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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 04, Photograph 282
    No caption, c. 1935. Group of unidentified people posing for a photograph, with rock formation in front and trees behind. Grace McCarthy is seated at the center of photograph, wearing a strand of pearls.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 281
    No caption, c. 1935. William (seated at left end of front row) and Grace (seated at right end of back row) McCarthy with five other unidentified people.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 280
    No caption, c. 1935. View of the side/back of Half Dome. Cables used to assist hikers in ascending the summit can be seen at the left side of the photograph.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 279
    No caption, c. 1935. William McCarthy feeding a buck deer in velvet, in a campground.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 278
    No caption, c. 1935. Two children riding a donkey in Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 277
    No caption, c. 1935. William McCarthy offering food to a bear sitting in a clearing.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 276
    No caption, c. 1935. Child riding a donkey in campground at Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 275
    No caption, undated. Unidentified man standing with baby and small child.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 274
    No caption, c. 1930. William and Grace McCarthy in swimsuits standing on an unidentified river bank or lake shore.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 273
    No caption, c. 1935. William McCarthy standing with small child riding a donkey in campground at Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 272
    No caption, c. 1935. Small child riding a donkey in campground at Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 271
    No caption, c. 1935. William McCarthy standing with child riding a donkey in campground at Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 270
    Caption: "Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite," c. 1935. Grace McCarthy standing before Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 269
    No caption, c. 1935. Grace McCarthy feeding a buck deer in velvet.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 268
    No caption, c. 1935. Grace McCarthy peers out of a car window at a curious bear in Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 267
    No caption, c. 1935. Rock formation and cliff in Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 266
    No caption, c. 1935. William McCarthy on the steep trail to the summit of the iconic Half Dome, in the Yosemite Valley. The cables used to assist hikers follow a route laid down by George Anderson, who reached the summit in 1875.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 265
    No caption, c. 1935. Unidentified man standing in front of an Indian abode in the Yosemite Valley,
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 264
    No caption, c. 1935. Lucy Parker Telles, a Mono Lake Paiute, lived in the Yosemite Valley. She was part of a group of Native American women who became well-known for their intricate basket weaving.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 263
    No caption, c. 1935. Grace McCarthy sitting in a covered porch swing on the patio of the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 262
    No caption, c. 1920. View of the Hotel el Paso de Robles. This resort hotel opened in 1891, featuring a variety of amenities including a mineral hot springs "plunge" bath. The hotel burned down in 1940, and was replaced by the building that is still in operation today as the Paso Robles Inn.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 261
    No caption, c. 1920. Scene showing the La Plaza Building in Atascadero. Opened in 1917 and designed by John J. Roth, the building contained shops, a post office, and a movie theater on the lower floors, while the rooms of the Atascadero Inn occupied the top floor. The building was converted entirely to the Atascadero Inn in the 1920s, but was subsequently destroyed by fire in 1934.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 260
    No caption, c. 1900. Photograph portrait of William McCarthy.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 259
    No caption, c. 1890. Photograph portrait of an unidentified young man.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 258
    No caption, c. 1890. Photograph portrait of unidentified man.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 257
    No caption, c. 1890. Photograph portrait of unidentified woman.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 256
    No caption, c. 1920. Group of unidentified people posing in the yard of a house. William McCarthy is seated in the bottom row, third from the left, while Grace McCarthy is seated in the bottom row, far right.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 255
    No caption, c. 1920. Group of unidentified people posing in the yard of a house. William McCarthy is seated in the middle of the photograph, his profile turned to the camera.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 254
    No caption, c. 1935. William McCarthy feeding a buck deer with antlers in velvet.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 253
    No caption, c. 1935. William McCarthy feeding a buck deer with antlers in velvet.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 252
    Caption: "The Mother Tree, Big Basin," c. 1935. William and Grace McCarthy posing with the Mother of the Forest, the tallest redwood tree in Big Basin Redwoods State Park at 329 feet high and 70 feet in circumference near the ground.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 251
    Caption: "Big Basin," c. 1935. William and Grace McCarthy posing in front of large redwood tree in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County. The tree is likely "Animal Tree," given the large burl growths.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 250
    No caption, c. 1915. William McCarthy posing in garden. See also 96-07-08-alb05-090, 092, 096, and 097.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 249
    No caption, c. 1910. Grace McCarthy posing in garden with parasol.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 248
    No caption, c. 1920. William McCarthy playing a saxophone.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 247
    No caption, c. 1920. William McCarthy playing a saxophone.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 246
    No caption, c. 1920. Group of unidentified people posing in a park-like setting.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 245
    No caption, c. 1920. William McCarthy (far right) and two unidentified women, all in swimsuits.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 244
    Caption: "Russian River," c. 1920. Group of unidentified people in swimsuits on riverbank. William McCarthy is kneeling in the front row, second from the right, while Grace appears in the third row, second from the right.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 243
    No caption, c. 1920. Group of unidentified people in swim suits posing on a river bank. William McCarthy is standing in the middle row, third from the left.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 242
    No caption, c. 1920. Group of unidentified people posing for a photograph in a park or landscaped yard. William McCarthy is seated at the bottom right.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 241
    No caption, c. 1920. Group of unidentified people posing for a photograph. The occasion seems to have been a masquerade, as most of the individuals are in costume. William McCarthy, in a clown or jester costume, is seated near Grace McCarthy in the bottom row, second and third from the right.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 240
    No caption, c. 1920. Group of unidentified people posing for photograph in park setting. Grace McCarthy appears seated in the middle row, at far left.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 239
    Caption: "Searsville Lake," c. 1920. Group of unidentified people posing for photograph, with two horses, with Grace McCarthy standing at the far right.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 238
    Caption: "12 inch Gun -- Barbett [sic]," c. 1920. Shows barbette (gun emplacement) with 12-inch coastal defense gun.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 237
    Caption: "250th C.A.N.G. at Glenwood," c. 1926. The California National Guard established its 250th Coast Artillery in 1926, in Santa Cruz County. This photograph shows several caterpillar-type vehicles alongside a rural road near Glenwood.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 236
    Caption: "Lumber Flume -- on the Yosemite Merced Road," c. 1920. Flume with boards being carried by running water, likely along what is now known as California State Route 140, connecting the town of Merced with the Yosemite Valley.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 235
    Caption: "Cedar Brook," c. 1920. William and Grace McCarthy (at left) standing with two unidentified people, with house in background and automobile next to them.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 234
    No caption, c. 1920. Grace McCarthy standing by automobile shaded by trees.
  • McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 233
    No caption, c. 1920. Four unidentified women, with Grace McCarthy (second from the right) in what appears to be a park, in front of bushes and ornamental grass.