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Collection

Wella and Pet Anderson Spirit Drawings Photograph Album, 1879

26 photographs in 1 album

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 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.

Collection

West African Mission photograph album, 1887

1 volume

This album contains photographs of local residents, buildings, and natural scenery taken in the Congo region of Africa, around 1887. Africans and white missionaries posed singly and in groups. Landscape views, village scenes, images of vegetation and rock formations also appear.

This album (43cm x 32, 61 pages) contains 269 photographs of local residents, buildings, and natural scenery, possibly at an American Baptist mission in the Congo region, circa 1887. Three to eight items are pasted onto each page, and captions are written directly into the album where photographs are missing. The three-quarter-bound volume's covers are black and gray.

The photographs are roughly organized by topic. Pages 1-23 are comprised of individual and group portraits of Africans and of white missionaries. Many are identified by name. Of particular interest are posed ethnographic photographic studies of native men, women, and children shown in traditional African and western dress. Many if not most images appear to have been staged by the photographer. Among those may be of native inhabitants appearing as manacled slaves or prisoners; a mock execution, people with primitive weapons; mock combat with bow, spear, and shield; the wearing of ceremonial masks, families with children, and a young man with a large snake around his neck. "Mr. Clark" is identified in group photos as is "Dr. Flemming," a black woman, who is occasionally pictured with the missionaries. "Mr. Lewis" appears with a camera and tripod and may be the photographer for this album. "Mr. Roger Casement," future British consul to Portuguese West Africa and Irish Nationalist, is identified in one photograph and appears in at least one other. A set of four photographs depicts two African boys using a camera obscura on a stand to produce drawings of each other. The images on pages 23-31 include village scenes, rustic buildings including a church, post office, and photographer's booth. A man posed with the decapitated head of a hippopotamus appears on page 23.

Pages 32-48 concentrate on details of trees, fruits, and other vegetation, and pages 49-60 pertain to rock formations and rivers. These items include views of rocks with unidentified carved inscriptions, of caves, and of sailing and steam ships in a harbor. A small river steamer, theHenry Reed , a canoe, and a shipwreck are also pictured. The final item, located on page 61, is a photograph of William Shakespeare's supposed birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

Collection

Western travel and mid-Michigan photograph albums, 1901

1 volume

The Western travel and mid-Michigan photograph albums (2 volumes, each 23 x 36 cm) contain a total of 417 photographs primarily pertaining to travel in the western U.S. and the mid-Michigan region, likely taken by a member of the Charlesworth/Abraham family of Flint, Michigan.

Volume I: Western photographs include views of Yellowstone, the Yosemite Valley, cliff dwellings with pictorgraphs, a petrified forest, hiking across a glacier, buildings of the Panama-Pacific Exposition, the Saltair resort in Utah, cliff dwellings, the California coast, a bull fight, Native Americans selling pottery on the street, California houses, and a concert band dressed in kilts. Also included are single views of a city waterfront, possibly St. Paul, Minn., Milwaukee grain docks, and the Minnesota State Capitol. Album contains 232 images. Photographs lack captions.

