Archives and Manuscript Collections :: SFPL :: San Francisco Public Library Mobile

Alcatraz Island Indian Occupation, 1964-1971 (bulk 1969-1971), SFH 11: Correspondence, minutes, legal files, promotional materials, publications, petitions, and a few objects and photographs documenting the activities of Indians of All Tribes, its governing council, and individuals involved in the occupation of Alcatraz from Nov. 1969 - June 1971.
Baldwin & Howell Records, 1891-1974 (bulk 1891-1940), SFH 17: Office and project files, photographs, and maps of a real estate firm that was instrumental in the residential development of Westwood Park, Forest Hill, Presidio Terrace, Balboa Park, the Richmond, Sunset, West Portal, and St. Francis Wood in San Francisco, as well as parts of the Peninsula and Northern California.
Thomas J. Cahill Papers, 1936-2002 (bulk 1954-1995), SFH 15: Police records, scheduling diaries, speeches, conference and event materials, awards, clippings, publications, photographs, and audio recordings of former San Francisco Police Chief Cahill.
City Guard, Company B, First Regiment of Infantry, Second Brigade, National Guard of California Records, 1854-1915, SFH 56: Minute books, membership rolls, account books, correspondence, printed material, and ephemera for this state militia unit.
Marjorie Colvin San Francisco Bay Area Antiwar Papers, 1965-1971, SFH 47: A small collection of newsletters, fliers, magazines, correspondence, ephemera, and snapshot photographs documenting the anti-Vietnam War movement in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Doris Cook Federal Theatre at Golden Gate International Exposition Collection, 1937-1940 (bulk 1939), SFH 44: Papers from Cook's tenure with the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Theatre on Treasure Island, where she served as Assistant Director of Information from Jan. 20-July 14, 1939.
Edgewood Records, 1851-1958, SFH 29: Administrative, financial, and children's records and photographs from the first children's services agency in San Francisco, founded as the San Francisco Orphan Asylum in 1851.
Eureka Valley Promotion Association Records, 1926-2008, SFH 51: Administrative records, clippings, newsletters, and other materials of the neighborhood association founded in 1881 to advocate for what is usually referred to today as the Castro district.
Family Service Agency of San Francisco Records, 1869-2004, SFH 50: Admission and discharge ledgers for babies and children, minutes, miscellaneous correspondence and administrative records, program publications and ephemera, scrapbooks, building plans, and a small amount of photographs documenting the activities of the Family Service Agency of San Francisco from before its inception as Associated Charities in 1889 through its current role as a multiservice nonprofit agency.
Halsted N. Gray-Carew & English Funeral Home Records, 1835-1931 (bulk 1850-1921), SFH 38: Funeral records, daybooks, and death and burial registers of seven funeral homes, mortuaries, and undertaking firms, mostly based in San Francisco, acquired over time by the present-day firm of Halsted N. Gray Carew & English.
Helen Holdredge Collection, SFH 36: Author Holdredge's research notes on Lillie Coit, Lola Montez, Mary Ellen Pleasant. Collection also contains author's "unused research" files on restaurants, businesses, and people.
Hippies Collection, SFH 60: Posters, periodicals, ephemera, and other original materials from the late 1960s.
Italian American Collection: A large selection of books, periodicals, photographs and other materials pertaining to Italian immigrants and their descendants in San Francisco.
Friedel Klussmann San Francisco Beautiful Records, 1955-1992, SFH 65: Minutes, correspondence, scrapbooks, clippings, and records related to events and the administration of Friedel Klussmann’s organization, San Francisco Beautiful, and her campaigns to save San Francisco cable cars.
Luther Burbank Middle School Records, 1955-2002, SFH 20: Student publications, scrapbooks, and photographs of this public school founded to serve families residing in the Crocker-Amazon and Visitacion Valley districts of San Francisco .
Milton Marks AIDS Files, 1983-1992, SFH 42: Milton Marks' files on the AIDS epidemic, accumulated during his tenure as California State Senator from San Francisco.
Mayoral Papers: James D. Phelan (SF MSS Box 10), James Rolph, Jr. (SFH 19), Elmer E. Robinson (SFH 6), George Christopher (SFH 7), John F. Shelley (SFH 10), Joseph L. Alioto (SFH 5), and Art Agnos (SFH 46).
John McLaren Collection 1866-1965, SFH 22: Day Books, correspondence, news clippings, photographs and other materials documenting McLaren's work at the Howard estate in San Mateo, and as Superintendent of Parks in San Francisco, 1887-1943.
Mrs. Joseph (Elizabeth) Morcombe San Francisco, Second District, California Congress of Parents and Teachers (PTA) Records, 1895-1937, SFH 14: Publicity scrapbooks, correspondence, minutes, and official PTA history from 1895 to 1937.
Jack Morrison Papers, 1962-1988 (bulk 1966-1969), SFH 24: Memoranda, notes, reports, resolutions, correspondence, and newspaper clippings documenting the San Francisco Supervisor's work on land use and waterfront development, and post-Supervisorial work on charter reform.
People vs. Owen Bathhouse Closure Litigation Records, 1984-1987, SFH 31: Court documents and other records related to the case People of the State of California, ex rel. George Agnost, et al. vs. Ima Jean Owen, et al. (Superior Court No. 830-321) filed Oct. 10, 1984 by San Francisco City Attorney George Agnost and Director of Public Health Mervyn Silverman, in an effort to close fourteen bathhouses, sex clubs, bookstores, and adult movie theaters by claiming them to be a public nuisance, in response to the burgeoning AIDS epidemic.
