Mid-1960s Tessellated Four-Volume Aerial Survey of Los Angeles from Long Beach to San Fernando, and Malibu to San Bernardino. In Over 400 Sheets.
Fantastic set of aerial images showing the settled and unsettled parts of the Los Angeles Basin in 1964. This atlas covers thousands of square miles and is a rare, early example of comprehensive aerial photography of the Los Angeles region.
This four-volume atlas is keyed to a Thomas Brothers atlas and provides a remarkable wealth of information regarding the region. The region is surveyed at roughly six inches to the mile, allowing for individual homes, roads, crops, topographical features, and developments to be identified.
Non-governmental comprehensive surveys of Los Angeles from this period are very rare. While the first private vertical aerial survey appears to have been made in the late 1920s by Teledyne Geotronics (at about half the resolution of the present one), only one other company (Aerial Map Industries) is cited as having made a comprehensive vertical aerial survey before 1970 (Padick, 1981).
The atlas format of the current survey makes is also unusual. Most aerial surveys were marketed as sets of images that could be custom-ordered to show a specific neighborhood or point of interest, while this was a general atlas that could be ordered by any individual to show the whole county.
Aerial Photomaps, Inc., published this work in Fullerton. Little is known about that company except that they were defunct by 1981.
Dating
The photos are dated to 1965 circa using the many landmarks built in Los Angeles during this period of growth. The images show the Music Center and the John Ferraro Building of the LA Department of Water (opened in 1964 and 1965, respectively). However, the images do not show the expanded Norton Simon museum (1969) and the FAA building in Hawthorne (1972) remains as agricultural land. The Northrop Grumman Space Park building E2 is not built, but the land it is on is under development.
This is consistent with the dating provided by the CSU catalog entry, which states that the images were taken in 1964 and published in 1965.
Collation
Complete.
[Volume 1]:
[Title]; [Index map]; 30 NW; 1 NE, SW, SE; 2-3 NW - SE; 4 - 5 N - S; 6 - 10 NW - SE; 12 NW; 11 NE, SW, SE; 18 NW; 11 NW; [Index map]; 12 NE, SW, SE; 13 - 17 NW - SE; 21 NW; 18 NE, SW, SE; 19 - 20 NW - SE; 25 NW; 21 NE, SW, SE; 22 - 24 NW - SE; 100 NW; 25 NE, SW, SE; 26 - 28 NW - SE; 29 NW, NE, SW.
[Volume 2]:
[Title]; [Index map]; 30 NW - SE; 31 N - S; 32 - 35 NW - SE; 40 NW; 29 SE; 36 - 39 NW - SE; 44 NW; 35 SE; 40 - 44 NW - SE; 49 NW; 44 SE; 45 - 48 NW - SE; 44 SE; 49 - 51 NW - SE; 56 NW; 52 NE, SW, SE; 53 - 55 NW - SE; 58 NW; 56 NE, SW, SE; 57 NW - SE; 62 NW; 58 NE, SW, SE; 59 NW - SE; 60 NW.
[Volume 3]:
[Title]; 60 NE, SW, SE; 61 NW - SE; 64 NW; 62 NE, SW, SE; 63 NW - SE; 67 NW; 64 NE, SW, SE; 65 - 68 NW - SE; 72 NW; 69 NE, SW, SE; 70 - 71 NW - SE; 74 NW; 72 NE, SW, SE; 73 NW - SE; 77 NW; 74 NE, SW, SE; 75 - 77 NW - SE; [Blank]; 77 Avalon SE; 78 NW - SE; 104 NW; 79 NE, SW, SE; 80 W - E; 80 A; [Blank]; 81 - 85 NW - SE; 97 NW; 86 NE, SW, SE; 87 NW.
[Volume 4]:
[Title]; [Index map]; 11 NW; 88 NE, SW; [Blank]; 88 NW, SE; 89 NW; [Blank]; 89 SW; [Blank]; 92 NW - SE; 93 NW; [Blank]; 93 SW; 85 SE; 97 NW; [Blank]; 97 SW; [Blank]; 98 NW - SE; 98A NW - SE; 44 NW; [Blank]; 99 NW, SE; [Blank]; 100 - 103 NW - SE; 116 NW; 104 NE, SW, SE; 105 - 115 NW - SE; [Blank]; 116 NE, SW, SE; 117 - 120 NW, N, W, C, SW, S, NE, E, SE; 121 NW - SE; 122 NW - SE; NW.
Comments on Collation
The four volumes possess only an overview index map, without comment on which images are meant to be included in the volume. The collation is rather confusing, with many sheets out of order, many duplicates, and some sheets that are not called for, such as a sheet showing Avalon in Catalina.
The above collation shows that not all images which are suggested by the index are present (missing are 1 NW, 52 NW, 69 NW, 79 NW, 86 NW, 87 NE, SW, SE, 89 NE, SE, 90-91, 93 NE, SE, 94 - 96, 97 NE, 99 NE, SW, and 116 NE, SE, SW). The lacking maps are usually in places that are predictable: e.g., the NW of sheet 1 in the remote Sylmar foothills, the sheets relating to the easternmost part of the coverage (the Claremont area), and sheets showing open ocean. It is likely that these sheets were never meant for inclusion into the atlas. However, there are also two sheets that seem like they should be included and leave holes in the coverage. These are the sheets for Vernon and northeast Torrance.
It does not appear that the atlas is lacking in sheets due to loss, rather, all of these exclusions appear to be from oversights. The compiler of the atlas lacked attention to detail in the collation, with many sheets duplicated and misordered. It is most likely that these sheets were omitted by accident and would have been so in any other edition of the atlas.
Rarity
We find the following copies of the atlas through OCLC and related searches: UCLA; California State Polytechnic at Pomona; Cal State Long Beach; and Los Angeles Public. We find no other examples of this book having appeared on the market.