Dana Studio

[ShoeMan]

With some help from a good friend.

In the 1901 San Francisco city directory there's a "Percy F. Dana", a "photo. engraver" residing at 620 Market Street. The California death index has a Jan 5, 1929 death of Percy Dana, age 68, in Lassen County, California. (A day before Tex Rickard passed away)

On the findagrave website someone put a profile for "Percy Francis Dana" who died Jan 5,1929 in Susanville, Lassen County, California, who is buried at Honey Lake cemetery in Lassen County. That profile has his wife as Elizabeth N Jordan who died in San Francisco on June 13,1905. The findagrave profile for Elizabeth says she "married Percy Francis Dana (1862-1929). He and his brother Parsons owned the Dana Studio, which specialized in boxing photos, in San Francisco". The Honey Lake Cemetery states on its site that 'Percy Dana is interred there, but his grave site is not marked'.

But the June 14,1905 obit for Elizabeth N Dana in the San Francisco Examiner says she was the wife of PARSON Franis Dana.

The hunt continues

[ShoeMan]

I thought I would update you as some of the information we found early on was wrong.

Charles Percy/Parson Dana was born in either Missouri or Kansas around 1873.
He worked for magazines and newspapers, particularly sports and daily papers, and was credited frequently in San Francisco newspapers for his photographs. He is described in Bay Area newspapers as one of the city’s leading photographers and as the official photographer for all the larger fights.
His studio seemed to have moved around a lot throughout San Fransico. I have 4 addresses in a 10- year period.
He was a member of the Photographers Association of California as well as a member of the Indoor Yacht Club.
For a time owned a Nickelodeon.
He died in 1950 at the San Clara County Home for the Aged.

Still looking for more information.

[sthoemke]

Percy Dana was the Official Photographer of the Indoor Yacht Club.

https://archive.org/stream/mainsheet...7indo_djvu.txt

[Philadelphia Shamrocks]

Thanks for this interesting post on Percy Dana. So many great boxing photos from this man around the turn of the 20th Century. It appears that you found some source material on him through the San Francisco Library Historical Collection. Since I live here in SF, I will make it a goal of mine to get in to the library and hopefully view some of their collection in person. I found a short piece on him at Foundsf.org, and I've added the address/link below.

http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?tit...g_Photographer

[sthoemke]

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SRPD1913...ra+Perz-------

[ShoeMan]

Thank you all for you interest and assistance.

I have spent some time on this and with the help of a friend I have put some of the information together in a PDF along with some of his work. If you are interested feel free to PM me and I will send you the file.

What's crazy to me is his photos are legendary. He helped to pioneer a photographic technique utilizing glass negatives to record exquisite images.

How is it that the man how took portraits of Jack Johnson and James J. Jeffries, was friends with Battling Nelson, covered all the major ring battles in the early 1900’s in the San Francisco area when it was the Mecca of boxing has:
No known articles written about his life or work.

No Wikipedia page

The International Boxing Hall of Fame had a file labeled with his name, but it was empty with material. (until we provided it)

“Boxing Memorabilia” a book written by Boxing Hall of Fame manager and renown collector Bill Cayton and Robert Obojski includes a chapter on Dana’s work. The chapter titled “Rare Charles Dana Glass Plates Recover by Cayton and Jacobs Long after San Francisco Earthquake. His contributions are praised, but they cite his name as Charles, not Percy!”

Percy has received so little respect that even the website findagrave.com misidentifies his grave site.

Ultimately, he deserves to be in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
He needs to be recognized and remembered for the artwork he produced.