Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Kate and Robert Johnson photograph album contains interior and exterior images of the Johnsons' homes and grounds in San Francisco, and Menlo Park, California, as well as portraits of the Johnsons, their family members, and friends photographed at these locations. The pictures, taken by Eadweard Muybridge circa 1880, also include examples of spirit photography.

The Kate and Robert Johnson photograph album (30 x 25 cm) contains 84 images of the Johnsons' homes on O'Farrell Street in San Francisco, California, and "Heartsease" near Menlo Park, California, taken by Eadweard Muybridge circa 1880. The album has a pebbled brown cover with a binder's ticket from Partridge & Cooper, 192 Fleet St. [London].

The first group of 42 images consists of exterior and interior views of their San Francisco mansion, including views of parlors, bedrooms, and children's rooms. A few individual portraits taken on the premises are included. Of particular note are several spirit photographs of Robert and Kate Johnson, both of whom were alive at the time (20, 21, 24, 29). The couple's art collection is often visible including the painting "Elaine" by Toby Rosenthal. Furniture and decorative arts objects appear and reappear in different rooms and positions in the carefully composed images. In one image (37), it is possibly the photographer Muybridge who appears in a mirror reflection. The section ends with a close portrait of Robert C. Johnson.

The remaining 42 photographs are scenes from the Johnsons' "Heartsease" estate near Menlo Park, California. While the San Francisco photographs focus primarily on room interiors, the Menlo Park photographs mostly show the grounds and surroundings. Two images include sporting activities: a girl riding a young pony (70) and a group of men and women playing croquet (60). A photographic title page image for this section includes Muybridge's pseudonym "Helios" (44). Also included is a portrait of one of Kate Johnson's numerous cats, her affinity for which was well-documented (43).

This album showcases Muybridge’s interest in urban architecture and landscape photography, his success in earning commissions from notable men and women, while also touching on San Francisco’s rapidly developing wealth. It highlights the Johnsons' ornate mansion, their expansive art collection, and features both their urban homestead and rural retreat simultaneously. Moreover, with portraits, staged "spirit" photographs, and landscape scenes placed alongside more traditional photographs of the Johnsons' homes, the album speaks to Muybridge’s multiple artistic talents and the nuances of the Johnson’s personalities.

The Liberty Bell Tour photograph album contains approximately 580 photographs depicting the journey of the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California, and back again in 1915.

The Liberty Bell Tour photograph album contains approximately 580 photographs depicting the journey of the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California, and back again in 1915.

The album (40 x 28 cm) has black paper covers and 305 pages, 14 of which do not contain any photographs. The photographs are generally arranged in chronological sequence and depict loading the Liberty Bell onto parade floats and train cars, celebratory parades, gathered crowds, and individuals and groups posing with the Liberty Bell. Numerous pictures include captions referencing the locations in which they were taken. The album also contains two small maps, each showing one of the routes of the cross-county trips that the Liberty Bell took, as well as landscape photographs of scenes in the western United States. Notable persons photographed with the Liberty Bell include Thomas Edison, members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and groups of Native Americans in Cayuse, Oregon. Landscapes pictured include views of Wyoming, Pulpit Rock, Bear River Canyon, Mount Shasta, Shasta Springs, Horseshoe Curve, Royal Gorge, the Rockies, Salt Lake, and Feather River Canyon.

The San Francisco earthquake and fire photograph album contains 29 photographs taken by photographer Arnold Genthe showing the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

The San Francisco earthquake and fire photograph album contains 29 photographs taken by photographer Arnold Genthe showing the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. The album (24 x 32 cm) has pebbled black cloth covers. Images include scenes of billowing smoke over the city being watched by crowds of onlookers; survivors wandering among the ruins; tnets set up in Union Square and Portsmouth Square; the destruction in the city center, between Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, and Market Street; and wagons removing rubble.

Inside the front cover there is a laid in program for a "Port of Oakland Day Luncheon" held on October 27, 1949, a newspaper clipping regarding Benjamin F. Steacy, and a typed note on "Steacy's Restaurants" stationery stating "This album dedicated to the earthquake and fire San Francisco, April 18 1906. The following pictures were taken by a friend of my dads. Ben F. Steacy April 21 1948."

This photograph album contains pictures of mountain scenery and street scenes in British Columbia and Alberta; of rubble and refugee camps taken in San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake; of people relaxing near Long Beach, California; and pictures taken during a hunting trip near Oracle, Arizona.

