Arnold Del Carlo Collection

The Arnold Del Carlo Photograph Collection was donated to the Sourisseau Academy in 2012 by three long-time Sourisseau Academy donors: Dr. Thomas N. Layton, Jack Douglas, and Dr. Billie Jensen.

Arnold Del Carlo was a local photographer who began taking photographs at San José State University shortly after he was discharged from the Army at the end of WWII. Del Carlo set up his own studio in the 1950s, photographing many aspects of life in San José including studio portraiture, studio glamour and fashion, weddings, and architectural and aerial photography. For several major building projects, Del Carlo became the official photographer; he documented the construction of IBM Building 025, the San José Sewer Plant in Alviso, as well as the General Motors Corporation plant (which later became Nummi and is now Tesla) in Fremont.

After earning his pilot's license and purchasing a single-engine Cessna 170A aviation aircraft, Del Carlo was able to provide aerial photographs to his customers as well. In order to take photographs from the air, he cut a 12-inch oval hole through the floor of the back seat so he could shoot vertical and oblique images, sometimes using an Army surplus K-17 aerial camera with 9x9 inch film while at other times he used a hand-held Pentax 2¼ x 3¼ camera with a focal plane shutter.

Del Carlo's photographic work contiued through the 1980s until he retired in 1990.

The photographs and negatives that comprise the Arnold Del Carlo Photograph Collection in the Smith-Layton Archives at the Sourisseau Academy date primarily from the first part of Del Carlo's photo career, from the late 1940s through the 1960s. Over 7,000 images from the collection have been scanned and cataloged while thousands of others have been indexed.

In 2015, the Sourisseau Academy worked with WMS Media to produce "Del Carlo: The Valley's Photographer," an interview with Del Carlo as the sole narrarator of the film (presented below).

Arnold Del Carlo passed away in Saratoga, California in early 2023.