Finding aid to the Leo L. Stanley scrapbooks and papers, 1849-1974 (bulk 1928-1965),
MS 2061
Finding aid prepared by California Historical Society staff.
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
© 2001
Title: Leo L. Stanley scrapbooks and papers
Date (bulk): 1928-1965
Date (inclusive): 1849-1974
Collection Identifier: MS 2061
Creator:
Stanley, Leo L. (Leo Leonidas), b. 1886
Extent:
27 boxes
(8 linear feet)
Repository:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105
415-357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection Materials are in English
Abstract: Comprises scrapbooks, correspondence, writings, publications, and other materials created or collected by Dr. Leo Leonidas
Stanley documenting his personal research and professional work as a prison doctor, ship's physician, and medical experimenter
(1913-1974). The scrapbooks contain Stanley's observations of conditions at prison hospitals and road camps in the United
States and abroad, as well as descriptions of his travels. Scrapbooks, autobiographical writings, and other materials document
the experimental testicular transplant surgeries Stanley performed during his tenure at San Quentin. The collection also contains
Stanley's correspondence with prisoners, including J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson; Watson's writings, including his novel
Tangled; and official reports and records Stanley collected or transcribed from San Quentin.
Restrictions on Access
Documents in the Leo L. Stanley scrapbooks and papers (MS 2061) containing personally identifiable health information are
restricted during the lifetime of the person in question. Individuals are presumed to be deceased 100 years after the date
of their birth or the date of record creation, whichever occurs first.
The following documents are sealed and closed until the date indicated:
1).
All Pacific Cruise: Australia (vol. VI), Box 5, page 284: Sealed and closed until 2029.
2).
All Pacific Cruise: New Zealand, Fiji, Pago Pago, Hawaii (vol. VII), Box 5, pages [330-334]: Sealed and closed until 2029.
3).
Korea: San Francisco, Honolulu, Wake Island, Tokyo, Seoul: Sealed and closed until 2020.
4).
Inspection Tour of Road Camps, Box 22, pages [12] and [19]: Sealed and closed until 2016. Page [13]: Sealed and closed until 2013.
Restricted documents have been separated and sealed in Box 27.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Director
of Library and Archives, North Baker Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. Restrictions
also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational
purposes.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Leo L. Stanley Papers, MS 2061, California Historical Society.
Related Collections
Leo Leonidas Stanley reminiscences, MS 3505 [concerning the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire].
Donor
The collection was given to the California Historical Society by Dr. Leo L. Stanley in 1974.
System of Arrangement
This collection is arranged into three series: 1) Travel scrapbooks, which contain daily descriptions of journeys in the United
States and abroad, with accompanying photographs and ephemera; 2) Prison scrapbooks and related material, which include materials
pertaining to San Quentin State Prison and prison road camp inspections in California; and 3) Personal papers, articles, and
writings, which contain several autobiographical manuscripts, newspaper articles and magazine clippings, correspondence, and
a manuscript written by Stanley's father, Dr. Hartwell B. Stanley.
Biographical Information
Leo Stanley was born in Oregon in 1886 and raised in San Luis Obispo County, California. After receiving his bachelor's degree
at Stanford University in 1903 and matriculating to Cooper Medical College in 1908, Stanley served his medical residency at
San Quentin State Prison. In 1913, Stanley accepted the position of Chief Medical Officer at the prison, a position he held
until his retirement in 1951. During his tenure at San Quentin, Stanley performed medical experiments on prisoners involving
testicular transplants, attracting national media attention (the "Buck" Kelly case). This notoriety would cling to him until
his death in 1976.
Throughout his life, Stanley traveled the world, working as a physician, studying prison hospitals, and observing conditions
at prison road camps. He penned a number of articles for San Francisco Bay Area newspapers and medical journals and published
several books, including
My Most Unforgettable Convicts. The final years of his life were spent writing and working on his farm ("Crest Farm") in Marin County, California, with
his second wife Bernice Holthouse.
