What’s New in Digital Collections
UC Davis aerial maps, Tulare internment camp timeline and 1881 Stockton diary among recent additions
Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce the availability of 12 collections which have been added to the library’s Digital Collections in the last six months.
Spanning the years 1880 (Mundell and Whiting diary) to 2007 (Mom… Guess What…! issues), the recently digitized items include oral histories, diaries, photographs, maps, directories, newspapers and travel albums documenting the history of California and the American West.
Several aerial images of UC Davis from 1975 are among the additions, as well as interviews with the UC Davis Department of Medical Pathology, 1967-96.
Recently Added Digital Collections
UC Davis Department of Medical Pathology Oral Histories
The collection contains audio recordings of interviews conducted by Joann Leach Larkey for the Chairmen of the Department of Medical Pathology, UC Davis Oral History Project. The interviews were conducted to mark the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the School of Medicine and have been transcribed into a printed volume.
Sarah Mundell and J.H. Whiting Diary
A firsthand travel account recorded by at least two members of a traveling party on a journey through the West Coast from southern California to west-central Oregon, recorded over the course of three months in 1880. The two principal writers are most likely Joe H. Whiting and Sarah Mundell, who both sign an introductory preface. Their account encompasses dozens of locations across California and the southern half of Oregon between April 12 and June 27, 1880, and is written in at least two distinct hands.
African Americans at Pullman Saloon Photograph
This photograph is a group portrait of African American men, women, and children posed outside the Pullman Saloon in Tonopah, Nevada, circa 1905. The image contains eighteen men, one woman, two young girls, and two dogs. Several of the men are smoking cigars. The Pullman Saloon was the hub of African American social life in Tonopah, Nevada, a town established in 1900 following the discovery of silver and gold in the area.
Tesla Coal Mines and Carnegie, California Photographs
This collection contains photographs of the Tesla Coal Mines and the neighboring company town of Carnegie, California. The images include group portraits of the miners as well as views of the mine shafts, and surrounding buildings.
Tulare Assembly Center Cartoon Map and Timeline
This is a map and timeline documenting the Tulare Assembly Center which officially existed from April 27 to September 4, 1942. It was located in California about halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield and the grounds had been previously used by the Tulare-Kings County Fair. A little over 5,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated there, with most ultimately sent to the Gila River camp in Arizona.
The map displays dozens of aspects of the camp as well as many people engaged in activity. The artist, George M. Matsuura, was born in Guadalupe, California in 1919. He was living in Santa Barbara at the time he was sent to Tulare and his occupation was listed as “artist, sculptor, teacher of art.”
1975 Aerial Photographs of the UC Davis Campus
Ricardo Ortega, a photographer based in Venezuela, discovered a group of fifteen unidentified Kodachrome slides from September 1975. He digitized the slides and with the help of Reddit he was able to determine that the images were of the UC Davis campus. In 2022, he donated the digital files to the UC Davis Library.
Kingsbury’s 1904-5 Directory of Vallejo City and Solano County, California
This directory includes information about the city and county residents as well as data about the businesses, clubs, churches, and schools for 1904-1905. UC Davis Library is the only institution listed in WorldCat as holding this volume.
Mom… Guess What…!, a Sacramento Area Newspaper for Lesbians, Gay Men, and Friends, was founded in 1978 by Linda Birner, a gay rights community leader.
The first issue stated “Starting on November 1, 1978, “MOM… GUESS WHAT…!” will appear every month with local news and special articles of interest to the Gay community. Among the regular features will be a calendar of upcoming events, a guide to entertaining places in the area, and a listing of social organizations and how they can be reached.”
The issues digitized here are from 1991-2007. Digitization of this newspaper was supported by a California State Library LGBTQ+ History Grant.
This diary, kept in 1881 by an unidentified young woman teacher in Stockton, California, recorded her work, social life, and movements around the region.
Black’s Station in Yolo County, California Photograph
This is a photograph of Peter Roth’s residence at Black’s Station in Yolo County, California, a way station and depot for farmers, travelers, and others during the early years of development.
Sixteen year-old Gertrude McGee documented her daily life, schooling, friendships, and a family move from Sonoma to San Rafael, California from 1900–1901 in this diary.
Hilda Schwier Photograph Album
Hilda Schwier compiled this photograph album which chronicled travels with friends through the American West and western Canada, including the Grand Canyon, Southern California, Yosemite, the Pacific Northwest, and Banff National Park in the mid 1930s.