47

Leo Hetzel

1877-1949

Japanese Americans picking strawberries, Imperial Valley, California. Circa 1935.

Silver print
With Hetzel's credit in the negative, and his El Centro credit stamp, a caption in pencil in an unknown hand, and another typed caption, on verso.
The image 6 5/8 x 10 5/8 in. (16.8 x 27 cm.), the sheet slightly larger

  • Provenance:
    A Country Called California: The Collection of Stephen White
  • Literature:
    Stephen White, foreword by Lynell George, A Country Called California, Photographs 1850s to 1960s (Angel City Press, 2022), p. 127
  • Notes:
    From his arrival in 1913 in El Centro, Hetzel became the Imperial Valley's most prolific photographer from the 1910s until his death 1949. He photographed portraits, school and church groups, commercial photographs of businesses, occupational scenes, agriculture and industrial growth, homes, and more, truly embodying his motto "Anything in Photography."
  • Condition: For condition reports, email Deborah Rogal at [email protected]

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February 12, 2026 12:00 PM EST
New York, NY, US

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