Anton Wagner photographs of Los Angeles, 1932-33, 1932-1933

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Los Angeles: 1932-33

Summary

Abstract:
Consists of photographs of urban, suburban, rural and waterfront areas of Los Angeles County. Many photographs show neighborhood streets and houses, including ethnic enclaves and communities.
Extent:
2.5 Linear Feet (3 portfolios in 3 flat boxes)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item, date], Anton Wagner photographs of Los Angeles: 1932-33 (PC 0017 CHS). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Consists of photographs of urban, suburban, rural and waterfront areas of Los Angeles County. Many photographs show neighborhood streets and houses, including ethnic enclaves and communities of Mexican Americans, Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, African Americans, Russian Americans, Irish Americans, Jewish Americans, and Slavonian Americans. Includes images of businesses, buildings, oil rigs in populated areas, hydraulic structures, railyards, industrial and construction sites, and agricultural land. A small portion contain people. Includes six photographs of damaged buildings in Compton and Long Beach from the Long Beach earthquake of 1933, three photographs of maps of Los Angeles, and a section of map showing the southwest of downtown portion of the city.

Biographical / historical:

Anton Wagner (also known as G. A. Wagner) was a PhD candidate at the University of Kiel when he made these photographs to document his dissertation, Los Angeles: Werden, Leben und Gestalt der Zweimillionstadt in Südkalifornien..., published in 1935. His thesis suggests that the topography of Los Angeles produces the character of the city's inhabitants. After World War II, Wagner settled in Montreal and worked as a commercial journalist and trade marketing consultant.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Anton Wagner, 1986. Transferred to Stanford University Libraries in 2025.
Processing information:

Processed by Wendy Welker, 2015

Arrangement:

Wagner created a list of these photographs identified by date spans and accompanying letters. The finding aid container list for this collection follows this order, with the photographs arranged in three portfolios. Includes one unnumbered photograph of 4th St. in Santa Monica dated 1926 (nonum01). Supplied titles were created using Wagner's typed descriptions of each photograph, which sometimes included outdated and harmful terms.

Physical description:
3 portfolios (438 photographic prints, one map, and typescript list of photos): gelatin silver prints; images 9 x 12 cm., mounts 27 x 19 cm. Contains several panoramic images comprised of multiple 9 x 12 cm. prints.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.

Terms of access:

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Anton Wagner were transferred to the California Historical Society on May 05, 1987 by Anton Wagner. Copyright has been transferred to Stanford University Libraries, 2025. Permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item, date], Anton Wagner photographs of Los Angeles: 1932-33 (PC 0017 CHS). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Location of this collection:
Department of Special Collections, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US
Contact:
(650) 725-1022
chscollection@stanford.edu
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