CCCHS Acquires Albert E. Davies Photo Negative Collection!

For Immediate Release

Martinez, CA, June 23, 2025 – The Contra Costa County Historical Society has acquired the Albert E. Davies photo negative collection that was once believed to be lost to history.

Last fall, the CCCHS was contacted by the son-in-law of Mrs. Kay Randall with an exciting opportunity. Mrs. Randall was ready to downsize, and the family was looking for a place to donate a large collection of photo negatives for preservation and public access. Unsure of what they had, Leigh Ann Davis, Executive Director, made a trip to Angels Camp, CA to interview Mrs. Randall and pick up the collection.

As described by Mrs. Randall, in the early 1950’s, Mr. Maurice Randall of Randall’s Drugs in Danville, acquired the collection from Mr. Davies. The collection was passed down to her late husband, Mr. Ken Randall. She even said he tried to start a side business printing postcards during his college days. When he finished his degree and was offered a teaching job in the Sierras, his dreams of becoming a postcard printer were pushed to the side. The Randalls moved to the mountains and the collection went with them, where they have kept the collection safe ever since.

Davies is a well-known photographer to postcard collectors around the East San Francisco Bay Area. According to an article written by Carol Jensen (et al.) that appears in the November 2012 issue of the San Francisco Bay Area Postcard Club newsletter, he was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to California with his parents, sister, and grandmother after 1900. By 1911, you can see postcards stamped with his identifier, “A.E. Davies/Berkeley.” Jensen writes that, ‍

“About 1933 Davies moved to the Contra Costa County town of Alamo as photographer and proprietor of The Davies Press, and quickly involved himself in local affairs as an Alamo Grammar School Board Trustee in 1935, and secretary of the nearby Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce by 1938…

No copyright mark is seen on his work, suggesting the images may have been commissioned by other parties. Image numbers appear to be chronologically ordered, although they do not embed a specific date/year. Postmarks and stamp boxes provide a rough sequencing and seem to confirm this theory.

After Davies closed down his Alamo and Walnut Creek studios he moved to Grass Valley, CA. Retired Contra Costa History Center director Betty [Maffei] told the author that Albert Davies’ records and negatives were thrown into a dumpster when the studios closed. What we collectors would give for that archive today!”

The CCCHS is thankful the Randall family thought to donate this special collection to its archive. It is the society and the family’s wish that the collection remain together and eventually be digitized for public access.

With a budget shortfall of around $15,000 to keep operations going for the rest of the year, the CCCHS cannot begin to plan preservation projects for items like the ones found in the AE Davies Collection. We hope that the Contra Costa community can help CCCHS achieve its goal of digitizing and preserving this collection for years to come.

For information about donating, please visit our website at www.cocohistory.org or contact Leigh Ann Davis 925-229-1042 or director@cocohistory.org.