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National Sampler:
California Photographs From the Collections

Select on the images for a larger view.

Robert W. Gordon with daughter Roberta. Berkeley, California, ca. 1922. Photo courtesy Mr. and Mrs. Bert Nye.

Archie Krotlian, oud player in Aslanian's Armenian Orchestra. Fresno, California. Photo by Sidney Robertson Cowell, April 23, 1939. WPA California Folk Music Project Collection AFC 1940/001: P082.

California storyteller Brenda Wong Aoki, of Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and Scottish ancestory, tells a traditional Japanese ghost tale. International Storytelling Collection AFC 2001/008.

Children perform to traditional Chinese music to commemorate the birthday of Confucius, known as "the Master Educator," at an elementary school in Los Angeles's Chinatown, 1984. Photo by Nora Yeh. The Nora Yeh Kemeny Family Collection.

Left to right: Mr. Franks playing English guitar, Manuel Lemos, and Alberto Mendes both playing the viola d'arame. All three instruments were made by Mr. Mendes. Richmond, California. Photo by Sidney Robertson Cowell, January 19, 1939. WPA California Folk Music Project Collection, AFC 1940/001: P148.

Children of migrant workers pose in front of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Security Adminsitration sign. Collector's notes on the back of this photo read "El Rio, Cal. - FSA Camp for Mexican fruit pickers. Front gate - 1941," and "Yeah - what did they have to say about it! Look at the kid on the left!" Photo by Robert Hemmig. AFC 1985/001:P14.

Quilter LaQuita Tummings of Vallejo, California, described this pattern as "an original design based on a quilt my maternal grandmother hand made." She titled it "My Heritage." Judges Choice Award-winning Quilt, Lands' End All American Quilt Contest Collection. AFC 1997/011: Folder 8991 P1.

Warde Ford in Boomtown (Central Valley), Shasta County, California. Photo by Sidney Robertson Cowell. September 3, 1939. WPA California Folk Music Project Collection. AFC 1940/001: P016.

In this "Columbus Landing Ceremony" reinactment, Columbus is played by Joseph Cervetto, a role that his father had played before him. Columbus Day celebration, San Francisco, California, 1989. Photo by Ken Light. Italian Americans in the West Collection.

Voices of the Valley: Stories of Anderson Valley Elders Collected by Anderson Valley Youth.  Cover photo courtesy of the Anderson Valley Historical Society. [No larger photo available].

The Dia de los Muertos celebration, held in the Fruitvale district of Oakland, promotes and preserves the tradition of the area's Spanish-speaking and indigenous populations. Unidentified street performer. November 1, 1999. Photo courtesy of Evelyn and Janet Johnson. Local Legacies Project Collection. [No larger photo available]