Charles Victor Hall Lantern Slide Collection of California Views

This collection of 166 lantern slides depicting urban, agricultural, and nature scenes of California in the 1870s were created by real estate developer Charles Victor Hall as a visual accompaniment to his traveling lecture promoting California's resources and benefits. The lecture aimed to encourage New Englanders and Europeans to relocate to California. The majority of the lantern slides depict scenes from northern California, including Yosemite National Park and San Francisco. Some southern California views are also shown, including San Diego and Los Angeles County. Other slides of interest are views of the California ranches of F.P.F. Temple, Ellwood Cooper, F.D. Bacon, Maria Sepulveda, L.J. Rose Jr. (and family), and H.H. Moore. Portraits of General John C. Fremont and actress Maude Granger are also featured in the collection.

This collection is significant in its images of Native Americans in California, mainly in the Yosemite area; see slides (56), (60), (64), (66), (67), (68), and (74). Many of the images were possibly photographed by Bradley & Rulofson, as stated in newspaper clippings from 1874-75, found in Hall's scrapbooks. In addition, Hall said that he purchased his "views and instruments" from Houseworth & Co. (The Morning Call, Sept. 23, 1874, p. 14). The images were most likely taken by several different photographers, including Carleton Watkins and Eadweard Muybridge.

In addition to the lantern slides, three copy negatives depicting the logging industry are also included (Items 219-221). There is also a printing plate portrait of Charles Victor Hall(item 222), and a few photographs: portraits of Charles Victor Hall and his wife Josephine Dalton, and views of his residence in Los Angeles (items 223 - 227)..