Picture This

Artifiacts in this featured collection are part of the OMCA's Picture This website. More about the context and history of each of these artifacts is available at Picture This

About Picture This: California's Perspectives on American History is a resource for teachers and students to learn about the experiences of diverse peoples of California by using primary source images from the Oakland Museum of California's collections. Organized into eleven time periods spanning from pre-1769 to the present, more than 300 photographs, drawings, posters, and prints tell stories from the perspectives of different ethnic groups. Historical contexts are provided to offer a framework of California's role in relation to American history.

The National Archives state that primary sources, "fascinate students because they are real and they are personal: history is humanized through them." Picture This invites students to examine the historical record, encouraging them to connect history with real people and explore how images tell stories and convey historical evidence about the human experience. History becomes more than just a series of facts, dates, and events.

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1912-1915

Photograph. Description: Title: Planks to presented by the National League of Woman Voters. Eight women sitting and standing around a board with the above title with six points that they want to...

ca. 1920-30

Color transparency. Description: Color transparency, mounted between sheets of glass; shows Mission San Antonio; edged with black tape. Condition good. Dimensions: 30" x 20". Remarks: This is...

Postcard; Mission Santa Clara de Asis, California - 1777; (on back)This picture shows the Mission Santa Clara and scenes of the daily life of its inhabitants in the early years soon after it had...

Flag. Description: Huelga Flag. No pole. "Huelga. UFW AFL-CIO." From the History Information Station: Object: Red "Huelga" banner with white medallion in center. History:...

"From stereograph copyright 1905, by Underwood & Underwood, N.Y.; Two great workers of higher citizenship, President Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington in the reviewing stand at Tuskegee...

1906

picture postcards. Description: Bay Area scenes:

a. SF Skyscrapers overlooking bay towards Oakland, Berkeley.

b. Noyo Beach tourist camp, Fort Bragg, California.

c. Shrine...

c. 1900

Photograph of Cliff House. Description: photo affixed to cardboard mounting. Description of occasion printed on reverse. Made at night.

Cliff House, San Francisco. A Japanese boy,...

1967

Campaign pins. Description: Campaign pins (15) for:

Sedgwick. Shows hydrolic mine in operation. Across the Continent. 4. Central Pacific, Sierra Nevadas and Calif. Hydrolic mining - In wood file cabinet. In this next section, I have grouped the...

"Modoc braves on warpath" Indian aiming rifle, hat, on rock for decoy. Across the Continent. Indians. In this next section, I have grouped the slides, photographer unknown, according to Sedgwick's...

ca. 1720

Print. Description: Landing of Captain Rogers, London, ca. 1720.

2786

1850; 1939

S.F. in 1850 (Niantic Hotel) print made in 1939

1860's

11 x 14 photo of R. R. construction 1860's. Thousands of Chinese were imported to help build the first railroad over the Sierra, for American labor was more interested in digging for gold....

1890's

Photographs. Description: Photograph - Chinese Vegetable Vendor - Door to Door. Merchant pictured with bar across shoulders, basket at each end of bar. notation on back of photo. "Chinese...

Ballots, votes for Mrs. M. L. Stow. Sent to Mrs. Stow and Belva Lockwood from all parts of the United States. There are:

128 pale blue ballots, Equal Rights Ticket, with pictures and names...

1883-1884

Ballot box, painted wood. Designed by a friend of the cause. Mrs. Stow, Oakland President, Founder of the Birdie Bell Kindergarten; Author of "Probate Confiscation" and other works. The first and...

c. 1885

Photographs, Indian life; negative also (D. Curry, 1/9/2003) Handwritten on the back of the image, "Daggett Collction, Klamath woman with conical burden basket." The photo is a sepia...

1947

Handwritten on the back in pencil, "1947, Herman Charles 1B, Foy Scott, 2B, Johnny Allen, 3B, Pete Alexander Colthirst." Photograph shows four Oakland Larks baseball players posing together in...

c. 1947

Photograph shows the San Francisco Sea Lions baseball team- 17 players total. They are standing in a row, side-by-side, wearing their uniforms and mitts.

c. 1915

Father Grace [Daddy Grace] religious leader in Oakland performing a baptism at the waterfront in front of WWI barracks. The exact location on the waterfront is not known.

Charles M. (Sweet...

c. 1917

Group portrait of African-American ship builders during WWI in Richmond.

c.1852

Daguerreotypes. Two half-plate views of mining scenes in Placerville, Ca. B: Hydrolic mining - placerville. Remarks: On exhibit 19th c. Gallery 9/78 mg.

c. 1900

Photogaph. Description: Group of children

(D. Curry, 10/28/99) Photograph is a group portrait, most likely a class picture, of a group of children, around age 8 or so. It is a very...

c.1852

Daguerreotypes. Two half-plate views of mining scenes in Placerville, Ca. A: Uncle Bill & others at mining. Remarks: On exhibit 19th c. Gallery 9/78 mg.

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