Volume II: Mid-Michigan photographs show chiefly outdoor activities and rural scenery, including house and barns, country roads, hunting and fishing trips, boating, swimming, hunting dogs and game birds, a circus parade in downtown Flint, farm animals and cow-milking, and picnics. Nine photographs show a collection of bird amulets and carved relics, some belonging to the Silas Collins collection at the Flint Public Library. Also shown are burnt-out ruins of the Michigan School for the Deaf and postal carriers in Flint with sleds and wagons piled high with Christmas packages. Several photographs feature automobiles, including an overturned auto in the street being contemplated by a young man in swimming costume with handwritten caption, "Berston killed;" automobiles stuck in potholes and rescued by horse-teams; filled with hunting dogs; and a Buick Model C burnt out and restored. Michigan locations include: Flint, Prescott, Stiles Lake, Long Lake, Houghton Lake, Rifle River, Ortonville, and Skinner Lake. Identified individuals include: W.B. Ormsbee, A.G. Abraham, Herb Mitchell, Howard Casler, E. Rockafellow, Luella Charlesworth, John Brewer, Emma Abraham, Ernest Oldfield, M.B. Shirk, William Somerville, Hattie Barker, George Dell, Gert Fellows, Glenn Jones, Edgar Ries, John Ries, George Havers, John Wildanger, George Havers, Clyde Baldwin, George Frye, Edgar Rice, Chancey Straber, Elsie Caverly, Clarence Caverly, Leo & Mrs. Boomhower, Bud & Mrs. Evans, Ed Brown, Llloyd & Mrs. Algoe, Alice Charlesworth, Anna Charlesworth, George Holmes. Album contains 185 images. Most photographs include manuscript captions on verso.

Albums housed in three-part wraps with blue cloth spines.

Collection

"Western Trip" photograph album, 1899

1 volume

The "Western Trip" photograph album contains pictures of people, natural scenery, and cities in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington. The album includes photographs of the traveling party, popular tourist destinations, and residents of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

This album (17cm x 25cm), entitled "Western Trip-Summer-1899," contains 95 photographs of people and scenery in several western states. Each page contains two photographs housed in 8cm x 8cm windows; all items have captions, usually providing the location of the photograph. The title "Photographs" is printed in gold on the album's faded green cloth cover.

The photographer took three photographs of railroad stations, railroad tracks, and the prairie in Nebraska and Kansas before reaching Colorado. A photograph on the first page, identified as Lincoln, Nebraska, is likely mislabeled. A manuscript caption on the back of this photograph identifies the location as Omaha, Nebraska. In Colorado, where the photographer visited Manitou Springs, several canyons, Pikes Peak, and the Garden of the Gods. Several photographs are views of mountain passes and similar Colorado scenery some of which were taken from the front of a horse drawn carriage. The photographs from New Mexico include street-level views of Las Vegas and Santa Fe, as well as informal portraits of a woman and a child in front of a pueblo, a woman ("Belle of Santa Fe"), and a boy ("Dude of Santa Fe"). In Arizona, the traveler visited cliff dwellings, canyons, and the Grand Canyon; some images show the horse-drawn carriage the party took from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, and others show tourists (including the compiler) on horses. The caption of one photograph implies that a railroad car on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway had caught fire, though no fire or smoke is apparent.

After visiting the Southwest, the traveler continued to California, where he or she collected several photographs of the Pacific Ocean as seen from Santa Catalina Island, California. These are followed by a group of pictures from Yosemite National Park, including views of mountains, waterfalls, lakes, and forests, and a picture of Mount Shasta. The final items feature the Hotel Portland in Portland, Oregon; Umatilla House in The Dalles, Oregon ("Where Measles Flourish"); the Columbia River and riverside scenery; Tacoma, Washington; Seattle, Washington; and the shore of Lake Washington.

Collection

Western Views - Kodak Snapshot Album, approximately 1895

104 photographs in 1 album

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.

Collection

White Mountains Vacation Photograph Album, July 1883

26 photographs in 1 album.

The White Mountains vacation photograph album contains 26 photographs taken by amateur photographer brothers Thomas Avery Hine and Charles Gilbert Hine related to a twelve-day carriage tour of the White Mountains by a party of eight travelers in July of 1883.

The White Mountains vacation photograph album contains 26 photographs taken by amateur photographer brothers Thomas Avery Hine and Charles Gilbert Hine related to a twelve-day carriage tour of the White Mountains by a party of eight travelers in July of 1883. The album (18 x 27 cm) is half bound with black leather and brown boards and gilt title reading "Chronicles of our White Mountain trip, July, 1883." An inscription inside the front cover reads "Miss Mary A. Barnard, compliments of T. A. & C. G. Hine." The album consists of albumen prints glued to thick cardstock (opposite printed text) and glued onto the facing page.