This photograph album (18cm x 25cm) contains 99 photographic prints taken in British Columbia, Alberta, California, and Arizona in the early 20th century. The album's covers are brown pebbled leather, and the title "Photographs" is stamped in gold on the front cover. Most items have manuscript captions.

A majority of the photographs are scenic views of mountain ranges, lakes, forests, and glaciers in British Columbia and Alberta, including pictures taken in Banff, Alberta; in the Canadian Rockies; and in the Selkirk Mountains. This section of the album also contains views of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria, and street scenes in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia; a large totem pole is visible in one of the pictures of Victoria. A second group of photographs shows scenes of rubble and refugee tent camps in San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake.

The third group of items consists of photographs taken in and near Long Beach and Los Angeles, California. Groups of tourists are evident in several of these pictures, and some focus on pairs of male travelers. Pictured locales include Eastlake Park in Los Angeles, an orange grove in Redlands, California, and "Follows Camp." These are followed by photographs of desert scenes near Oracle, Arizona, where a group of hunters, including at least one woman, occupied a semi-permanent tent. The photographer captured images of natural scenery such as large cacti, balance rocks, and a box canyon. The final items are a group portrait of young men, identified by a manuscript caption on a note laid into the album; an unidentified mountainous scene; and an outdoor portrait of a girl.

The San Francisco Earthquake photograph album contains 48 photographs showing the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Earthquake photograph album contains 48 photographs showing the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. The album (27 x 18 cm) has pebbled black cloth covers and includes a laid in handwritten table of contents. Images include views of ruins of City Hall, the Crosby Building, the Granada Hotel, and Grace Church; temporary tent and tin-shack housing; a tent camp in Golden Gate Park; people cooking on the street using makeshift stoves; views showing the devastation of Russian Hill, North Beach, Chinatown, and Telegraph Hill; a group of men playing checkers in the street; a hospital tent; a crowd lining up in front of a tent with the sign, "W.C.T.U. Free Reading Room"; a young African American girl sitting beside a tent with an infant in a box beside her; and an African American man sitting in a tin shack with the sign, "Show Maker."

The Shriners' excursion tour photograph albums (2 volumes, each 15.5 x 20 cm) contain 95 photoprints of photographs taken during a cross-country train and ship excursion by a group of Shriners ca. 1898.

The Shriners' excursion tour photo albums (2 volumes, each 15.5 x 20 cm) contain 95 photoprints of photographs taken during a cross-country train and ship excursion by a group of Shriners ca. 1898. Images show a range of different places around the United States, including: St. Joseph, Missouri; Des Moines, Iowa; Big Spring, Texas; Phoenix and Tuscon, Arizona; Redlands, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, California; and Honolulu, Hawaii. The Shriner group appears to have chartered their train as there are photographs documenting a train breakdown in Arizona and stops in various stations show it to be decorated with banners. Several images includes women and young boys wearing fezzes, indicating that families participated in the trip. There are also several photographs of cowboys and Native Americans in Arizona and Texas. Images taken in California include views of Los Angeles rooftops, Golden Gate Park and San Francisco Bay, Mt. Shasta and San Bernadino, and palms and a grapefruit grove at Baldwin's Ranch in Redlands. There are several images of ships including the S.S. Sierra, the committee boat Fearless, a quarantine boat, an Austrian training ship at Honolulu, the American battleship U.S.S. Wisconsin, and unidentified ocean steamers in San Francisco Bay.

The albums are half bound with red leather bindings, have red cloth boards and are housed in light blue boxes.

The Western views - Kodak snapshot album contains 104 photographs primarily of Western landscapes including canyons, rivers, waterfalls, and the Monterey, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz coasts.

The Western views - Kodak snapshot album contains 104 photographs primarily of Western landscapes including canyons, rivers, waterfalls, and the Monterey, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz coasts. The album (26.5 x 32 cm) is fully bound in leather with gilt lettering "Kodak" on the front cover. Most of the locations depicted are represented in one or two photographs with the exception of Yellowstone (approximately 20 images) and the Grand Canyon (approximately 12 images). Other photographs show trains and train tracks, with two photographs of train station gardens in Sacramento and Ypsilanti, Michigan. Non-western locations and objects depicted include the Hudson, Niagara, and Mohawk Rivers, Niagara Falls, Minnehaha Falls, and Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. In general people appear to be incidental to the scenery, save for two photographs showing posed groups; one in front of a topiary maze, and another in a grove of giant trees. Most photographs have numbers and captions derived from labeled negatives.