The collection consists of 1366 photographic prints (mostly copy prints from 8 x 10 inch glass plate and film negatives), 1520 4 x 5 inch and smaller glass negatives, glass positives, film negatives and lantern slides, 203 8 x 10 inch glass plate negatives, and 734 8 x10 inch film negatives depicting Southern California (mainly Los Angeles and nearby communities) and spanning the years ca. 1850 to the 1920s. The collection provides quite a comprehensive picture of the growth and development of Los Angeles at the turn of the twentieth century.

Arthur McDonald Ellis (1875-1932) was born in Missouri. When he was two years old, his parents moved the family to California, where his grandfather had settled in the early 1850s. Ellis was educated in Pomona and at the University of California, Berkeley. Upon graduation he began a teaching career, but left the profession after a few years to study law. He established his practice in Los Angeles in 1903.

28 linear feet, 67 boxes

All requests for permission to publish photographs must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Photographs. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Huntington 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.