Perry Mason

The Erle Stanley Gardner Collection: A Man of Many Talents

As Temecula’s most famous resident for 35 years and known to many locals as “Uncle Erle,” Gardner is widely recognized for creating the character in the murder mystery novels made famous in the “Perry Mason” television series from the 1950s. He was a prolific writer and wrote 81 Perry Mason novels and a total of 181 books, including many nonfiction books.
The museum collection focuses on Gardner’s multifaceted career as a writer, attorney (mostly in Ventura), amateur photographer, adventurer, fisherman and explorer (in the Baja, Mexico area). Thousands of photographs taken by Gardner, his signed first-edition books, “Perry Mason” memorabilia and items from his extensive travels and adventures have been preserved and catalogued.Read more