Paul Radin Papers, 1933-2000 (bulk 1934-1935), SFH 23: Survey files of ethnic groups in the San Francisco Bay Area, compiled for a State Emergency Relief Administration of California project conducted in 1934-1935 that was supervised by anthropologist Paul Radin.
Regional Service Committee Records, 1938-1978 (bulk 1939-1950), SFH 54: Administrative files, correspondence, reports, agendas, publications, promotional materials, clippings, scrapbooks, and photographs of the committee created in 1939 to improve San Francisco’s cooperation, business relations and public image with its surrounding counties in Northern and Central California.
Royal Indemnity Records, 1892-1987 (bulk 1901-1911), SFH 16: Internal documents, publications, a scrapbook, and photographs documenting the insurance industry's response to the disaster.
San Francisco Architectural Club Records, 1900-1987 (bulk 1913-1961), SFH 8: Minutes, correspondence, membership and financial records, curricular materials, ephemera, publications, and scrapbooks of an educational and social club for aspiring architects; together with notebooks, photographic and diazo prints, drawings, and watercolors of architect and SFAC member Edward L. Frick.
San Francisco Charter Commission Records, 1931-1980 (bulk 1979-1980), SFH 25: Charter history, drafts and final text, reports, public comments, and campaign materials for Proposition A (which failed on the Nov. 4, 1980 ballot).
San Francisco Department of Public Health AIDS Office Records, 1982-1994, SFH 4 (PDF 26.4M): Records documenting the formation and activity of the AIDS Office, including files of the Director of Public Health prior to the AIDS Office's creation in 1985, followed by successive Directors of the AIDS Office itself, records from each of the five branches of the AIDS Office, and records documenting the contracts process with community-based organizations.
San Francisco General Hospital AIDS Ward 5B/5A Archives, 1983-2003, SFH 12: Scrapbooks, communication books, head nurses' files, correspondence, videotapes, publications, and memorabilia collected by the nursing staff of AIDS Ward 5B/5A at San Francisco General Hospital, the first dedicated AIDS hospital in the US.
San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's Records, 1902-1956 (bulk 1906-1956, SFH 30: Death and autopsy reports of individuals who died in San Francisco, whose deaths legally required investigation by the Coroner's Office, today replaced by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
San Francisco Office of the Controller Unemployment Relief Program Minutes and Reports, 1932-1938, SFH 67: City documents received and/or issued by the San Francisco Office of the Controller as fiscal accountant for unemployment relief services during the Great Depression.
San Francisco Select Committee on Charter Reform Records, 1978-1996 (bulk 1994-1995), SFH 32: Charter history, drafts and final text, reports, surveys, minutes, public comments, campaign materials, and newspaper clippings of committee work leading up to the passage of Proposition E (on the Nov. 7, 1995 ballot).
San Francisco Unified School District Records, 1854-2005 (bulk 1874-1978), SFH 3: Administrative circulars, photographs, scrapbooks, curriculum titles, pamphlets, newsletters, reports, district directories, handbooks, budget documents, salary surveys, and newspaper clippings documenting the School District's history.
Scrapbooks: Albums containing pictures, newsclippings, and other ephemera. Subjects range from individuals, clubs, buildings, cable cars, and the Panama Pacific International Exposition.
Second District of the California State PTA (San Francisco PTA) Records, 1907-2006, SFH 21: Minutes, directories, reports, periodicals, pamphlets, and scrapbooks document the organization's objectives, procedures, activities, history, and publicity.
Sequoia Club Records, 1906-1983 (bulk 1924-1969), SFH 58: Minutes, guest books, a scrapbook, and other materials documenting a co-ed San Francisco social club established in 1892 by wives of Bohemian Club members.
Small Manuscripts (PDF 137K): The History Center's Small Manuscript Collection consists of personal papers, business records, and documents. Earliest documents include a letter from Thomas Larkin in Monterey to William Davis, 1845, with reference to the possibility of war with Mexico.
Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of San Francisco Refugee Shacks, 1983-2005 (bulk 1983-1999), SFH 9: This series comprises Jane Cryan's research on San Francisco earthquake refugee shacks and their history.
Square and Circle Club Records, 1924-2003 (bulk 1954-1999), SFH 13: Official records of San Francisco's oldest -- and still active -- Chinese-American women's service organization.
St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. Collection, 1957-2010, SFH 62: Records and publications distributed to shareholders of the moderate-income housing development that was completed in 1963 as part of San Francisco's Western Addition Redevelopment A-1 Program.
State Compensation Insurance Fund of California Time Capsule for April 25, 1960, SFH 53: Documents commemorating the dedication of a new building for the largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance in California.
Adolph Sutro Collection, 1873-1906, SFH 57: Bills, payrolls, receipts, cancelled checks, and other records for numerous Sutro enterprises and properties, including the Sutro Baths.
Travelers Aid Society of San Francisco Records, 1914-2004 (bulk 1940-1989), SFH 18: Minutes, reports, correspondence, scrapbooks, and other files of the oldest non-sectarian social welfare organization on the US, founded to protect stranded people, especially women and children, from abuse or victimization upon arrival in the city.