#PB34
Ca. 1906-1911
Octavo album (ca. 26x19,4 cm). 48 albumen paper leaves (including 2 blanks). With ca. 236 mounted original gelatin silver photographs (including one real photo postcard), from ca. 6,5x11 cm (2 ½ x 4 ¼ in) to ca. 17x10,5 cm (6 ½ x 4 ¼ in). Thirty-four photos (including one real photo postcard) either dated or with period ink captions (in English) on the mounts. Period black full-cloth album. Edges slightly worn, one page missing, several photos with creases, at least two photos missing, but otherwise a very good album with strong, interesting photos.
Historically significant collection of original gelatin silver photographs documenting an early cross-country journey and capturing the immediate aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
According to the photos, the compiler and his friends began their journey in New York, visiting Niagara Falls before traveling to Colorado’s Cave of the Winds Mountain Park. After exploring local landmarks, the group continued to San Francisco and later traveled by train to Oregon.
The album opens with about 20 rare, early views of Niagara Falls in New York, taken by the compiler at the start of his cross-country journey. More than fifty lively, candid photographs capture the travelers in Colorado—posing by Castle Rock, picnicking at the Garden of the Gods, exploring the Cave of the Winds, and standing by the Colorado Springs Courthouse (now the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum). There are also several well-composed images depicting Pike’s Peak, Central Station in Colorado Springs, and the newly built Second Antlers Hotel (est. 1905), where the travelers likely stayed.
Especially interesting are photographs from the San Francisco series, capturing the immediate aftermath of the 1906 earthquake. The images depict the ruined City Hall, the windmill at Golden Gate Park with its sightseeing car, the Ferry Building, a crowded Sutter Street with carts and signage (“O’Brien Company,” “Hotel,” “Dentist,” etc.), Market Street with the Call Building, and various street views showing damaged structures.
The other photographs primarily show the travelers in Oregon, posing by the Old Ashland Passenger Depot, train locomotives, and along railway tracks, as well as capturing views from the train and scenes from the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland.
The album concludes with ca. 60 photographs of the compiler and his companions at home and on the streets near Jackson Furniture Co (possibly in Oakland).
Overall, historically interesting collection of original gelatin silver photographs, illustrating an early cross-country trip and post-earthquake San Francisco.