Scope and Content
Collection materials document Stanley's personal research and professional work as a prison doctor, ship's physician, and
medical experimenter (1913-1974). The scrapbooks contain Stanley's observations of conditions at prison hospitals and road
camps in the United States and abroad, as well as descriptions of his travels. Much of the material contains personal and
professional anecdotes, and punctuated throughout the collection are a number of autobiographical works (
News Men I Have Known,
Three Ways To Win,
A Long and Happy One: Autobiography of Leo L. Stanley, and
Twenty Years at San Quentin). Significantly, this material includes disparate versions of the experimental testicular transplant surgeries Stanley performed
during his tenure at San Quentin. Also noteworthy is Stanley's correspondence with prisoners, including J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson
(1879-1939), who was incarcerated and ultimately died at San Quentin State Prison after he was convicted of the murder of
fifteen women. As executor of Watson's estate, Stanley retained a number of his writings, including poems, musings, and two
versions of Watson's novel
Tangled, which are included in the collection. The collection also contains a number of official reports and records Stanley collected
or transcribed from San Quentin, including a published register of convicts complete from 1851-1859 (
Register of State Prison at San Quentin 1889).
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog:
California State Prison at San Quentin--Officials and employees.
California State Prison at San Quentin.
Watson, J. P.
Convict labor--California.
Human experimentation in medicine--California.
Prison physicians.
Prisoners--California--San Quentin--Fiction.
Prisoners--Medical care.
Prisons.
Ship physicians.
Voyages and travels.
Voyages around the world.
Scrapbooks.
General Note
The following items were formerly cataloged as MS 1303:
Korea: San Francisco, Honolulu, Wake Island, Tokyo, Seoul, 1956; Reports of State Prison Directors on San Quentin, 1855-1912;
Register of State Prison at San Quentin 1889; Federal Executions at the California State Prison at San Quentin, 1895;
The Evolution of a State Prison, by James Wilkins; and
News Men I Have Known.
Series 1:
Travel scrapbooks
1911-1972 (bulk 1928-1956)
Scope and Contents
Scrapbooks contain daily accounts of each trip and include photographs, maps, travel brochures, news clippings, and other
printed matter from places visited. Stanley's observations of conditions at prisons and prison hospitals, and health conditions
aboard ships, are often intermingled with personal descriptions of his travels.
Box 1
Trident, Scalpel, and Probe: The Adventures of a Ship's Doctor (vol. I)
1928 October 4-1928 November 2
Scope and Contents
Stanley acted as the ship's doctor on the
S.S. City of Los Angeles voyage around South America. The scrapbook contains notes on the preparation for the trip and the first ports of call, including
Callao and Lima, Peru; Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile; the Straits of Magellan; Punta Arenas; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
News from San Quentin is also featured in this volume.
Box 2
Trident, Scalpel, and Probe: The Adventures of a Ship's Doctor (vol. II)
1928 November 3-1928 December 6
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay; Santos, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Port
of Spain, Trinidad; La Guayra and Caracas, Venezuela; the Panama Canal Zone; San Salvador; Guatemala; and Mazatlan, Mexico.
Significantly, the scrapbooks contain notes on visits to local prison hospitals.
Box 2
All Pacific Cruise: Japan (vol. I)
1929 January 14-1929 October 3
Scope and Contents
Stanley was the ship's doctor on the
S.S. Malolo's cruise around the Pacific. The beginning of the scrapbook describes preparations and departure. Travel itinerary includes
Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan.
Box 3
All Pacific Cruise: Japan (vol. II)
1929 October 4-1929 October 12
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Kobe, Nara, and Miyajima.
Box 3
All Pacific Cruise: China (vol. III)
1929 October 13-1929 October 22
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Chinwangtao, Peiping, the Great Wall, and Shanghaikun.
Box 4
All Pacific Cruise: Hong Kong, Manila, Saigon (vol. IV)
1929 October 23-1929 November 2
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Hong Kong, Kowloon, Canton, Manila, and Saigon. Stanley describes his visit to an "opium joint"
and a "house of ill fame" in Saigon.
Box 4
All Pacific Cruise: Siam, Singapore, Java (vol. V)
1929 November 3-1929 November 11
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Bangkok; Singapore; Jahore; Batavia and Buitenzorg, Java; and Tanjong Priok.
Box 5
All Pacific Cruise: Australia (vol. VI)
1911-1929 (bulk 1929 November 12-1929 November 27)
Restriction on Access
Page 284 is sealed and closed until 2029 in Box 27, folder 1.
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Rottnest Island, Fremantle, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, and Katoonmba. The volume contains observations
on local hospitals and prisons.
