Independently and in partnership with others, the California Historical Society collects, preserves, documents, and makes accessible to the public the state’s continuing heritage.

The CHS collection represents the social, political, economic, industrial, agricultural, technological, and cultural heritage of the entire state, including materials from outside the region that may contribute to understanding the region and its people. In general, CHS collects the materials that:

• are used by, created by or document people of California; and
• illustrate regional, state, national, or international cultures, experiences, or events specifically relating to or promote understanding of the continuing heritage of the California.

In 2008, the Fine Arts, Photography, and Research collections were integrated into a single administrative whole, known as the CHS Collection.

To view CHS's Collection Management Policy, please click here.

California Ephemera Project

To view CHS collections online:

TICOR and Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Photograph Collections at the University of Southern California
Click on BROWSE, and then click again on California Historical Society

Paintings and prints available through Bridgeman Art LibraryType “California Historical Society” in the search box and browse

To view CHS images and texts contributed to collaborative projects with other institutions:

To search across all contributed images, go to the University of California’s Calisphere.
Type “California Historical Society” in the search box and browse over 8,000 images from the CHS collection. OR

Search by project:
1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Digital Collection
Click on the header to enter the website, then select “California Historical Society” under Repositories, and hit “Go.” OR

Search the finding aid at the Online Archive of California
Type “California Historical Society” in the “”Search this Collection” box, and click on the “eyes” down the list of results

Chinese in California: 1850-1925
View this collection at the Library of Congress American Memory website.

Search by keyword or browse by subject or theme. OR

Search the finding aid at the Online Archive of California

To find descriptions of manuscript & photography collections on the Online Archive of California.

Select “California Historical Society” under “By Institution” and browse the list of collection descriptions OR search in the “Find a Collection at this Institution” box.