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Wella and Pet Anderson Spirit Drawings Photograph Album, 1879

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Summary

Creator:
Bundy, John C., 1841-1892
Abstract:
The Wella and Pet Anderson spirit drawings photograph album contains 26 cabinet card photographs of pencil-drawn portraits of spirits of various historical figures made by a spiritualist couple in San Francisco, California in the early 1870s.
Extent:
26 photographs in 1 album
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Jakob Dopp, May 2022

Background

Scope and Content:

The Wella and Pet Anderson spirit drawings photograph album contains 26 cabinet card photographs of pencil-drawn portraits of spirits of various historical figures made by a spiritualist couple in San Francisco, California in the early 1870s.

The album (17.5 x 12 cm) has marbled paper board covers and the spine has been reinforced with library cloth. Inside of the front cover, a handwritten note has been laid in that states “The following Photographs were presented to this society by Col. J. C. Bundy. They are from full-sized drawings, made with a Faber pencil, by Mr. & Mrs. Wella Anderson of California, when in a ‘Trance’ or unconscious state. About two hours time was required in which to draw each Portrait. For further particulars see ‘Descriptive Catalogue of the Ancient Band.’ July, 1879.” John C. Bundy (1841-1892) was the chief publisher of The Religio-Philosophical Journal, a Chicago-based spiritualist periodical that Bundy inherited from his father-in-law Stevens S. Jones (1813-1877) after the latter’s murder. The society to which Bundy gifted this album has not been identified.

Each photograph in this album bears printed captions identifying the subject. All but two of the photographs also bear printed copyright statements stating “Photographic copy of the Original Life-size Pencil painted Portrait, executed by those celebrated Spirit Artists, Wella and Pet Anderson, when in the unconscious ‘trance’ condition. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, in the office of Librarian of Cong. Washington, D. C. by the Pacific Art Union, of San Francisco, Cal. Inc. March, 1874.” Two of the photographs (portraits of Anthony van Dyck and Peter Abelard) have copyright statements attributed to Jonas Winchester.

While many members of The Ancient Band were true historical figures, numerous fictitious or legendary individuals were also counted amongst the group, including an adult woman supposedly born in Massachusetts ca. 1774 named “Dawn” who lived for only one hour and who served as an assistant for The Ancient Band; Henri de Brianville, a supposed English knight and alchemist who lived during the reign of Charles I; Ayotte, a supposed French Huguenot artist, poet, musician, and occult alchemist from the 15th-century; Peter Korzakieff, a supposed Polish writer and scientist from the 15th-century; Mazeleel, a supposed high priest of the Magi of Nineveh, Assyria, active during the 7th-century BCE; Hiram Abiff, a pseudo-historical allegorical figure presented to candidates embarking on the third degree of Freemasonry and described as the chief architect of Solomon’s Temple; Pietro Vecchia, a supposed 5th-century ruler of a Venetian island republic called Rialto; Catullus, a supposed Roman metallurgist and descendant of poet Gaius Valerius Catullus employed during the reigns of Nero and Vespasian; Hassan al Meschid, a supposed Persian Magi who aided an insurrection against Cambyses II and declared himself King before being killed himself; Abd El Kader, a supposed Arabian chief from 1500 B.C. described as the father of Arabian chemistry and a direct descendant of Ishmael; and Adehl, a supposed Indian Hindu chief and necromancer that lived “8,000 years ago” and who utilized an Elixir of Life to live until the age of 180 before he was put to death.

Also present are depictions of supposed figures from the legendary ancient civilization of Atlantis, including Orondo (described as an eight foot tall expert in mining, a trusted advisor of head Atlantean ruler Yermah, and the progenitor of intermarriage alliances with indigenous tribes of North America following the fall of Atlantis) and Atyarrah (described as a military commander who was part of an expedition of North America and the constructor of earthwork defenses against Native American tribes, some of which yet remain in the Mississippi Valley).

Authentic historical figures represented amongst The Ancient Band include Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556); Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641); French writer Philippe Quinault (1635-1688); Italian friar Giovanni Giocondo (1433-1515); English philosopher and statesman Lord Francis Bacon (1561-1626); medieval French polymath Peter Abelard (1079-1142) and his philosopher lover Héloïse d'Argenteuil (ca. 1095-1163 or 1164); Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons (ca. 849-899); Greek philosopher Plutarch (ca. 46-after 119); Umar ibn al-Khattab, second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate (ca. 583 or 584-644); Greek poet Pindar (ca. 518 BCE-ca. 438 BCE); Chinese philosopher and politician Confucius (ca. 551-ca. 479 BCE); and Gautama Buddha, Indian ascetic and founder of Buddhism (ca. 563 BCE or 480 BCE-ca. 483 BCE or 400 BCE).

