Mr. Albert G. Thurston, of Thurston's Directory

The other day I mentioned Mr. Thurston.   It turns out that he and business partner, Mr. Leonard, produced and published their first directory of Pasadena and local environs in 1902-03.  All sorts of bits of information are found in the work that took them "more than three months' painstaking labor".  

The Introduction continues, (this)" is a the result of a careful fhouse-to-house canvass by experience men, not only of every house, office, store and shop within the city limits , but of those also in North Pasadena, South Pasadena, and Altadena.  

All of this and advertisements - bunches of them - in a slim little volume not much wider than my thumb.

"The increase or decrease of population must correspond with the number of names in a reliable directory, and therefore more to be depended upon than a census".  

Courtesy of the Archives of the Pasadena Museum of History

Also to be depended upon are the good folks who work in the PMH Archives.  This time it was Laura Verlaque, who brought out the volume that is "lovingly" referred to as the "mugshot" book by volunteers.

It seems to be a book where the are fellows who were a part of the Who's Who in the city are found in the middle of, and surrounded by, cartoons of the era.  To someone reading this close to a century later it feels like looking at a high school yearbook.  Lots of inside jokes being share; not being a part of the group I don't get it. 

I think most of us would get a lot of the details in the cartoon of  Albert G. Thurston.  Lots more to learn, but I'll sit back and giggle for the moment.  Hope you do, too.

Coop, Courtesy of the Archives of the Pasadena Museum of History