Scenic images include views of Tuckerman's Ravine, Pemigewasset River, Franconia Notch, Lake Chocorua, Lake Winnepesaukee, Profile Mountain, and Mt. Lafayette. Other images of interest include views of two horse-drawn carriages on the road, the traveling party relaxing on a dock and posed atop a boulder, and the Crawford House and Thorn Mountain House hotels. Photographs are accompanied by a printed narrative of the journey written by Ellen T. Cheever Rockwood.

Collection

Wilbur Wright Airfield Photograph Album, ca. 1917-1918

250 photographs in 1 album

The Wilbur Wright Airfield photograph album contains 250 images taken by Corporal J. O. McDonnell that mainly document military activities at Wilbur Wright Airfield in Ohio during World War I.

The album (18 x 28.5 cm) is string-bound and has black leather covers with "Photographs" stamped in gold on the front and black paper pages. Images are sequentially numbered in white pencil. Contents primarily cover a range of aviation training activities and other operational aspects of Wilbur Wright Airfield. Various training aircraft are documented in detail; the majority were Curtiss JN-4s, known as “Jennys,” but the base also had some DeHaviland DH-4s. Numerous views of planes are included, showing them on the ground, in the air, and operating in all seasonal conditions. Several crash landings are also documented, with most of the wrecks appearing to be “nose-overs” (planes flipping forward upon landing) rather than high-speed crashes into the ground.

In addition to pilot training, Cpl. McDonnell also documented aspects of daily life at the base including hangars, mechanics shops, fabrication areas, and barracks. Photographs include shots of military personnel working on planes, lounging in barracks, and searching for wreckage. Also present are photographs of visitors to the base (including actress Pearl White and possibly other cast members of Pearl of the Army), the New York Times airplane, experimental plane designs (such as a dual engine biplane and innovative wing shapes), and two images showcasing the newly developed Brock Automatic Aeroplane Camera designed for aerial surveillance. Cpl. McDonnell himself may possibly appear in photograph no. 69 posing with a young woman in front of an airplane.

Other locations besides Wilbur Wright Airfield are represented in the album, including storefront views and street scenes in Mineola, New York, which may possibly have been McDonnell’s hometown. Also present are four portraits of Theodore Roosevelt giving a speech in 1917 at a racetrack in Mineola, seven images of Washington, D.C., landmarks (including four directional views taken from the top of the Washington Monument), a view of the Tijuana Fair, the Horton Plaza fountain at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, and six aerial photographs showing an unidentified coastal city (likely San Diego) and several ships.

Other photographs produced by Cpl. McDonnell for official U.S. Army purposes differ from those found in this album in terms of their size, content, quality of composition, and attention to staging. It is likely that he took photographs for official (and sometimes classified) purposes in his role as base photographer while also taking his own personal snapshots, the latter of which are what appears to be compiled in this album.

Collection

Wilhelm Hasselbach Chicago Fire photograph album, 1871-1917 (majority within 1871-1872)

1 volume

This album, compiled by Wilhelm Hasselbach in 1871, contains photographs of Chicago buildings before and after the Great Fire of 1871, as well as commercial illustrations of buildings and landmarks in Germany and Switzerland, and photographic portraits of women.

Wilhlem Hasselbach, a German druggist living in Chicago, Illinois, compiled this album (24cm x 20cm) in 1871 and 1872. The album has green pebbled leather covers and a title, "Scrap Book," appears in a stylized gold design on the front. Photographs and commercial illustrations are pasted directly onto the book's colored pages. Hasselbach first inscribed the volume in Chicago in November 1871; a second note on the same page (written in German) is dated in Munich on September 16, 1894. Three items are laid into the volume's front cover: a Christmas card from the Northern Trust Company with a colored illustration of Michigan Avenue, Chicago, as it appeared in 1870 (printed after 1871); a pamphlet, "Chicago Since 1837" by Gordon Best (1917); and a card from S. D. Childs & Company (undated).