The following list references the printed captions for each member of The Ancient Band represented in this album in order of appearance:
  • 1) “Dawn.” Born in Massachusetts 100 years ago, living only an hour.
  • 2) Henri de Brianville. English Knight and Soldier of Fortune - Days of Charles I. [“1630” inscribed alongside caption]
  • 3) Cranmer. Archbishop of Canterbury - Burned at the Stake in 1635.
  • 4) Vandyke. The Great Flemish Painter - Pupil of Rubens - Died 1642.
  • 5) Ayotte. French Hueguenot, Artist, and Alchemist - 15th Century.
  • 6) Philippe Quinault. Distinguished French lyrical Author and Poet - Born 1635.
  • 7) Fra Giocondo. Dominican Friar - Architect of St. Peters - Born in 1435.
  • 8) Lord Bacon. High Chancellor of England, and Scientist - Born in 1561.
  • 9) Peter Korzakieff. Polish Scholar and Scientist - time of Casimer, about 1460.
  • 10) Abelard. Celebrated French Scholar - Lover of Heloise - Born 1079.
  • 11) Heloise. Mistress of Abelard - Abbess of the Paraclete - Born 1101.
  • 12) Alfred the Great. The Noblest Saxon Monarch of Britain - Died A.D. 900
  • 13) Plutarch. The Greek Historian and Philosopher - Born A.D. 50.
  • 14) Mazaleel. Most learned of the “Magi” in the best days of Nineveh.
  • 15) Hiram Abiff. The “Widow’s Son” - Grand Master of Ancient Masonry.
  • 16) Omar I. 2d Moslem Caliph - Conqueror of Syria and Egypt - 644.
  • 17) Pietro Vecchia. Tribune of a Venitian Island Republic in the 5th Century.
  • 18) Catullus. Roman Metallurgist and Jeweller, of the Time of Nero.
  • 19) Pindar. Most famous of the Ancient Greek Poets - Born 520 B.C.
  • 20) Orondo. Of Yermah’s Time - Father of the “Mound Builders.”
  • 21) Hassan al Meschid. Persian Magian, Astrologer, and King - lived B.C. 500.
  • 22) Atyarrah. Warrior of Yermah’s Time and Country, high in Rank.
  • 23) Confucius. The Great Chinese Reformer and Sage - Born B.C. 551.
  • 24) Gautama. Brahminical Reformer - Father of Buddhism - B.C. 557.
  • 25) Abd El Kader. An Arabian Chief - Descendant of Ishmael. - B.C. 1,500
  • 26) Adehl. Hindoo Necromancer - 2d Chief - lived 8,000 years ago.

Biographical / Historical:

Wella Percy Anderson was supposedly born around 1833 in Maine to English parents. His family was said to be impoverished, and he received little formal education. He is recorded as having worked as cabinet maker and mechanic, while he apparently developed some modest artistic capabilities by virtue of employment as a sign painter. He appears to have been operating as a spirit artist as early as 1860. In 1865, Wella married Lizzie “Pet” Anderson, a spiritualist medium born in Portland, Maine, in 1836. They had one son together, Wella R. Anderson (1866-1885).

While a married couple, the Andersons established themselves in Brooklyn, New York, and became known for their practice of spirit drawings. Pet acted as the medium who facilitated contact with spirits of the deceased while Wella served as the conduit through which spirits would gradually execute life-sized pencil-drawn portraits of themselves over the course of several sessions inside of a darkened room. Each session was said to last no more than 12 minutes, and whole portraits were usually completed within two to three hours.

The Andersons relocated from Brooklyn to San Francisco, California, in November of 1870 to embark upon a collaborative enterprise with fellow spiritualists Jonas Winchester (1810-1887) and Dr. James Cooper (1821-1898) in relation to claimed communications with a group of spirits of important historical figures collectively referred to as The Ancient Band. This group of prominent spirits had supposedly devoted themselves to conveying their aggregated wisdom for the benefit of mankind. Dr. Cooper stated that he had originally encountered members of The Ancient Band in 1857, while the Andersons said that they first witnessed some of these spirits during a séance with Winchester in 1869. Winchester, a New York and California-based printer, mine operator, and staunch spiritualist, claimed that The Ancient Band had specifically chosen him to lead the Globe Gold & Silver Mine to success; he even named four of his children after members of the group. After moving to San Francisco, the Andersons began to work exclusively on what would become a set of 28 spirit drawings of members of The Ancient Band. In 1874, the Pacific Art Union in San Francisco displayed these drawings in a gallery format, published a catalogue providing biographical information for each one of the represented spirits, and copyrighted photographic reproductions of the drawings made by local photographer William Shew. The biographical information for each spirit included in the catalogue was primarily supplied by Dr. Cooper, while Winchester also appears to have copyrighted some of Shew’s photographs. Ultimately, The Ancient Band enterprise wound up being a commercial failure.

In March of 1875, Pet Anderson began divorce proceedings against Wella and sued for sole custody of their son. When the petition was finally heard in court in 1878, their marriage was officially dissolved. After the divorce had been initiated, Wella appears to have returned to New York City and later relocated to Washington, D.C. He married Mary Beall Bartlett (1855-1938) in 1888. The precise date of Wella’s death has not been determined, though it appears that he likely died sometime around 1900. Pet initially remained in California after the divorce, where she continued to advertise her services as a trance medium and stock tip psychic in San Francisco. By 1884, she had begun to place adverts in the Chicago Tribune under the name “Mrs. L. Pet Anderson.” She also appears to have spent time in Denver, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Around 1880, she married her second husband Alexander J. Lindsay (1835-1889), a widowed Scottish hotelier. Lindsay reportedly ended up suing for divorce from Pet on the grounds of alleged bigamy, though the petition was not granted after she successfully contested the case. Shortly after Lindsay’s death in 1889, she married her third husband Theodore N. Bovee (1829-1896), an ardent spiritualist from Chicago. Pet was noted in the lawsuit Bovee vs. Hinde as having had a marked degree of influence over Bovee while his first wife Mary Louisa Spoor Bovee (ca. 1829-1887) was still alive. Pet passed away in Chicago in 1896.

Acquisition Information:
Purchased from McBride Rare Books, September 2020. F-1263 .
Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Wella and Pet Anderson spirit drawings photograph album, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan.

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Wella and Pet Anderson Spirit Drawings Photograph Album, 1879
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Last indexed 2023-08-08