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Wally G. Shidler collection of Southern California ephemera

 Collection
Identifier: 7089

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Scope and Contents

The Wally G. Shidler collection of Southern California ephemera consists of pamphlets, maps, postcards, theater programs, city directories, electric railway time tables, and transit passes from the Los Angeles City, County, and adjacent areas. Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway materials as well as theater programs from most of the major theaters in the Los Angeles area comprise a significant portion of the collection. The Shidler collection contains most of the Huntington Park and Walnut Park City Directory's beginning in 1914. Also included are all of the Huntington Park Union High School (1911-1932) and Huntington Park High School (1932-1959) El Recuerdo yearbooks as well as a large quantity of the school newspapers, The Bulletin and Spartan Shield. Lastly, the collection contains a small collection of postcards organized alphabetically by geographical location or by theme.

Dates

  • Creation: 1900 - 2005

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biographical / Historical

Wally G. Shidler has been amassing his collection of Southern California ephemera through years of foraging at swap meets, trade shows, and used book stores since he was a teenager. Shidler is a third generation Angeleno and his interest in history was piqued by his grandmother, who used to take him downtown to revel on the historic buildings that lined the streets. Wally’s long-time commitment to government and local groups is another testament to his dedication to the development and preservation of history. Shidler spent most of his working life as a motion picture engineer residing in Los Angeles' Walnut Park neighborhood.

Adapted from "L.A. as Subject Honors Wally Shidler" and "On Paper, He's Quite the Collector" (see External Documents links).

Extent

44.63 Linear Feet (43 boxes and 1 oversize folder)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Wally G. Shidler collection of Southern California ephemera consists of pamphlets, maps, postcards, theater programs, city directories, electric railway time tables, and transit passes from the Los Angeles City, County, and adjacent areas collected by former motion picture engineer, Wally G. Shidler. Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway materials as well as theater programs from most of the major theaters in the Los Angeles area comprise a significant portion of the collection.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Wally G. Shidler, April 5, 2019.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital surrogates of many of the Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway transit passes from the collection and the book, As We See 'Em, a Volume of Cartoons and Caricatures of Los Angeles Citizens by Antony E. Anderson can be accessed via the USC Digital Library (see link under "Digital Material").

Related Materials

David Boulé interview with Wally G. Shidler, Collection no. 7120, Regional History Collection, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Processing Information

The collection is unprocessed.

Title
Finding aid for the Wally G. Shidler collection of Southern California ephemera
Status
Unprocessed
Author
Bo Doub
Date
2019 April
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Revision Statements

  • 2021 August: Finding aid updated by Bo Doub: added description for material accessioned separately (housed in box nos. 35-44)

Repository Details

Part of the USC Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0189 United States