
    No Caption: A section of a tourist informational brochure describing the road from Monterrey to Victoria.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 374
    Caption: "Mexican home and family - Bozo, near Monterey [sic], Mexico." Six children of the Bozo family standing outside their home near Monterrey. ** PLEASE NOTE: The electronic image derived from Album 10, Photograph 374 of the William McCarthy Photograph Collection (96-07-08-alb10-374) contains content that may not be appropriate for online distribution, and has therefore been withheld. The image has also been removed from the Secretary of State’s digital storage systems, including hard drives, shared drives, cloud and other online storage, and digital backup systems. To view the original photograph, please contact the California State Archives Reference Desk.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 373
    Caption: "Arco de Independencia, on Avenda [sic] Francisco I. Madero, Monterey [sic], Mexico," shows the Arco de Independencia (Arch of independence) on Avenida (Avenue) Francisco I. Madero, in Monterrey, Mexico.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 372
    Caption: "One of the many beautiful homes, in Monterey [sic], Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 371
    Caption: "The bull charging while the Matador stands motionless. Bull fight - Monterey [sic], Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 370
    Caption: "The bull turns for another charge at the Matador. Bull fight at Monterey [sic], Mexico."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 369
    Caption: "Bull Fight, Monterey [sic] Mexico. Cuadrillas entering the arena - Matadores Garcia and Ramirez."
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 368
    Caption: "Avenda [sic] Morelos, Monterey [sic], Mexico," shows a busy street scene on Avenida (Avenue) Morelos, Monterrey, Mexico.
  • McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 367
    No Caption: A page from a tourist brochure detailing how to travel from Laredo to Monterrey, Mexico.