Box 5
All Pacific Cruise: New Zealand, Fiji, Pago Pago, Hawaii (vol. VII)
1929 November 28-1929 December 15
Conditions on Access
Pages [330-334] are sealed and closed until 2029 in Box 27, folder 2.
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Auckland; Suva, Fiji; Pago Pago, Samoa; and Honolulu and Hilo, Hawaii. Stanley discusses an outbreak
of venereal disease among the ship's crew.
Box 6
North Cape-Russia Cruise (vol. I)
1929-1971 February 28 (bulk 1931 June 26-1931 July 8)
Scope and Contents
Stanley was a passenger on a voyage bound for Russia. Travel itinerary includes a trip by train to New York and a stop in
Reykjavik, Iceland. This volume also contains a transcription of a letter and poem sent by San Quentin prisoner J.P. "Bluebeard"
Watson.
Box 7
North Cape-Russia Cruise (vol. II)
1931 July 9-1937 December 15 (bulk 1931 July 9-1931 July 18)
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes the Norwegian cities of Hammerfest, Lyngen, Trondhjem, and Bergan.
Box 8
North Cape-Russia Cruise (vol. III)
1931 July 19-1971 July 18 (bulk 1931 July 19-1931 August 1)
Scope and Contents
The volume primarily documents the abrupt end of the voyage. Aubrey "Lady Bob" Montgomery, fellow passenger and friend, died
while the ship was docked in Stockholm. Stanley remained behind to care for her affairs. Stanley returned with her body via
the
Suecia and
S.S. Mauritania to New York, then by train to San Francisco. Travel itinerary aboard the
Carinthia includes Oslo, Visby Gottland, and Stockholm.
Box 9
Alaska: The Trip as Related by Dr. Stanley (vol. I)
1899-1959 (bulk 1933 June 8-1933 June 11)
Scope and Contents
Stanley and two colleagues from San Quentin, prison dentist Doc Walsh and prison sheriff Fred "the Baron" Shur, vacationed
to Alaska and back. The trip begins on the coast of Northern California, continues through Oregon and Washington, and stops
in Canada for a voyage from Vancouver aboard the Canadian Pacific Steamer
Princess Norah bound for Alaska. Included is a March 1949 article authored by Stanley titled "Backward, Turn Backward" for the
Centaur of Alpha Kappa Kappa, with descriptions of Stanley's childhood in Northern California at the turn of the century.
Box 10
Alaska: The Trip as Related by Dr. Stanley (vol. II)
1933 June 11-1933 June 13
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary aboard the Canadian Pacific Steamer
Princess Norah includes Alert Bay and Prince Rupert, British Columbia; and Ketchikan and Juneau, Alaska.
Box 11
Alaska: The Trip as Related by Dr. Stanley (vol. III)
1933 June 14-1933 June 16
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Skagway, Alaska; Bennett, Carcross, and Tagish Lake, British Columbia; then to Juneau, Alaska, where
they begin the journey home. Stanley quotes extensively from Robert Service's
The Trail of '98 throughout this volume.
Box 12
Alaska: The Trip as Related by Dr. Stanley (vol. IV)
1933 June 17-1933 June 22
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Juneau, Alaska; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and San Rafael, California. The last fifty
pages are written by Fred Shur, who relates his account of the trip.
Box 13
Around the World via Siberia: Across America, San Francisco to New York on the Deportation Train-From New York on the President
Roosevelt Bound for Le Harve
(vol. I)
1934 April 20-1934 September 6 (bulk 1934 April 20-1934 May 8)
Scope and Contents
Stanley traveled from San Francisco to New York, serving as a doctor on a deportation train, completing the first stage on
a trip bound for the Soviet Union to study hospitals and prisons. Travel itinerary includes the journey to New York from San
Francisco and the first few days aboard the
S.S. President Roosevelt bound for Le Harve. Included are photographs and descriptions of a number of prisoners aboard the deportation train.
Box 13
Around the World Via Siberia: France: Paris and Versailles-Germany: Berlin and Potsdam (vol. II)
1934 May 9-1964 April (bulk 1934 May 9-1934 May 18)
Scope and Contents
Documents Stanley's trip from Paris to Berlin, where he boarded an airplane bound for Russia. A newspaper clipping and a passage
about Abel George Warshawsky is included in this volume, along with Stanley's reminiscences about meeting the artist in Paris.
