William McPherson was not only a dedicated researcher and avid book collector, but also an enthusiastic collector of manuscripts, letters, and other primary materials. This record group contains non-family-related primary materials collected by McPherson. The primary collections in this record group are:
The Avocado Collection, which constitutes half the bulk of the record group, is a hybrid collection consisting of records of the Secretary of the California Avocado Association, primarily for 1919-1925; miscellaneous records and papers of the California Avocado Exchange (from 1927, Calavo Growers of California), for 1924-1958; records of McPherson’s involvement in the avocado industry; and McPherson’s subject files on the avocado industry. The materials include correspondence, reports, minutes, catalogs, circulars, flyers, newspaper clippings, and periodical publications. Graphic materials include pristine examples of fruit crate labels. The general files are rich in reports on cultivation methods and standardization of varieties, catalogs of avocado nurseries, real estate company brochures advertising land suitable for avocado groves, and advertising and promotional materials, including pamphlets of avocado recipes both for consumption and for beauty uses, and ephemera in the shape of an avocado.
Orange County Ranchos, consisting of documents relating to the history of Orange County ranchos. The bulk of the materials consists of negative photostats of diseños (maps) and title proofs submitted to the Commission for Ascertaining and Settling Private Land Claims in California, and positive blueprints of materials prepared in the course of WPA Orange County Historical Research Project #3105 (1936-1939). The files, in particular for Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, also contain a number of original records, such as abstracts of title and tax receipts.
19th century California newspapers (1848-1897), including what appears to be a unique copy of the Santa Ana Herald for 12 October 1878.
Historical manuscripts, consisting of historical documents, primarily letters, acquired as single items or in small groups by William McPherson, primarily through purchase and from 1919 to 1945. The range and nature of the documents reveal McPherson’s eclectic interests: while the substantial numbers of Spanish- and English-language materials relating to California in this series were directly relevant to McPherson’s research, most of the materials relate to subjects other than Orange County history and anthropology. In addition to correspondence, these documents include appointments, bills, commercial drafts and papers, financial accounts, legal proceedings, logbooks, passports, receipts, reports, stock certificates, and surveys. The materials in this series are arranged in several subseries, the most important of which are Americana (1748-1932), British materials (1664/65-1921), Spanish-Language materials of California and the West (1773-1856), English-Language Californiana (1850-1931), Civil War papers, ship logbooks (1822-1855), literary scrapbooks (1846-1908), and American and British women (1828-1928).
Political papers, 1920-1925, of California State Assemblyman Jeffrey Joseph Prendergast (R-Redlands) (1875-1962).
Correspondence, bills, and legal papers, 1876-1895, relating to the business interests and probate of Colorado River steamboat captain and San Diego businessman and banker Alfred Henry Wilcox (1823-1883).
