Crosby, Harry W., 1926-....

Professional photographer residing in La Jolla, Calif. Crosby is the author of several books about Baja California including The king's highway in Baja California (1974), The cave paintings of Baja California (1975), and Last of the Califonrios (1981).

Biography

Harry Crosby was born in Seattle, Washington, on June 10, 1926. He received his B.A from Occidental College in 1948 and his masters degree from San Diego State University in 1951. In 1963, he retired from teaching in the San Diego Unified School District to become a professional photographer. Between 1963 and 1974, Crosby worked in commercial photography, specializing in brochure, magazine and book illustration.

In 1967, Crosby was hired by the Commission of the Californias to illustrate a book to commemorate the California bicentennial entitled THE CALL TO CALIFORNIA (1969). During his research for the book, he rode 600 miles in Baja California, mostly on muleback, and followed the route of the Portola/Serra expedition of 1769. While photographing historic places in Baja, Crosby also became interested in peninsular rock art and the history of the isolated ranch families he encountered.

Crosby has since written and illustrated numerous books and articles on Baja California, including THE KING'S HIGHWAY IN BAJA CALIFORNIA (1974), THE CAVE PAINTINGS OF BAJA CALIFORNIA (1975), "Baja's Murals of Mystery" (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, 1980, Vol.158, No.5, p.692-702), LAST OF THE CALIFORNIOS (1981), DOOMED TO FAIL (1989), and ANTIGUA CALIFORNIA, MISSION AND COLONY ON THE PENINSULAR FRONTIER, 1697-1768 (1994).