Von Blon (John L.) Photograph Collection
Content Description
Three hundred thirty four (334) scenic black and white photographs, primarily of the Western United States, but includes some images of a Mexican railroad under construction, mining, and possibly Argentina. Three (3) typewritten manuscripts accompany Von Blon's photographs of Death Valley Junction (1922), a water lily garden in Bishop, California, and marble top picnic tables at Texas Springs Campground in Death Valley.
Dates
- 1920 - 1940
Creator
- Von Blon, John L. (John Litchfield), 1871-1957 (Photographer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head Archivist of the Gledhill Library.
Biographical / Historical
John Litchfield Von Blon (1871-1957) was born in Ohio and later moved to California where he was city editor for the Los Angeles Times and publicity editor for the Automobile Club of Southern California's Touring Topics/Westways magazine from 1929-1934. Von Blon was also published in Scientific American. He and his wife Henriette spent time on the Van Dyke Ranch near Barstow in early 1950s and then retired to Santa Barbara's Riviera in 1954.
Extent
334 Photographic Prints
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The John L. Von Blon Photograph Collection contains photographs of western landscapes, automobiles, buildings, construction of a Mexican railroad, Santa Barbara, California, and portraits. The black and white photos were taken primarily by John L. Von Blon.
Arrangement
The John L. Von Blon Photograph Collection is arranged in six files:
1) People
2) Landscapes
3) Automobiles and Structures
4) Railroad Construction and Mining
5) Santa Barbara, 1922-1923
6) Postcards
Condition Description
Very good
Processing Information
The John L. Von Blon Photograph Collection was processed by Chris S. Ervin and Kerri Phillip in April 2022.
- Adobe brick
- Amargosa Opera House (Death Valley Junction, Calif.)
- Argentina
- Bishop (Calif.)
- Bishop Creek (Inyo County, Calif.)
- Bridges -- Design and construction
- Carson and Colorado Railroad
- Cattle herders
- Charcoal kilns
- Coachella Valley (Calif.)
- Dams
- Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.)
- Death Valley Junction (Calif.)
- Devils Postpile National Monument (Calif.)
- Gold mines and mining
- Long Valley (Mono County, Calif.)
- Los Angeles County Fair (Los Angeles County, Calif.)
- Mammoth Lakes (Calif.)
- Maps
- Mexico
- Mojave Desert
- Mono Lake (Calif.)
- National Park-to-Park Highway
- Owens Lake (Inyo County, Calif.)
- Owens River Gorge (Calif.)
- Owens Valley (Calif.)
- Pacific Coast Highway (Calif.-Wash.)
- Railroads
- Rhyolite (Nev.)
- San Gabriel River Valley (Calif.)
- Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
- Scott, Walter E., 1872-1954
- Scotty's Castle (Calif.)
- Sunset Highway (Wash.)
- Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center (Calif.)
- Traffic congestion
- Twenty-mule teams
Creator
- Von Blon, John L. (John Litchfield), 1871-1957 (Photographer, Person)
- Edgerton, Glenn (Photographer, Person)
- Packwood, Dave (Photographer, Person)
Source
- Automobile Club of Southern California (Organization)
- Von Blon, Henriette B. (Henriette Boeckmann), 1891-1961 (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Guide to the John L. Von Blon Photograph Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Chris S. Ervin CA, Kerri Phillip
- Date
- 2022-04-12
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Edition statement
- First edition
Repository Details
Part of the Gledhill Library Repository