The links below take you to the photographs in the Wolff Archive (which may take some time to load).[1]
Photographs from the Wolff Archive dated 1887 to 1914
This link takes you to photographs from Wolff’s early childhood, his high school graduation, and the year that he taught at Stanford University. In addition, there are a number of photographs of his first wife, Sherifa, including images of her two sons, who were progenies of her two prior marriages. (14 photos)
Photographs from the Wolff Archive dated 1915 to 1929
This page contains images from the years that Franklin and Sherifa were associated with a number of spiritual groups, including the Temple of the People, the Arcane School (Sherifa), the Sufi Order of the West, and the Benares League of America. Other photographs from this period capture Wolff’s service in the army, his wedding to Sherifa, and the couple officiating at a marriage ceremony. A vacation to Utah and Arizona in 1927 is also documented, as is the time that Franklin and Sherifa spent at Hunter Flat at the base of Mt. Whitney in 1929, where Wolff penned his work, Yoga: Its Problems, Its Purpose, Its Technique.
The last photograph here is an autographed image of John Varian that is dated “1929.” Mr. Varian was an early mentor of Wolff—from the time he was an undergraduate at Stanford (1907-1911) through the period that Wolff lived at the Temple of the People (1915-1922). (40 photos)
Photographs from the Wolff Archive dated 1930 to 1949
The photographs taken during this period reflect the vitality of the Assembly of Man, an organization that Franklin and Sherifa Merrell-Wolff founded at the end of 1928. This group had members centered primarily in Chicago and Los Angeles, and in 1930 they began holding an annual summer school that came to be known as “Convention.” The location of the school was in Tuttle Creek Canyon, which is located in the Sierra Mountains not far from Lone Pine, Calif. Wolff had leased some land for the school from the U.S. Forest Service, which required the group to erect a permanent structure on the parcel that was to be used for the school. Work on the structure, which became known as the “Ashrama,” began in 1930 with the laying of a foundation stone; as chronicled here, its construction continued for over twenty years.[2]
In addition to the work on the Ashrama, the photographs on this page document a number of the formal conventions that accompanied this work, as well as the members of the Assembly of Man who participated in these activities. There are also some photos of the Wolff’s San Fernando home, as well as the ranch that their group used as a base camp, and which they would eventually purchase. (93 photos)
Photographs from the Wolff Archive dated 1950 to 1978
The photographs on this page may be divided into two groups: First, there are images from 1950 of the Assembly of Man ranch and of that year’s convention, which would be the last that Sherifa was able to attend. There are also photographs from the 1950s of the Wolffs and their San Fernando home, where the work of the Assembly of Man was now confined; in addition, there is a portrait of Lillian Reid, a close student. Sherifa died in 1959, and Wolff married Gertrude Adams shortly thereafter. The second group of pictures—from the 1960s and 1970s—capture some of the life of Franklin and Gertrude Wolff, who built a home on the Assembly of Man ranch, where both would spend the remainder of their days. (40 photos)
Photographs from the Wolff Archive dated 1979 to 1982
After Gertrude’s death in 1978, a number of “caretakers” lived with Wolff (who was 91 at the time of Gertrude’s death). The source of the photographs from these years is two of Wolff’s most devoted companions: Andrea Pucci, who captured most of the images, and John Flinn, who collated his and Andrea’s pictures into albums. These photographs include scenes of the yearly conventions in August; Wolff at home with friends, family and visitors; and, his annual trip to visit the redwoods of Northern California.
There are not many photographs from the period between 1979 and 1982—some of family, friends, and Wolff at home in 1979; and, of the convention of 1980. There are two images from 1982: a fine black-and-white photograph of Franklin and Mike Schmitt, who was a devoted student; and, a photograph of John Flinn, Franklin, and Johannes Verfailles (also known as “Dutch”), who made numerous repairs to the Ashrama around this time.