Box 14
Around the World Via Siberia: Russia: Leningrad and Moscow (vol. III)
1933-1962 September 29 (bulk 1934 May 19-1934 May 24)
Scope and Contents
Includes arrival in Leningrad and a day trip to Moscow accompanied by a guide. Stanley visited hospitals in Leningrad, and
an experimental prison commune in Moscow. Included is an English language newspaper
Moscow Daily News, dated 1934 May 23, and various period guidebooks to the U.S.S.R.
Box 14
Around the World Via Siberia: Manchoukuo: Chinese Eastern Railway (vol. IV)
1934 May 31-1934 June 3
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes a trip along the Chinese Eastern Railway with stops in Tsitsihar, Anda, Harbin, Hsinking, Mukden,
and Shanhaikuan. Stanley visits a prison in Manchuli and a hospital in Mukden, and quotes extensively from the 1934
Guide to Manchoukuo. Also included are photographs and transcriptions from a journal describing his 1929 visit to the area.
Box 15
Around the World Via Siberia: China: Peiping and Shanghai (vol. V)
1934 June 4-1938 October 12 (bulk 1934 June 4-1934 June 8)
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Peiping, Tientsin, Nanking, and Shanghai, where Stanley boards the
M.S. Chichibu Maru. Photographs and descriptions of a prison in Peiping and a "red light district" are included.
Box 15
Around the World Via Siberia: Japan: Kobe and Yokohama; Hawaii: Honolulu (vol. VI)
1934-1966 (bulk 1934 June 9-1934 June 22
Scope and Contents
Stanley travels aboard the
M.S. Chichiba Maru with stops in Kobe, Kyoto, Yokohama, Pearl Harbor, and Oahu, Hawaii, ending in San Francisco. Stanley records his thoughts
on prostitution houses in Japan and discusses a recent rash of "suicide mania" in Oshima. While in Hawaii, Stanley presents
a paper regarding the care of prisoners convicted of "sexual perversions." The volume contains a newspaper clipping from the
Honolulu Star Bulletin dated 1934 June 22 about the speech, quoting Stanley's thoughts on the voluntary sterilization of prisoners. A folder of
mixed materials, including correspondence related to this part of the trip, is included with the volume.
Box 16
Mexico: Jaunts to Mexico and Back, Trip With Mother in 1932 (Vol. I)
1929-1972 November 22 (bulk 1932 October 4-1932 October 9)
Scope and Contents
Along with his mother, Stanley travels to Juarez, Mexico, with stops at Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas,
to attend the 30th annual meeting of the Pacific Association of Railway Surgeons. While in Juarez, Stanley visited a prison
and a house of prostitution. The volume includes Stanley's mother's account of the trip and Stanley's associate, Dr. George
Waldo Burgess', version. Copies of Stanley's articles "The Testicle" (published in 1932, concerning testicle transplants and
the experimental surgery performed on prisoners at San Quentin) and “Syphilis Among State Prisoners” (1929) are included.
Box 16
Mexico: Jaunts to Mexico and Back, Trip With Mother in 1932 (vol. II)
1932 October 10-1972 September 3 (bulk 1932 October 10-1932 October 15)
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Chihuahua, Jimenez, Escalon, Torreon, Toluca, and Mexico City. A visit to a prison in Toluca is
recorded, along with a trip to the National Palace where Stanley met President Abelardo Rodriguez.
Box 17
Mexico: Jaunts to Mexico and Back, Trip With Mother in 1932 (vol. III)
1932 October 11-1962 (bulk 1932 October 16-1932 October 19)
Scope and Contents
Stanley traveled from San Juan Teotihuacan to Guadalajara, then home to San Francisco with stops in Cholula, Tepic, Mazatlan,
and Nogalas, Mexico. Volume contains a visit to a prison in Guadalajara and a transcribed copy of a letter written by San
Quentin prisoner J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson.
Box 18
Mixing in Mexico, 1937 (vol. I)
1937 June-1937 October 11
Scope and Contents
Stanley travels to Guadalajara, Mexico, to attend the annual meeting of the Pacific Association of Railway Surgeons. The volume
describes the train trip to Guadalajara. The later part of the volume primarily contains the case history of San Quentin prisoner
Jose Alonzo, who worked as an assistant to Dr. Stanley while incarcerated. Paroled to Mexico in 1932, Alonzo and Stanley exchanged
a number of letters. Included is their correspondence and a description of a pack trip to Chapala and the countryside taken
together.
