Wikipedia

Draft:Alexander J. Stark

Zan Stark
Zan 1527 - Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill San Francisco
Born
Alexander Johnson Stark

April 10, 1889 (1889-04-10)
Ishpeming, Michigan
DiedMarch 17, 1967(1967-03-17) (aged 77)
Sonoma, California, US
Occupation(s)Publisher, Printer
Spouses
Vivian Getty
​
​
(m. 1925; div. 1936)​
Katherine Franklin Greenman
​
​
(m. 1936)​
Children2
Military career
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1918-1919
RankSergeant
Unit91st Division
Commands held348th Machine Gun Battalion

Alexander J. Stark (April 10, 1889– March 17, 1967) also known as Zan Stark, was an American commercial photographer and pioneer postcard publisher. He published under the name Zan of Tamalpais. Stark printed postcards in Mill Valley, California for 30 years.[1][2] He was the official photographer of the Redwood Empire Association.[3]

Early life edit

Stark was born on April 10, 1889, in Michigan,[2] and brought up in Cincinnati, before moving out west in 1912.[4] On January 24, 1925, Stark married Vivian Getty in San Francisco,[5] and had one son.[4] Stark and Vivian divorced and after ten years of marriage. He remarried to Katherine Franklin Greenman of Sausalito in 1936 in Marin County, California.[6]

Professional background edit

 
Olive Ann Alcorn in Alta Art Studies, Ad in 1922

In 1914, Stark moved from Michigan to San Francisco and invested in a small theater lantern business under the name "Xan Stark, Alta Studios." In the early 1920s, Stark released several editions of Alta Art Studies, series featuring photographic prints of female nudes.[3] Two of the Alta S.F. models, Olive Ann Alcorn and Laura La Plante, went on to pursue careers in film.[7]

During World War I Stark was drafted into the US. Army in 1918, serving in the 91st Division and rising to the rank of sergeant to the 348th Machine Gun Battalion.[4][8]

Following the war, Stark came back to California in 1921 and partnered with his brother to establish the Stark Bros. Alta Slide & Photo Co. in San Francisco.[9] Following the death of his brother, and due to the economic impact of the Great Depression, he closed his shop in San Francisco. In 1932, Stark moved to Mill Valley, California, where he established a studio and began and offering photo finishing and other photographic services. Because of the Depression, finding work was difficult. However, one day while examining postcards, he realized he could produce better quality images. Thus, he set out to capture photographs suitable for postcards. He initially marketed them locally, and quickly they gained popularity. Stark expanded his photography to encompass Marin County, then across the bay, and eventually to distant locations. As the area and sales volume expanded, his scenic photographic postcards became known under the name Zan of Tamalpais.[4][2][3]

In the 1930s, he entered into a partnership with Lloyd Perkins, operating from a two-story building in Mill Valley. Together, they produced thousands of postcards, with Perkins overseeing sales and Stark handling the photography.[10]

Between 1932 and 1952, Stark traveled and photographed the California coast, capturing scenes from Monterey County, Big Sur, along the Redwood Highway, and throughout Northern California up to Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, resulting in the creation of thousands of postcards. From 1936, Stark was the official photographer of the Redwood Empire Association. That same year, he married Katherine Greenman of Sausalito.[3]

By 1940, the family-run postcard operation was thriving. In 1948, the business had sold 5,000,000 postcards.[11] Stark's earliest postcards were inscribed with "zS" numbers and captions. Later, he adopted "Zan" along with the number sequence.[12][10]

At his Mill Valley facility, he had the capacity to produce 10,000 black and white prints per day with the help of an automatic printer. The transition from black and white to color postcards took place in the late 1940s. One of his largest orders came at the end of World War II, when Southern Pacfic Company commissioned half a million cards.[4]

In 1948, Stark became involved in Mill Valley city politics as secretary of Locust Merchants Association and was successful as lobbyist for district improvments.[4] He won a seat on the city council in April 1950 for a term that would have run until April 1954.[13] In October 1952, Stark resigned as city councilman and moved to Boyes Hot Springs in Sonoma County to join his son, Alexander Stark Jr., in publishing the now defunct Valley of the Moon Review, a daily newspaper.[1][3][10]

Death and legacy edit

Stark died on March 17, 1967, at a rest home in Sonoma, California.[1] The Zan Stark collection is accessible through digital archives such as those maintained by the Monterey County Historical Society,[2] Marin County Free Library,[14] Sonoma County Library,[15] and the San Diego State University.[16]

Gallery edit

  •  
    Zan S-26 - Snow Capped the Year Round, Mt. Shasta
  •  
    Zan 197 - Sicily of the West Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
  •  
    Zan 765 - San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge
  •  
    Zan 970 - Ferry Bldg, at Night, San Francisco
  •  
    Zan 1452 - Giant Redwood Lanes Redwood Flat California
  •  
    Olive Ann Alcorn by Xan Stark for Alta Studio San Francisco (1920)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Zan Stark Rites Held". Daily Independent Journal. San Rafael, California. March 22, 1967. p. 4. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Alexander J. "Zan" Stark, Postcard photographer". California Views: The Pat Hathaway Photo Collection. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Stark (Zan) collection". Online Archive of California. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Jack Eisen (November 24, 1951). "Deperession-Born Postcard Business Now Successful Mill Valley Business". San Rafael Daily Independent Journal. pp. 8–9. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "Licenses To Wed Issued". Redwood City Tribune. Redwood City, California. January 24, 1925. p. 4. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  6. ^ "San Rafael". Santa Rosa Republican. Santa Rosa, California. February 11, 1936. p. 9. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "The International Studio; an Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art". Offices of the International Studio. California. 1922. p. xv. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  8. ^ "S. F. Veterans Form New Organization". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. September 11, 1927. p. 6. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "Catalog of Copyright Entries". Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1922. p. 4249. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Bogdan, Robert; Weseloh, Todd (September 21, 2006). Real Photo Postcard Guide. Syracuse University Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780815608516. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  11. ^ Nelson Valjean (November 21, 1948). "Nickel Art Gallery". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 143. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  12. ^ "View of a road leading to Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods". Anne T. Kent California Room Marin County Free Library. Marine County, California. 1938. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  13. ^ "Zan Stark To Leave M. V. For Sonoma". Daily Independent Journal. San Rafael, California. August 14, 1952. p. 4. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  14. ^ "Marin County – Alexander 'Zan' Stark Collection, c.1933-1955". Marin County Free Library. San Rafael, California. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  15. ^ "Stark, Alexander J. collection". Sonoma County Library. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  16. ^ "Stark, Alexander J. "Zan" Digital Collection". San Diego State University. Retrieved May 9, 2024.

External links edit



Category:1889 births Category:1967 deaths Category:Postcard publishers Category:People from San Francisco Category:People from Michigan Category:People from Mill Valley, California

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Alexander_J._Stark&oldid=1223238439"