ABOUT THE COLLECTION

The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History invites you to explore the Tuttle Collection, an archive of 594 images documenting the formative years of Pacific Grove’s history.

Tuttle's Life Photographer & pioneer pharmacist C.K. Tuttle (1859–1939) captured the people, places, and vistas of Victorian-era Pacific Grove with his camera. Tuttle dispensed these images along with his prescriptions to patrons at his pharmacy on Lighthouse Avenue. Charles K. Tuttle was born in Benicia, California on December 29, 1859. His father, Captain Joseph Tuttle, had been sent to California in 1849 as an attache of the US Government. Captain Tuttle served as a quartermaster agent in Benicia, and was later appointed Chief Quartermaster of Arizona, where he was stationed at Fort Whipple. C.K.'s mother was Jane Kirkhaw, and was of English parentage. Charles was the second-youngest of four children. He began his pharmaceutical studies in San Francisco at age 16, fresh out of high school. Tuttle graduated from the California College of Pharmacy in 1879. After studying with Coffin and Maylew, he served as their head clerk for 5 years. He then moved to Salinas to manage a drug store for J.C. Scott. Tuttle stayed in Salinas for three years, and then returned to San Francisco to run a dispensary for James Murphy. Tuttle moved to Pacific Grove in 1887 because his health had deteriorated. He had heard of the benefits of the local climate. At the time of his arrival, the town had only a temporary drug store. When he came to PG, his druggist certificate was number six on the records of the State of California. Tuttle thrived in Pacific Grove, formulating a poison oak remedy and a hand lotion that proved very popular. Instead of moving when his health was restored, Tuttle remained in Pacific Grove and became energetically involved with civic work. He served for many years on the city's board of trustees, and was instrumental in incorporating the city. He also served nine years on the school board. Studio portrait of C.K. Tuttle. c. 1910, #10.0-162-P To quote Tuttle's philosophy, "A divided city halts progress and does not enable its servants to work in constructive manner nor for the best interest of the people" (Pacific Grove Daily Review, November 18, 1924). Tuttle married Emily Young, from Ohio, niece of local physician Dr. O.S. Trimmer. They had three children: Floyd, Gladys, and Winnifred. Winnie was not only the town's first telephone operator, but eventually followed in her father's footsteps and earned her pharmacist's license--the first woman in P.G. to do so! Interior of Tuttle's pharmacy on Lighthouse Avenue. Tuttle's daughter, Winnifred, who was also a pharmasist, stands behind the counter. c.1915. #12.0-399-IP. Tuttle's creative talents extended into music as well as photography: he was an accomplished organist. Throughout his later years, Tuttle continued to manage his Lighthouse Avenue pharmacy. In 1937 he celebrated 50 years in business in Pacific Grove, and was honored as one of the oldest druggists in the state and nation. Tuttle died at age 80 on August 2, 1939, following a severe heart attack. Tuttle's Photography C.K. Tuttle's photography documents the early history of Pacific Grove. He probably got the shutter bug from C.W.J. Johnson, a well-respected artist who served as official photographer at the Hotel Del Monte. Tuttle sold Johnson's prints in his pharmacy. The sale of photographs of the Monterey area constituted a large part of Tuttle's business, and he amassed one of the finest collections of local views. Tuttle was primarily a documentary photographer, capturing local landmarks and scenery. He did not do much portrait photography. He worked in a number of formats, from 4" x 5" to 6 1/2" x 8 1/2". He produced both glass and film negatives. Tuttle captured the spectacular oil tank fire of September 1924 from its early stages The Tuttle Collection Overview Holdings of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History's (PGMNH) archives include the Tuttle Collection, 594 images scanned and printed from glass-plate negatives. Working sets (printed on resin-coated paper) are organized in loose-leaf binders and are made available to the public at the Pacific Grove Public Library and PGMNH. An archival set printed on photographic paper and the original glass negatives are stored with PGMNH's collection. Funding for the organization of these images, as well as future improvements to provide public access to the collection, comes from PGMNH's Museum Improvement Fund. Thanks to . . . First and foremost, to Elizabeth Kirby, who generously paid for printing these images. Her recollections of photographer C.K. Tuttle's kindness (especially the cough drops he gave her when she was a young girl) prompted her to donate the funds. Thanks also to the many people who helped in identifying these images. They include (in no particular order): Pat Hathaway (of California Views photo archive) for generously sharing his vast wealth of knowledge of area history in general and the work of C.K. Tuttle in particular; Adam W. Weiland for his invaluable timeline of Pacific Grove history (available on-line at www.mbay.net/~heritage); Carol Mazur for information about the Trimmer family; Joe Wible, Hopkins Marine Station Librarian; Alan Baldridge, Hopkins Marine Station Librarian Emeritus; Don Roberson; Steve Bailey; Jerry McCaffery ; John Middleton; Neal Hotelling, Pebble Beach Company Archivist; Snick Farkas; Vern Yadon; Chase Weaver; Kent Seavey; Luke Hunt, Tad Burness, Ted Parrott, and of course the staff of the Museum and Library. Sources Reference works used to help in identification include: Monterey County Place Names by Donald Thomas Clark, (Carmel Valley: Kestrel Press, 1991); A Piney Paradise by Monterey Bay: The Story of Pacific Grove by Lucy Neely McLane (San Francisco: Lawton Kennedy, 1952); Lighthouse: Point Pinos, Pacific Grove, California by Jerry McCaffery (Pacific Grove: Jerry McCaffery, 2001); Directory of Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Vista Del Rey, and Del Monte Grove (Perry, 1905); Trimmer Hill: Connecting the Past to the Present by Carol Mazur (Pacific Grove: Carol Mazur, 2004); Pacific Grove: An Early Seaside Retreat Revisited edited by Wendy Salisbury Howe (Pacific Grove: City of Pacific Grove, 1978); Monterey and Pacific Grove Street Railway by Erle C. Hanson (San Mateo: The Western Railroader, 1959, Issue 238); Pacific Grove: The First 100 Years-A Glimpse of the Past that Shaped the City's Present (Pacific Grove: The Pacific Grove Press, 1975). --Esther Trosow, Pacific Grove, 2004

Page created October 13, 2004. Last updated November 15, 2004. Page copyright 2004 by the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.