The first group of items includes a printed advertisement for a meeting of Chicago citizens to be held on October 9, 1871, and a photograph of a collage of portraits of United States presidents. These are followed by 62 photographs showing Chicago buildings and street scenes before and after the Great Chicago Fire, including pictures of commercial and municipal structures, a factory, and churches. One page has a small manuscript map showing the location of Bodemann & Hasselbach's drugstore and several other businesses at the intersection of State Street and Harrison Street. The Chicago pictures are followed by groups of commercial engravings and other illustrations depicting prominent buildings and landmarks in Berlin, Germany; Dresden, Germany; Zurich, Switzerland; and other locales, as well as a painting of Germania and a photograph of a collage of small portraits of German royalty and generals arrayed on an iron cross (around 70 items total). The final items are clippings with a picture of a dog who survived under a pile of rubble for over a day during the Great Chicago Fire and an advertisement for a secure bank vault and safe deposit boxes. Nine portraits are pasted into the album's final pages, including one of a well-dressed man and eight of unidentified women.

Collection

William A. Lewis photograph collection, ca. 1850s-1980s

approximately 1,530 items in 12 boxes

The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards.

The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards.

The subject matter of this collection is thematically and chronologically diverse and reflects the broad interests of the collector, with the U.S. Civil War and 19th-century views of American and European cities being particularly well-represented topics. The collection is organized into four main series according to subject matter and is further divided into specific subject groupings within each series. In most cases, multi-item sets have been kept together and placed within the most generally appropriate subject grouping. An extensive number of photographers and publishers are represented throughout the collection including the likes of H. H. Bennett, C. B. Brubaker, John Carbutt, Centennial Photographic Company, B. F. Childs, E. & H. T. Anthony & Company, Alexander Gardner, T. W. Ingersoll, International Stereoscopic View Company, Keystone View Company, William Notman, Timothy O'Sullivan, William Rau, Strohmeyer & Wyman, Underwood & Underwood, and F. G. Weller.

The following list provides a breakdown of every topical subsection of the collection and includes item counts for each grouping:

Series I: General Subjects
  • Airships (11)
  • Bridges (69)
  • Civil War I--stereographs (91)
  • Civil War II--cartes de visite, Kodachrome slides, negative film strip copies of stereographs held at the Library of Congress, postcards (48)
  • Disasters (49)
  • Expositions (24)
  • Industry & Labor (89)
  • Miscellaneous (23)
  • Portraits (109)
  • Railroads (62)
  • Ships (80)
  • War (30)
Series II: Views, U.S.
  • Alaska (47)
  • Arizona (3)
  • California (20)
  • Colorado (2)
  • Dakota (4)
  • District of Columbia (50)
  • Florida (2)
  • Hawaii (1)
  • Illinois (17)
  • Iowa (2)
  • Maine (8)
  • Maryland (27)
  • Massachusetts (20)
  • Michigan (31)
  • Missouri (3)
  • New Hampshire (10)
  • New York (116)
  • Ohio (2)
  • Oregon (2)
  • Pennsylvania (16)
  • Tennessee (1)
  • Texas (1)
  • Vermont (3)
  • Utah (3)
  • Virginia (6)
  • Washington (1)
  • West Virginia (1)
  • Wisconsin (2)
  • Wyoming (2)
  • Unidentified locations (35)
Series III: Views, Foreign
  • Austria (5)
  • Belgium (6)
  • Brazil (1)
  • Canada (3)
  • Cuba (5)
  • Czechoslovakia (1)
  • Egypt (5)
  • England (21)
  • France (43)
  • Germany (14)
  • Greece (1)
  • India (2)
  • Ireland (4)
  • Italy (22)
  • Japan (3)
  • Mexico (1)
  • Miscellaneous (31)
  • Monaco (4)
  • Netherlands (1)
  • Norway (3)
  • Palestine (5)
  • Panama (41)
  • Puerto Rico (3)
  • Scotland (10)
  • Spain (2)
  • Sweden (2)
  • Switzerland (9)
  • Turkey (1)
Series IV: Objects
  • Keystone Alaska and Panama views, set box (1)
  • Stereoscope (1)
Items of particular interest include:
  • Post-WWI Keystone views of German and American zeppelins and one real photo postcard showing pre-WWI aircraft (Series I, Box 1, Airships)
  • Numerous views of the Brooklyn Bridge under construction and after completion, and the Niagara Falls suspension bridge (Series I, Box 1, Bridges)
  • Views of Civil War battle sites, encampments, and leaders on contemporary mounts as well as numerous reproductions of stereographs showing important battlefield sites and troops (Series I, Boxes 1-2, Civil War)
  • Stereographs, real photo postcards, and other images documenting the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, 1871 Chicago Fire, 1889 Johnstown Flood, 1900 Galveston Hurricane, and other calamities (Series I, Box 3, Disasters)
  • Images showing scenes from various American and European events, with an emphasis on the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia (Series I, Box 3, Expositions)
  • Images showing mills, factories and people engaged in various occupations, including a boxed set of 50 images related Sears, Roebuck operations produced around 1906 (Series I, Box 3, Industry & Labor)
  • Hand-colored early groupings of French theatrical tableaux (Series I, Box 3, Miscellaneous)
  • Approximately 109 portrait photographs in different formats of various individuals, including William Jennings Bryan; a boxed set of 50 cartes de visite depicting Danish actors and actresses; cartes de visite of Emperor Napoleon III and the Mikado of Japan; and numerous unidentified subjects represented in real photo postcards (1), tintypes (17), framed/cased ambrotypes, and daguerreotypes (13) (Series I, Box 4, Portraits)
  • Approximately 62 images of railroads, mostly in the U.S., including photographs from an 1866 expedition to the 100th meridian on the Union Pacific Railroad while under construction (Series I, Box 5, Railroads)
  • Approximately 80 images of ships including warships, freighters, riverboats, passenger ships, shipwrecks (including of the USS Maine), and shipyards mostly in the U.S. with the notable exception of a photo of the 1858 launch of the SS Great Eastern, with Isambard Kingdom Brunel possibly in the crowd. Also of interest are 8 photos and postcards showing ships in World War I-era "dazzle" camouflage (Series I, Box 5, Ships)
  • A Keystone View Co. series of images related to World War I (Series I, Box 5, Wars)
  • A number of images produced by Keystone View Co. and other stereograph purveyors that focus on major cities such as Boston, New York, Paris, Constantinople, and Jerusalem (throughout Series II & Series III)
  • Views from geological expeditions to the American frontier in the 1860s and 1870s (Series II, Unidentified Locations)
Collection

William Bull and Sarah Wells Pageant photograph album, 1908

1 volume

The William Bull and Sarah Wells Pageant photograph album contains 33 photographs of an elaborate outdoor pageant of the story of William Bull and Sarah Wells, two early settlers of Orange County, N.Y.

The William Bull and Sarah Wells Pageant photograph album (19 x 26 cm) contains 33 photographs of an elaborate outdoor pageant of the story of William Bull and Sarah Wells, two early settlers of Orange County, N.Y. It features locals dressed up as settlers and Indians and a house of logs constructed on site. Images of the reenactment also include the courtship and wedding of Bull and Wells, a wedding dance, and the making of plans to build a stone house. This pageant may be part of a family reunion, an ongoing Independence Day ritual, but also includes thanksgiving scenes of a meal shared by Indians and settlers. Prominently featured in one photograph are William Bull V and VII, descendants of William Bull and Sarah Wells.

The album has an unmarked black cloth cover and is housed in a gray wrapper with blue cloth binding.