Box 18
Mixing in Mexico, 1937 (vol. II)
1937 October 11-1954 (bulk 1937 October 11-1937 October 19)
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes the second half of the pack trip to the Mexican countryside, then to San Luis Soyatlan, Tuscueca,
Chapala, Mescala, back to Guadalajara, and a train trip bound for San Francisco.
Box 19
Viva Mexico: Trip to Mexico City by Judge Edward I Butler, Mr. Basil H. Holthouse, Mr. Tillius Cordone, and Dr. Leo L. Stanley
1955 January-1972 (bulk 1955 January)
Scope and Contents
Stanley, along with friends Judge Edward I. Butler, Basil H. Holthouse, and Tillius Cordone, traveled by car and plane to
Juarez, Mexico. This scrapbook contains their accounts, which include the drive to El Paso, Texas; flight to Mexico City;
Jaurez; tour of the countryside; and the return drive home. Correspondence between Stanley and former San Quentin inmate Jose
Guadalupe Rosas Alvarez, whom Stanley visited during the trip, is included.
Box 27, Folder 3
Korea: San Francisco, Honolulu, Wake Island, Tokyo, Seoul
1956 February 8-1956 February 29
Scope and Contents
Stanley acted as a medical attendant for the U.S. Immigration Department on a deportation trip involving a Korean college
student deported to Seoul. Stanley describes the trip from San Francisco to Korea, with a brief stop in Hawaii and longer
layover in Tokyo. The majority of the trip was spent in Seoul, though Stanley arranged a visit with friends in Japan and a
tour of the medical school at the University of Tokyo on the return trip home. Stanley observes the devastation of war in
both Korea and in Japan. Travel ephemera, Japanese and Korean English language newspaper clippings, and photographs are included.
Restriction on Access
Volume sealed and closed until 2020 in Box 27, folder 3.
Box 20
Railroad Surgeons Meet in Mexico
1964-1966 (bulk 1965 October-1965 November)
Scope and Contents
Stanley traveled by train to Mexico City to attend the annual meeting of the Pacific Association of Railway Surgeons. The
scrapbook contains descriptions of the trip, though most of the narration in the volume concerns former San Quentin inmate
Jose Guadalupe Rosas Alvarez, then serving time in a prison in Mexico City following a conviction of rape and murder. The
volume includes lengthy correspondence between Stanley and Alvarez, in which Stanley urges Alvarez to write an autobiography
and Alvarez discusses his criminal history. The volume also documents Stanley's visit to see Alvarez while in Mexico City
to attend the conference.
Series 2:
Prison scrapbooks and related material
1851-1968
Scope and Contents
Prison scrapbooks and related materials include accounts of trips taken by Stanley to United States prisons and road camps;
correspondence and writings of San Quentin inmate J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson; official San Quentin State Prison records and reports
collected or transcribed by Stanley; and San Quentin ephemera.
Box 21
Reports of State Prison Directors on San Quentin
1855-1912
Scope and Contents
Typed and bound copy of reports from the Office of the Board of State Prison Inspectors on prison conditions at San Quentin.
Box 21, Folder 1
Reports of the Committee on State Prisons
1857-1938 February 2 (bulk 1857-1871)
Scope and Contents
Typed copies of San Quentin reports from 1857-1871, including testimonies from state superintendents and prison committee
members describing prison conditions. The reports also contain statistics, property inventories, and expenditures.
Box 21
Register of State Prison at San Quentin
1889
Scope and Contents
Bound volume containing lists of convicts on the Register of State Prison at San Quentin, published by the State Office at
Sacramento in 1889. Alphabetically arranged and complete from 1851 to 1859, with date of arrival, name, crime, term, date
of discharge, and occasional remarks.
Box 22, Folder 1
Federal Executions at the California State Prison at San Quentin
1895 October 18
Scope and Contents
Typed copy with excerpts of testimony from report detailing the executions of Hans Hansen, Herman Sparf, and Thomas C. St.
Clair.
