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Collection

Caspar Wistar Miller Photograph Albums, 1888-1892

approximately 172 photographs in 2 albums

The Caspar Wistar Miller photograph albums contain approximately 172 photographs stored in two albums that document travels in the western United States, Alaska, and Europe by Philadelphia-area physician Caspar Wistar Miller during the late 19th-century.

Volume 1 (33.5 x 40 cm) has maroon and black leather covers with “Photographs” stamped in gold on the spine and contains 87 photographs related to Miller’s travels in the western United States and Alaska from May to August of 1888. Many images appear to include glass plate negative numbers. Traveling mostly by rail, Miller’s itinerary and layovers can be tracked from the photographs, almost all of which note the date and location. Miller appears to have held an interest in photos of valleys looking first in one direction (“up”) and then the other (“down”), and he also regularly sought out possibilities for bird’s-eye views of towns. The album opens with a photo of a cantilever bridge in Niagara, New York, before documenting Miller’s time in Pullman, Illinois, where he observed the railroad baron George Pullman’s newly built factory town. It is likely that Miller traveled in Pullman railroad cars during this journey. Subsequent images show scenes from Colorado, New Mexico, and California, where Miller spent a month photographing various towns and cities along the Pacific coast before heading into the Northwest. Included are images of the area surrounding the Las Vegas, New Mexico hot springs; street scenes, historic sites, and Native Americans in Santa Fe; and views of buildings, historic sites and natural scenery in Californian locations including Pasadena, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Yosemite, Monterrey (including views of the Hotel Del Monte), Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton. Images related to the Northwest include a bird’s-eye view of Portland, Oregon, and a series of photographs of acrobats performing in Tacoma, Washington. Also present are a series of images taken in early July 1888 after Miller joined a few dozen other travelers on a three-week Alaskan cruise exploring inlets, harbors, and villages. Alaskan images include a group portrait of Tlingit women and infants; photos showing a grave totem and totem poles at Fort Wrangell; Tlingit men and women selling wares on a wharf in Juneau; views of Juneau and Sitka; a block house in Sitka; the face of Muir Glacier; a Tlingit camp at Pyramid Harbor; a group portrait of officers in command of the sidewheel steamship “Ancon”; and group portraits of fellow travelers posing with various Tinglit items including a chilkat blanket. A newspaper clipping regarding Alaskan totem poles is also included opposite one of the totem pole images. Photographs taken during Miller’s return home include scenes from Port Townsend, Washington; Yellowstone National Park; and Minnehaha Falls in Minnesota.

Volume 2 (28.5 x 39 cm) also has maroon and black leather covers and contains 85 photographs related to Miller’s European travels between May and August of 1892. The vast majority of these images are high-quality commercially-made photographic prints documenting typical tourist attraction subjects such as historic buildings, street scenes, cathedrals and churches, sculptures, and landscape views. Many of these images were likely produced from glass plate negatives that were originally created in the 1870s and 1880s. A small number of half-tone reproduction images clipped from printed sources are also present. Many of the commercially-produced images include captions within the photographs that provide site information and negative or series numbers, while some also contain blind stamps bearing photographer or studio names. The album begins with images of scenes in Le Havre and Paris, France; the two Le Havre-related photographs appear to have possibly been taken by Miller, while the Parisian views were all purchased from the gallery “A Jeanne D’Arc Paris 3, Place Rivoli, 3.” Most, if not all, of the remaining photographs in the album were also purchased by Miller. Subsequent images include views of sites, sculptures, and Alpine scenery in the Swiss locales of Geneva, Vevey, Montreux, La Tour-de-Peilz, Bern, Zurich, Fribourg, Thun, Oberhofen, Interlaken, and Lucerne. Other Swiss-related images include views of the Lauterbrunnen Valley; the Jungfrau; the Lion of Luzern monument; a wall tower and hotel in Zug; a man operating a dog-powered milk cart; and the Rheinfall. Austrian views include scenes from locations such as Innsbruck, Kufstein, and Rattenberg, while German destinations such as Lindau, Munich, Nuremburg, Heidelberg, Frankfurt am Main, Koblenz, and Cologne are also represented. The back-end of the album contains images from Brussels, Belgium, including another photograph of a dog-powered milk cart.

Collection

T. E. Hecht California views photograph album, ca. 1856-1900 (majority within ca. 1856-1875)

approximately 234 photographs in 1 album

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.