Art, Music, Ephemera

Art, Music, Ephemera

Edith Harvey Heron

This collection includes watercolors by local artist and art therapist, Edith Harvey Heron.

Artist Biography Edith was born on January 2, 1895, the daughter of William S. and Ada Heron of Hostetter Road in the Berryessa community of San José. Edith graduated from San José High School in 1914. She then attended the all-girls San José Normal School (now known as San José State University), graduating in 1918. Following a short-term teaching career in art therapy she attended the California School of Arts and Crafts in Berkley until 1921. In the 1920s, Edith taught art therapy through pottery and basketry at the Stockton State Hospital. She also taught weaving and furniture design at the Livermore Sanatorium. In the 1930s, Edith became a well-known, award winning watercolor artist. In the summer of 1932, while painting the Carmel Mission, there was some confusion about Edith’s permission to be on Mission grounds. Refusing to leave voluntarily, Edith was escorted from the premises by police. As a result of this incident, all artists were banned from Mission grounds. In 1935, Edith sent a watercolor painting to Eleanor Roosevelt in appreciation of the First Lady’s social work. The painting depicted one of the Carmel Mission towers. Mrs. Roosevelt sent her a thank you letter. When her father, William, passed in 1935, Heron became the head of the household living with her younger brother Colin, a life insurance agent. Between 1932-1942, Edith held 12 exhibitions of her watercolor paintings, many in the Bay Area. Throughout her life Edith traveled extensively (to Mexico, Central America, Canada, and Europe) while maintaining her residence in California; over the years she resided in San Mateo, Pacific Grove, San Francisco, Monterey and San José. Among the accolades Edith received for her work are the 1937 First National Award in Watercolor from the National League of American Pen Women, Cleveland (for her painting, “Old Tom, Monterey”), the 1939 First National Award in Watercolor of the National League of American Pen Women, San Francisco (for her painting “Gloucester Fishwharf, Massachusetts” ) and Water Color Medal of the National Society for Sanity in Art in San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor (for her painting “Gloucester Fishwharf, Massachusetts”). In 1942, she won the First Award In Watercolor from the Southside Art Assembly. In 1942, Edith continued her art therapy by teaching arts and crafts to Japanese-Americans in the Poston War Relocation Center, and internment camp in Arizona. By 1968 she was no longer producing paintings, but is rumored to have been working on writing and illustrating a children’s book based on Monterey. That year she donated 12 of her watercolor paintings to the San José Public Library at the suggestion of her friend, David McDaniel, a former Commissioner of the San José Library Board. In 1974, she donated 6 paintings to her alma mater, San José State University. To date, the university has acquired 20 pieces from her watercolor collection, one of which mysteriously disappeared. In 1976, Edith suffered a stroke and was placed in a convalescent home. Four years later, on March 6, 1980, she passed away at the age of 85. Though she never married, she always remained close to her brother, Colin, who passed away 3 years later. For information about using images from this collection, contact the California Room.

Edmonia Lewis

The California Room features three marble sculptures created by Edmonia Lewis: Asleep, Awake and a bust of Abraham Lincoln.

About the Collection The California Room features three sculptures created by Edmonia Lewis: Asleep (marble, 1871), Awake (marble, 1872), and a bust of Abraham Lincoln (marble, 1871). An earlier version of Asleep, called Night (marble, 1870), is held at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Artist Biography Mary Edmonia Lewis was born in 1845 or 1846 to a Haitian father and a mother of Native American (possibly Mississauga or Ojibwa) and African descent. Both parents passed away early in her life, her father in 1847 and her mother in 1849. Following their deaths, she stayed with her mother’s tribe near Niagara Falls until the age of eight. Her brother, Samuel “Sunrise” W. Lewis, provided her financial support throughout her life, funding her early schooling near Albany and her attendance at Oberlin College in Ohio. In her third year at Oberlin she was accused of poisoning two white female classmates with cantharides. Though acquitted of the charge, she endured a highly publicized trial and a severe beating by white vigilantes. Subsequently accused of stealing art supplies, she was not allowed to register for classes in 1863. She moved to Boston in 1864, where she studied under sculptor Edward A. Brackett. Her brother provided her with room and board and a small studio space. Following her studies with Brackett, she travelled abroad and eventually settled in Rome, where the joined a group of American female sculptors led by Harriet Hosmer. Italy was a popular destination for neoclassical sculptors in the mid-19th century, due to the availability of fine white marble and the many stone carvers who were adept at transferring sculptors’ plaster models into finished marble products. Lewis rarely employed workmen, however, completing most of her marblework without assistance. In 1872, Lewis returned to the United States to exhibit five marble sculptures at the gallery of the San Francisco Art Association. In 1873, the city of San Jose invited her to display her three remaining unsold works at City Market Hall. They were later shown at the San Jose Catholic Fair. In December of 1873, a fundraiser was held to purchase Lincoln as a gift to the San Jose Public Library. Sarah Knox-Goodrich, the organizer of San Jose's first Women's Suffrage Association, bought Awake and Asleep. They were donated to the library some time prior to 1914. Lewis moved to Rome in 1875, and then London in 1901. She passed away September 17, 1907 of Bright’s disease (inflammation of the kidneys) at the Hammersmith Borough Infirmary in London. For information about using images from this collection, contact the California Room.

Ephemera

This collection includes printed paper materials including brochures, handbills, memorabilia, pamphlets, tickets, and timetables.

About the Collection Printed ephemera documents events that are often recorded nowhere else, making them a valuable resource to researchers. Our collection of ephemera concerns people, places, and events in the Santa Clara Valley, and dates back to the late 19th century. The Digital Collection The Ephemera Collection currently includes a representative selection of ephemera from the California Room. New images are added to the collection as they are digitized. For information about using images from this collection, contact the California Room.

Music Collections

The California Room houses a choral music collection, sheet music collection, and stock music collection including the work of many local musicians. The initial collection was donated to the library by David Earl McDaniel in 1946, followed by a donation by the widow of Charles M. Richards in 1957.

Postcards

The collection includes approximately 3500 California postcards from 1900 to the 1960s.

About the Collection The collection includes approximately 3500 pictorial and photographic postcards of California. Of these, 600 are of San Jose. The collection spans from the year 1900 to the 1960s. Subjects include historic landmarks, attractions, schools, churches, businesses, parades, valley views, theaters, street scenes, hotels, and industry. The Digital Collection The digital collection is a representative selection of historic postcards from the California Room. New images are added to the collection as they are digitized.  For information about using images from this collection, contact the California Room.

A-Z Collections Index