Draft:Alexander J. Stark

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Zan Stark
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 Partridge Greenman
​
​
(m. 1953)​
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 businessman and pioneer postcard publisher. He published under the name Zan of Tamalpais. He was one of the most prolific postcard publishers on the western coast of the United States. Stark printed postcards in Mill Valley, California for 30 years.[1][2][3]

Early life[edit]

Stark was born on April 10, 1889, in Ishpeming, Michigan. He was the son of Henry A. Shark, a machinist. His father died when he was ten years old. Stark held various jobs in his youth, including working in a drugstore, clerking for a local railroad, and serving in the advertising department of The Cincinnati Enquirer.[4] On January 24, 1925, Stark married Vivian Getty in San Francisco. They had two children together. They were divorced after ten years of marriage in January 1936.[4]

Professional background[edit]

Olive Ann Alcorn in Alta Art Studies, Ad in 1922

In 1914, Stark and his brother Edwin moved from Michigan to San Francisco and invested in a small theater lantern business. 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. He returned to California in May 1919 and then partnered with Edwin to establish Alta Slide & Photo Co. in San Francisco. He became involved in the production of arcade cards, which were distributed from coin-operated machines in penny arcades. The Stark brothers' arcade cards were marked with "Alta S.F." Between 1921 and 1924, they released several editions of Alta Art Studies, under the name Alta Studios, Inc., featuring photographic prints of female nudes. Two of the models, Olive Ann Alcorn and Laura La Plante, went on to pursue careers in film.[4]

Stark moved to Mill Valley, California a year before the Great Depression, where he established a studio and began a venture in scenic photographic postcards under the name of Zan of Tamalpais.[2][3][4] 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.[5] Between 1932 and 1952, he traveled and photographed the California coast, capturing scenes from Monterey County, Big Sur, along the Redwood Highway, and throughout Northern California up to Oregon, resulting in the creation of thousands of postcards.[4]

From 1936, Stark was the official photographer of the Redwood Empire Association. That same year, he married Katherine Greenman of Sausalito.[4] By 1940, the family-run postcard operation was thriving. In 1948, the business had sold 5,000,000 postcards.[6] Stark's earliest postcards were inscribed with "zS" numbers and captions. Later, he adopted "Zan" along with the number sequence. Over time, certain numbers were changed, and alpha prefixes, such as "M" for Marin, were added to denote specific locations. The transition from black and white to color postcards occurred in 1948.[4]

In 1948, Stark became involved in Mill Valley city politics and won a seat on the city council in April 1950 for a term that would have run until April 1954.[7] In October 1952, Stark resigned as city councilman and moved to Boyes Hot Springs, California to join his son, Alexander Stark Jr., in publishing the now defunct Valley of the Moon Review, a daily newspaper.[1][4] By 1954, Edwin Vernon Wood, a close friend of Stark's son, assumed control of the postcard business. The last postcards under Edwin Wood's management were issued in 1956.[4]

Death and legacy[edit]

Stark died on March 17, 1967, at a rest home in Sonoma, California.[1]

Collections of Stark’s postcards are housed in the Pat Hathaway Collection at the Monterey County Historical Society,[2] the Anne T. Kent California Room Digital Collection at the Marin County Free Library,[8] and in the Manuscripts Division at Stanford University.[9]

Gallery[edit]

  • Zan S-26 - Snow Capped the Year Round, Mt. Shasta
    Zan S-26 - Snow Capped the Year Round, Mt. Shasta
  • Zan 197 - Sicily of the West Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
    Zan 197 - Sicily of the West Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
  • Zan 765 - San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge
    Zan 765 - San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge
  • Zan 970 - Ferry Bldg, at Night, San Francisco
    Zan 970 - Ferry Bldg, at Night, San Francisco
  • Zan 1452 - Giant Redwood Lanes Redwood Flat California
    Zan 1452 - Giant Redwood Lanes Redwood Flat California
  • Zan 1527 - Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill San Francisco
    Zan 1527 - Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill San Francisco

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 "Alexander J. "Zan" Stark, Postcard photographer". California Views: The Pat Hathaway Photo Collection. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Stark (Zan) collection". Online Archive of California. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sternad, Frank (December 2016). "Zan of Tamalpais" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Post Card Club. XXXII (5): 3. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Bogdan, Robert; Weseloh, Todd (September 21, 2006). Real Photo Postcard Guide. Syracuse University Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780815608516. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Nelson Valjean (November 21, 1948). "Nickel Art Gallery". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 143. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  7. ^ "Zan Stark To Leave M. V. For Sonoma". Daily Independent Journal. San Rafael, California. August 14, 1952. p. 4. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  8. ^ "Marin County – Alexander 'Zan' Stark Collection, c.1933-1955". Marin County Free Library. San Rafael, California. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Zan Stark collection, circa 1935-1955. Stanford University Manuscripts Division. Retrieved April 23, 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

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