Box 22, Folder 2
The Evolution of a State Prison: Historical Narrative of the Ten Years from 1851 to 1861, During the Period When the Care
and Employment of Convicts Was Turned Over to the Lessess
, by James Wilkins
1918
Scope and Contents
Typed copy of a narrative originally printed in
The Bulletin, a San Francisco newspaper, extending from 1918 June 13 through 1918 July 10, detailing the history of San Quentin State
Prison from its inception to 1861, including state legislative reports, county records, correspondence and interviews from
state officials, and testimonies from court proceedings.
Box 22
Prison Camps of Northern California
1929-1960 March (bulk 1929)
Scope and Contents
San Quentin Warden James B. Holohan, Superintendent of Prison Road Camps Uriah A. Smith, and Stanley formed a self-appointed
committee to inspect the prison camps of Northern California. Stanley notes the conditions of Lake County prison camp, in
Lower Lake; Schilling prison camp in Redding; Payne's Creek prison camp in Red Bluff; Paxton prison camp in Feather River;
and Oroville prison camp in Quincy, California. Significantly, Stanley describes a "hushed up" incident involving a camp sergeant
and camp nurse accused of acquiring bootleg, visiting prostitutes, and mistreating prisoners.
Box 22
Twenty Years at San Quentin
1933-1960 (bulk 1933)
Scope and Contents
Stanley recounts his first twenty years at San Quentin (1913-1933) and medical procedures performed, such as spinal anesthesia.
The scrapbook also describes the history of San Quentin. Significantly, Stanley notes the changes in prison population correlating
with World War I, anecdotes concerning escapees, and various construction projects seen during his tenure. Photographs of
San Quentin documenting changes at the prison are included.
This volume includes the following articles by Stanley: "Tuberculosis in San Quentin," reprinted from
California and Western Medicine, vol. 40 (6), December 1938, and vol. 50 (1), January 1939; "Spinal anesthesia," reprinted from
California and Western Medicine, vol. 52 (1), January 1940; and "Health reactions of San Quentin inmates to the treatment of periodontitis and gingivitis,"
reprinted from
The Journal of the American Dental Association and the Dental Cosmos, vol. 24, May 1937.
Box 23
Inspection Tour of Road Camps
1937 May 14-1968 December (bulk 1937 May 14-1937 May 28)
Restriction on Access
Pages [12] and [19] are sealed and closed until 2016 in Box 27, folder 4. Page [13] is sealed and closed until 2013 in Box
27, folder 4.
Scope and Contents
Stanley and the Warden of San Quentin, Court Smith, drove from San Quentin to Southern California and then to Northern California
to inspect the prison road camps and the inmates tasked with constructing the California highway system. Stanley also attended
the annual Northwestern Pacific Railroad Surgeon's meeting in Eureka. The prison road camps described include Number 26 in
Anderson Canyon; an unnamed camp near Mt. Wilson in Southern California; Camp 30 in Oroville; Feather River Highway; and Trinity
road camp. Photographs, maps, and highway travel brochures are included.
Box 23
Prison Camp Revolt
1939 March 14-1962 January 29 (bulk 1939 March 14-1939 March 17)
Scope and Contents
The scrapbook documents a trip taken with San Quentin Warden, Court Smith and George A. Tilton, Superintendent of Road Construction
for the California State Highway Commission, to Camp 34 in Escondido, San Diego County, in order to inspect a report that
the road camp prisoners had gone on a "semi-hunger strike." Stanley documents the trip in a daily journal. Photographs and
descriptions of work conditions are included, as are detailed histories of the five prisoners accused of inciting the hunger
strike. The latter half of the scrapbook documents a road trip Stanley and his companions take to Mission San Luis Rey and
a visit with friends in Los Angeles.
Box 24
We Visit Some Pens
1948 June 19-1948 July 9
Scope and Contents
The scrapbook documents a 26-day trip taken with Dr. David Akers, a physician at San Quentin, Stanley's stepson, David Campbell,
and Campbell's friends, two nurses from Minnesota, who travel by car to visit penitentiaries and study their medical programs.
Itinerary and prisons visited include: Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise, Idaho; Yellowstone National Park; South Dakota Penitentiary
in Sioux Falls; Detroit, Michigan; State Prison of Southern Michigan in Jackson; Indiana State Prison in Michigan City; Joliet
Sate Prison in Chicago, Illinois; Federal Penitentiary in Terra Haute, Indiana; Sullivan, Indiana; Medical Center for Federal
Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri; Colorado State Prison in Canon City; and Utah State Penitentiary in Salt Lake City. The
scrapbook also contains a Stanley family history compiled by Ruth Sullivan, and photographs and ephemera from penitentiaries
visited.
