Search

Souvenir Photographs of “A Trip to Cuba” is a privately published photograph album that contains approximately 213 photographs taken during a 26-member excursion to Cuba in 1907 conducted by the South West Land Company of Cuba.

Souvenir Photographs of “A Trip to Cuba” is a privately published photograph album that contains approximately 213 photographs taken during a 26-member excursion to Cuba in 1907 conducted by the South West Land Company of Cuba.

The album (35 x 27 cm) is bound in grey buckram and with the title "Cuban Trip '07" gilt stamped on the front. The name "Fred W. Adams" is also gilt stamped on the front while "Fred Adams Norman Adams Jan. 1907" can be found inscribed on a loose page tucked inside the front cover.

A printed title page is included indicating that the album's images were created during an expedition to Cuba "conducted under the auspices of The South West Land Co. of Cuba." in 1907 while also listing the traveling party's personnel and itinerary. Departing from Youngstown, Ohio, on January 4th, 1907, the group traveled to Washington, D.C., by train before departing for Havana via Tampa. Professional photographer R. W. Johnson of Pittsburgh is listed as the group's official photographer who produced the album's images.

The album begins with images taken in Washington, D.C., of the U.S. Capitol as well as a group portrait of the 26-member group piled into a D.C. sightseeing vehicle. In the latter image two pencil marks indicate the position of the album's former owner Fred Whittlesey Adams and his 13 year old son Norman (their presence is noted by pencil mark in several photographs). Subsequent images include a series depicting the party's travel by sea aboard the steamer Newhaven, views of Havana Harbor, street scenes and architectural profiles, Havana Cathedral, a cockfight, exterior and interior scenes from around Morro Castle, group portraits of Cuban agricultural laborers, views of Caibarién, images of produce being prepared for shipping, a group portrait of a family showing the mother allowing her infant to feed from a goat udder, views of the traveling party touring rural farmsteads and plantations, and a portrait of an Afro-Cuban carpenter.

The T. E. Hecht California views photograph album contains approximately 234 copies of photographs of Californian scenery originally produced by various photographers between 1856 and 1875 that were reproduced and compiled by photographer Treu Ergeben Hecht between 1890 and 1900.

The T. E. Hecht California views photograph album contains approximately 234 copies of photographs of Californian scenery originally produced by various photographers between 1856 and 1875 that were reproduced and compiled by photographer Treu Ergeben Hecht between 1890 and 1900.

The album (32 x 20 cm) has a leather spine with "Photographs" gilt stamped on the front and marbled paper cover boards. Contents are organized into geographic sections and mainly consist of street scenes, architectural profiles, aerial views, and landscape photographs documenting aspects of several Californian cities including San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Copperopolis, Sonora, Knight's Ferry, Lake Tahoe, Cisco, Benicia, Vallejo, and Mare Island. San Francisco-related content is the most prevalent material and includes views of the Express Building, Chinatown, Russian Hill, the Mission District, Woodward's Gardens, Portsmouth Square, Telegraph Hill, Union Square, San Francisco Bay, North Beach, Broadway Wharf, the Stock Exchange, Cliff House, Market Street Railway, the Palace Hotel, and more. This album purportedly once belonged to former mayor of San Francisco James "Sunny Jim" Rolph, Jr.

Many images include handwritten captions identifying places and buildings, and in some cases the original photographer is credited. Original negatives were mainly produced during the 1850s, 1860s, and 1870s. Photographers whose works have been reproduced include George R. Fardon, Lawrence & Houseworth (later Thomas Houseworth & Co.), Eadweard Muybridge, W. M. Stuart, and William J. Shew. Two photographic reproductions of non-photographic materials are also present including a print of San Francisco with several building vignettes as well as a document titled "Proposed Plan for Completing the County Jail." Of particular note are images of people and businesses in Chinatown, the aftermath of the 1868 Hayward earthquake, the airship Avitor Hermes, Jr. prior to takeoff during in 1869, numerous views showing businesses and storefronts (including the photography studios of Silas T. Selleck, Thomas Houseworth & Co., and W. M. Stuart), and pictures of missions across California.