William W. Simpson with the papier-mâché beasts used in evangelistic efforts in Southern California.

Typed on the back: “Evangelist William Ward Simpson stands with his collection of papier mache beasts in this 1906 photograph. The Oakland Herald wrote of him on October 22, 1906, “Preaching the Gospel with a menagerie is a remarkable experiment being tried in Oakland by William Ward Simpson, the convicted infidel, who has pitched a huge tent on the vacant lot on Broadway, and is nightly lecturing on prophecy to huge crowds.” (Cited in the Recorder, November 1, 1906, p. 3, and quoted by Ramsey in “A Study of William Ward Simpson’s Evanglistic Personality,” p. 16.)”