Oblong Quarto album (ca. 18x27,4 cm). 48 card-stock leaves. With 188 original photographs, including 184 mounted gelatin photos, from ca. 8,2x13,8 cm (3 ¼ x 5 ½ in) to ca. 5,3x7,8 cm (2 x 3 in) and four mounted cyanotypes ca. 8,3x8,4 cm (3 ¼ x 3 ¼ in). 52 photos with white ink captions on the mounts, 3 photos captioned in negative, including one dated. Period brown suede album with etched ornaments on the front cover; paper label of “The Heinn Co., Milwaukee, Wis.” on the inner side of the rear cover. A whole in the front cover of the album, chemical stain on the second photo, photos slightly age-toned, but overall a very good album, with strong, interesting photos.

Historically interesting collection of lively vernacular photographs from an early road trip to Texas, Arizona, and Mexico, taken just a few years before the Mexican-American Border War (1910-1919).  

According to the photos, the compiler was an affluent man from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who at different legs of the journey travelled with his family members and friends.

The collection features 188 vibrant views of California and the American Southwest, with ca. 100 excellent photographs showing early Phoenix, Arizona. Five well-executed close-up photos depict the old City Hall (1889-1929), the Central Methodist Church, and the newly-erected Arizona Canal Falls. About forty lively vernacular photos vividly portray the tourists in Papago Park interacting with Native Americans, riding horses, operating machinery, picnicking, taking photos, etc. Especially interesting are ca. ten candid urban scenes of Pima Indians in traditional attire, carrying head loads and unloading cargo from horse-drawn carts. The other photos from the “Arizona series” mostly show topographical views of the Papago Park and lively scenes from a local rodeo.

The collection also includes two rare photos of El Paso, Texas, including an interesting view of the city’s railways with a tram and the Franklin Mountains in the background (likely part of the Southern Pacific Railroad). There are also about five photographs of the neighboring city of Juarez, Mexico, showing the Main St. (with shop signs “Zarapes & Pottery,” “Curiosities, Novelties, Drawnwork, Opals,” etc.), local merchants selling sugar canes, Old Mission Guadalupe, etc.

The rest of the photos mostly depict early views of Hollywood (Hollywood Inn, artist Paul de Longre’s residence), Long Beach (Bath Houses, beach scenes), Redlands (Casa Loma, McKinley Monument, Edward C. Sterling Residence, Smiley Public Library, The Burrage Mansion), Riverside (Carnegie Public Library, Glenwood Inn, Mission Inn), Pasadena (Hotel Green, Baldwin’s Ranch), Petaluma (Train Depot), San Diego (Coronado Beach Hotel), and Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara Mission, tower, entrance, etc.). There’s also an interesting photo from Catalina Island, showing the traveling party and their friends in costumes and dresses, lounging on the beach while searching for gems.

Overall, historically interesting collection documenting the American Southwest and its environs before the Mexican-American Border War.