Box 24
Poems, correspondence, and miscellaneous writings of and about J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson
1929-1938
Scope and Contents
Contains a typed and bound collection of poems by Watson titled
Writings of JP Bluebeard Watson Vol. I (1930-1938). Some poems include introductory text by Watson and all are followed by a signature. A folder containing typed
correspondence written to Stanley by Watson is included. The letters (1929-1930) describe the relationship between the Stanley
and Watson, and concern Watson's plans to speak to reporters and publish his novel. The folder also contains a copy of E.B.
Hoag's & E.H. Williams' 1921 article "The Case of J.P. Watson, the Modern Bluebeard" from the
Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 12 (3).
Box 25
Tangled, by J.P. Watson
1930
Scope and Contents
A bound and typed draft of J.P Watson's unpublished novel
Tangled given to Stanley while Watson was under his care. The novel, a love story, is centered around several characters and involves
a foiled plot to either murder or marry for money.
Box 25
Tangled: a Revised Copy, by J.P. Watson
1913-1932 (bulk 1932)
Scope and Contents
A bound and typed draft of J.P Watson's unpublished revision of his novel
Tangled. Also includes two undated photographs of Watson (a portrait and a photograph with two unknown men) and a picture of San
Quentin's garden (1913). The forward contains a letter to Stanley asking him to destroy the earlier version.
Box 25
San Quentin ephemera
1909, undated
Scope and Contents
Folder contains two San Quentin souvenir poetry booklets,
A Song of Freedom (1909) and
Forget Me Not (undated). Phil Thatcher's undated religious tract,
San Quentin Alumnus, published by the Shepherd Foundation in Lynwood, California, is also included.
Series 3:
Personal papers, articles, and writings
1849 - 1970
Scope and Contents
Contains family manuscripts, newspaper clippings and articles authored by and about Stanley, travel brochures and ephemera,
correspondence, and autobiographical writings.
Box 26, Folder 1
Diary of a California Pioneer: typescript
1849?
Box 26, Folders 2-3
The Lost Ledge, written by Dr. Hartwell B. Stanley (handwritten manuscript)
1897-1946 (bulk 1897)
Scope and Contents
Handwritten family history written by Leo Stanley's father, Dr. Hartwell B. Stanley. Includes a note written by Stanley describing
the gift of the manuscript from his mother on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
Box 26, Folder 4
The Lost Ledge, by Dr. Hartwell B. Stanley (typed and bound copy)
1897-1972 (bulk 1897)
Scope and Contents
Typed and bound copy of Dr. Hartwell B. Stanley's manuscript "The Lost Ledge" (1897). Includes loose newspaper clippings (1972,
undated) and a preface written by Leo Stanley (1946).
Box 26, Folder 6
Articles and newspaper clippings
1931-1971
Scope and Contents
Contains articles written by and about Stanley, mostly concerning his medical career.
Box 26, Folder 7
Correspondence
1932-1965
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence to Stanley from friends, mostly pertaining to his scrapbook collection or to his publications.
Box 26, Folder 8
Three Ways To Win
1952-1974 (bulk 1952)
Scope and Contents
As a member of the press, Stanley reported on a pioneer military air landing exercise in Hawthorn, Nevada. Contains a narrative
of the event, a letter to press correspondents attending, accompanying photographs, and a press booklet.
Box 26, Folder 9
News Men I Have Known
after 1967
Scope and Contents
Typed autobiographical manuscript documenting Stanley's overlapping careers as an occasional reporter for San Francisco Bay
Area newspapers and doctor at San Quentin, including newspaper clippings of some of his work. Notably, Stanley recounts the
testicular implantation experiments and the attention of the press that followed, including a variant version of the "Buck"
Kelly case.
Box 26, Folders 10-11
A Long and Happy One: Autobiography of Leo L. Stanley
1968
Scope and Contents
Autobiography of Stanley documenting his early childhood to his retirement. Includes notes about experimental testicular implantation
surgeries performed on prisoners in San Quentin and sterilization procedures, including the "Buck" Kelly case.
Box 26, Folder 12
Portrait
1970
Scope and Contents
Brief autobiographical portrait written by Leo Stanley.