There is only one photograph from Wolff’s annual trek to the redwoods, which was taken in 1982 with a very young Orrin Harris in Santa Rosa. The Archive does contain a 36-mintue video that documents Wolff’s 1979 travels; produced by John Flinn, it is titled Travels with Yogi. (18 photos)
Photographs from the Wolff Archive dated 1983
The images from 1983 begin with Wolff’s ninety-sixth birthday celebration on the 11th of July (including Dianne Harrison popping out of a cake!), followed by a few images from the August convention; the remainder of the photographs from this year document Wolff’s annual excursion to the redwoods. The trip started with a visit to Wolff’s niece, Clover, in Santa Barbara; then to Monterey, where Wolff visited more nieces (Barbara and Ann); next on the itinerary was Palo Alto, where Franklin visited the campus of his alma mater, Stanford; from there to redwood country, with base camp at Weott. One of Franklin’s students, Susan Garfield, drove up from San Francisco to spend the day with him (along with his traveling companions, John Flinn, Andrea Pucci, and Dianne Harrison) at Rockefeller Grove. The road then led to Ferndale, along the Lost Coast to Eureka, and a stop at Guerneville, where Wolff was interviewed by Laughing Man Magazine. The next stop was Roseville and a visit with the Raty family, followed by Tahoe and a boat tour of the lake; then home to Lone Pine via Carson City. The last photograph in this section captures John and Franklin having a picnic in Horseshoe Meadows at the base of Mt. Whitney after their journey. (36 photos)
Photographs from the Wolff Archive dated 1984
The photographs from this year document Wolff’s home and its surroundings as well as a busy year in his life. In January, Franklin traveled to Phoenix and Tempe, where he met with Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist master from the Karma Kagyu lineage. In February and March, the house was filled with students and the filming of the documentary film, The Ashrama Man. More visits from family and friends in April and May, including Amit and Maggie Goswami as well as Beverly Oliphant. There is a photograph of Bob Alvarado, who spearheaded the project of getting Introceptualism: The Philosophy of Consciousness Without an Object Volume 2, privately printed in 1979-80. There are also a few shots from August of the attendees at the annual convention. Next are photographs of Wolff’s trek to the redwoods, which included quite an entourage: Franklin, John Flinn, Andrea Pucci, Dianne Harrison, and Colette Soubiroux. The trip began in Santa Barbara, where Wolff visted the Melvins, whom he had known since the 1940s; while there, he visited the Self-Realization Fellowship center in hills above town. From Santa Barbara, the group traveled up the Coast Highway through Big Sur, Monterey, and Carmel, where Wolff’s nieces Barbara and Ann were now living. Then to Palo Alto and Stanford, followed by a stay in Inverness with Mary Eubank (area attractions included Drake’s Bay and the Point Reyes Light House). Next were the redwoods in Humboldt County, staying once again at Weott; from there to Ferndale and the Lost Coast, Eureka, and up to Yreka. The return journey was a ten-hour drive through thick forest (stopping at Mt. Shasta along the way), past Mt. Lassen, through Tahoe, and home to Lone Pine.
The last few photos from 1984 are of friends and companions at the Wolff home, and two shots of the Wolff garden just after a December snow storm. (108 photos)
Photographs from the Wolff Archive dated 1985
Photographs from 1985 center around the Wolff home, with visits by friends and family. There are photographs of the attendees at the August convention, and one from Franklin’s last excursion—to Palo Alto and Stanford, where on the 21st of September he attended a seminar given by Steven Levine titled, Conscious Dying. Franklin was not able to visit his beloved redwoods this year, as he fell ill while on the trip. He and his travel companions (John Flinn, Andrea Pucci, and Ellen Vogel) returned home to Lone Pine on Monday, the 23rd; Friday, after spending the morning grocery shopping, Franklin went into the hospital—he was diagnosed as having a case of pneumonia. He passed away a week later, on the 4th of October. The last two photographs here are of Franklin F. Wolff in his final repose on the sofa in his Lone Pine living room. (41 photos)
Endnotes
[1] Please Note: Many of the earlier images here are photographs of the original pictures, rather than scanned images of the originals. The title of these pictures are marked with an ending asterisk (‘*’). Until the originals are delivered, these “pictures of pictures” serve as placeholders—many are out-of-focus.
[2] The Wolff Archive also contains a 23-minute film of the work on the Ashrama in 1940.
