Visual Materials

Mining views in the western United States

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Description: Contents: Mount Corey Mine (Nevada); View of hill and mine tailings (California); Bloomfield Dam and Elevator (North Bloomfield, formerly Humbug, California, 1896); City view of 1894 flood (Portland, Oregon); Panorama of Portland with Mt. St. Helens in background (Oregon); Cañon Diablo railroad bridge (Arizona); Interior of photograph studio (Virginia City, Nevada). Annotations on sepia-toned photographs also note "Hardy 1945."
Type: Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Production date: approximately 1890-1896.
Call number: photPF 3830-3839
Provenance: Acquired from various sources.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Album of photographs and postcards of Western United States trip

Visual Materials

An album with 117 photographs and 129 postcards chronicling an unidentified family's trip to the American West starting from Chicago, Illinois, on July 19, 1917. The images are chiefly snapshots and color lithographic postcards.The images follow the family's progress from Illinois to Missouri, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Canada, and Alaska. Includes photographs of the family on the steps in from of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; postcards of Kansas City, Missouri; photographs and postcards of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Grand Canyon, Arizona; California, particularly Santa Catalina Island, Coronado Beach, San Diego, Riverside (especially the Mission Inn), Long Beach, Santa Barbara, the Yosemite Valley, and San Francisco; Oregon, including Portland, the Columbia River, and Bayocean; Seattle, Washington; Canada, including Victoria, Vancouver, Alert Bay, and Prince Rupert, in British Columbia; a train ride on the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway through the Rockies; Lake Louise, Banff, and Alberta, in the province of Alberta; Alaska, including totem poles, Wrangell, Taku Glacier, Juneau, and Skagway. There are several photographs of the family's modes of transportation, including automobiles, steamboats (especially the "Princess Alice"), and trains. The postcards are issued by Fred Harvey, Frank H. Nowell, Louis H. Pederson (L.H.P.), Cross & Dimmitt, George Weister, and Fred Button.

photCL 165

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Photograph album of automobile travel throughout the United States, (bulk 1912-1923)

Visual Materials

This photograph album documents the life and travels of an unidentified woman from 1912 to 1923 throughout the United States (with one image of a dog from 1906). The woman seems to be closely associated with the Meier & Frank department store in Portland, Oregon. There are photographs of Meier & Frank company picnics, sports teams, and other activities. Notably, many of the travel images include automobile travel and feature the unidentified woman as the driver. There are extensive photographs throughout California and Oregon. Images captured in California document Santa Monica and Venice beaches; Mount Wilson and the Pasadena area including an image of the Japanese Gardens at The Huntington; Los Angeles movies studios; the 1915 San Francisco World's Fair, called the Panama Pacific International Exposition; San Gabriel and San Fernando missions; the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, and more. Images captured in Oregon document the Meier & Frank building, the Portland Automobile Club grounds; Mount Hood; Oregon City Falls; and the Powell Valley Road to Gresham. Rock Island, Illinois, and Grand Rapids, Michigan are also heavily featured in the photographs. The images depict the photographer's family; friends; travels; holidays; outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, and camping; visiting tourist sites; the photographer's rose garden; and more. Additional locations include Tijuana, Mexico; Yellowstone National Park; Idaho; Iowa; and 1918 Armistice Day celebrations in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nearly all photographs are dated and captioned in ink on the front of the photograph but are not in chronological order.

photCL 758

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Virgina City and Gold Hill Nevada mining views

Visual Materials

The photographs consist of albumen prints and cabinet card views depicting images of the Gold Hill, Silver City, and Virginia City mining communities in Nevada. Horse teams, mining machinery, horse teams, and miners are captured in daily activities. Annotations found on some of the photographs note Ed C. Swift (horse team owner), Ralph Gillespie (Gold Hill Wagon shop), and Devil's Gate Cut (Silver City). Also included is an image of Gold Hill miners posing for a photograph and in the center is an Asian man dressed in a cook's uniform. Within the group of photographs is a reproduction of the Comstock delegation assembled on January 12, 1864 which includes Mark Twain, Joseph T. Goodman, Steve Gillis, William Claggett, and Jack Simmons.The cabinet cards are attributed to James H. Crockwell.

photPF 3463-3479

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New Almaden Quicksilver Mine / Mendocino Coast Views

Rare Books

In 1863, Watkins was commissioned to photograph the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine near San Jose, California, by William Eustace Barron, a founding partner and San Francisco merchant. This group of 8 mammoth plate photographs depict the structures and works of the quicksilver (i.e. mercury) mine set among hillsides, including smelting furnaces, metal sheds, and paths leading to mine entrances. One view depicts about 40 workers at a quarry, including several adolescent boys posed with wheelbarrows. The miners’ community of small houses and wooden shacks is also seen in views titled "Hacienda" and “The Town on the Hill.” The Mendocino Coast Views Watkins made in the fall of 1863, most likely on a commission from Jerome B. Ford, a major mill owner in Mendocino, California. Views show lumber mills along the banks of Big River, Albion River, and Noyo River, near where they meet the Pacific Ocean. The coastal city of Mendocino is seen on top of a high beach cliff, and there are scenic views of ocean waves crashing against boulders. One river view shows men guiding a small ferry by holding a cable mounted across the river, and a log flume is seen suspended in the background. There is one view of Native Americans, possibly Pomo, seated in front of dwellings made from wooden planks. The house of “Mr. Chalfant” in the town, with a fenced yard, is the focus of another photograph, and there is one view of the Fort Bragg army post.

RB 379010 : Vol. 2

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United States Department of the Interior. Bureau of Mines correspondence and documents

Manuscripts

The John Janney collection contains correspondence and business records related to mining in the early 20th century American West. Included are files related to John Janney's several properties and interests, most of which were in Lincoln County, Nevada, including the Ely Valley Mines, Mountain View Hotel, Pioche Mines Company, Pioche Power and Light Company, and Tenabo Mining and Smelting Company. This collection exists as an extensive and rich documentation of Nevada mining, especially during the Great Depression and World War II.

mssJanney

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Photographs of Los Angeles, Mojave mining, and Santa Catalina Island

Visual Materials

Consists of twelve photographs and postcards. photPF 350-353 depict the aftermath of the 1912 fire in Ocean Park, California. photPF 354 shows a couple in a vacation tent on a hill above Hotel Metropole in Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. photPF 355-356 shows mine buildings of the Mojave mining district in Kern County. And photPF 357-359 depicts areas of early downtown Los Angeles, including a view of the city from Brooklyn Heights by Francis Parker, Iglesia Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, also known as La Placita Church or the Church of our Lady of Los Angeles on Olvera Street, and a view of Bunker Hill from 3rd and Hill Streets.

photPF 350-359

Mining views in the western United States

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Album of photographs and postcards of Western United States trip

Photograph album of automobile travel throughout the United States, (bulk 1912-1923)

Virgina City and Gold Hill Nevada mining views

New Almaden Quicksilver Mine / Mendocino Coast Views

United States Department of the Interior. Bureau of Mines correspondence and documents

Photographs of Los Angeles, Mojave mining, and Santa Catalina Island