Photographs of the California Missions by William Henry Jackson

A collection of 39 albumen photographs of 12 California Missions, taken by nineteenth-century photographer William Henry Jackson sometime between 1885 and 1890. All of the photographs are titled and signed, "W.H.J. & Co." One or more images of the following missions are included: San Antonio de Padua, San Carlos Borroméo de Carmel, San Diego de Alcalá, San Fernando Rey, San Francisco de Asís, San Gabriel Arcángel, San Juan Bautista, San Juan Capistrano, San Luis Rey, San Miguel Arcángel, Santa Barbara and Santa Ines. The photographs primarily show the missions' front façades or courtyards, both in ruins and with slight repair work.

The California Missions were a favored subject for photographers at the turn of the nineteenth century. Jackson, like many of his contemporaries, capitalized on the romantic interest in the ruins, and took photographs to sell to tourists. While the photographs are primarily artistic works of the architecture alone, a few photographs have people in them. Of note is (11), taken at San Juan Bautista, where a photographer can be seen on the left with his large-format camera, setting up his own shot.