History San José Online Catalog

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History San José is excited to begin offering online access to our catalog. We will continuously be adding more of our Library, Archives, and Photographs records to the online interface, and encourage you to explore one of the largest and most comprehensive regional history collections in the state of California.

Photographs

The photographic collection of more than 30,000 images documents the breadth of Santa Clara Valley history. It includes photographs from the San José Chamber of Commerce, as well as photographs by local freelance press photographers, early portrait artists (such as the eccentric Astley David Montague Cooper), and personal family albums of Santa Clara Valley citizens. The collection includes glass-plate negatives, daguerreotypes, tintypes, and albumen prints, as well as modern formats. Notable series include a group of rare portraits (salted paper prints) by Carlton Watkins, and photographs by Alice Hare, one of few female photographers working in Santa Clara County at the turn of the 20th century. The Burrel Leonard Photograph Collection documents one Cupertino ranching family’s history from the 1850s to their management of a prominent canning operation in the early 20th century and later development of their land into one of the first shopping malls in the South Bay Area. Our series of 400 aerial photographs from 1931 to the late 1960s documents dramatic changes from agricultural lands into today’s suburbia.

Many of our photographs are available for purchase from PrintRoom at http://historysanjose.printroom.com. These photographs contain "Print Room" in the Subject Terms field. To search for images available from PrintRoom, use "print room" as a keyword search, or use the Advanced Search page and enter "Print Room" where indicated.

Research Library & Archives

The Research Library and Archives contains over 5,000 printed publications documenting our local history, the businesses and industries that thrived in the Valley, biographies of local citizens, and trade catalogs and instruction manuals for companies and products of local significance. It also includes more than 5,000 linear feet of archival records and manuscripts, architectural drawings and specifications, maps, oral histories, and audio and film materials. Records of the Pueblo of San José (founded 1777) are the oldest municipal records in the state, while contemporary documentation of Silicon Valley captures the reinvention of the future almost daily.

The Research Library is open by appointment, Tuesday - Friday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. To schedule an appointment, email research @ historysanjose.org or phone 408.521.5026.

How to Search

You have the option of searching by keyword or using our advanced search functionality. You can also browse the collection using the "Click and Search" feature, or view rotating images using the "Random Images" feature.

When you view a record, you have the option of sharing it via email, sending us feedback, or ordering an image. Many of our images are available for purchase through PrintRoom. If you do see an error in the record, or have information to add to a record, please let us know through the Feedback Form attached to each record. (The ObjectID will be automatically referenced in your form for identification). Keep in mind that due to volume we may not respond immediately.

We hope you enjoy this new access to our collections. Start your search.