Dietrich H. Wulzen, Jr. documented early 1900s San Francisco and Monterey County through photography. Born in 1862, D. H. Wulzen became a pharmacist in 1889, studying at the Affiliated Colleges on Parnassus Heights. Wulzen built a pharmacy building on the corner of Castro, Market and 17th streets. In the 1890s he became interested in photography and added a Kodak Agency to his drug store. Wulzen joined the California Camera Club and made several photography excursions to Yosemite National Park with other members. His style was straightforward and realistic, unlike the dominant “artist” photography of the club. Like fellow club member Genthe, Wulzen put aside his cumbersome 6 1/2” x 8 ½” tripod-bound view camera and took up a 4” x 5” multipack plate camera that he could hand hold while attracting little attention from his subjects. The results are the candid scenes of people going about their daily routines in a natural unposed way. Adapted from the description of San Francisco Public Library's D. H. Wulzen Glass Plate Negative Collection.

Dietrich H. Wulzen, Jr. (1862-1946) documented early 1900s San Francisco and Monterey County through photography. Born in 1862, D. H. Wulzen became a pharmacist in 1889, studying at the Affiliated Colleges on Parnassus Heights. Wulzen built a pharmacy building on the corner of Castro, Market and 17th streets. In the 1890s he became interested in photography and added a Kodak Agency to his drug store. Wulzen joined the California Camera Club and made several photography excursions to Yosemite National Park with other members. His style was straightforward and realistic, unlike the dominant “artist” photography of the club. Like fellow club member Genthe, Wulzen put aside his cumbersome 6 1/2” x 8 ½” tripod-bound view camera and took up a 4” x 5” multipack plate camera that he could hand hold while attracting little attention from his subjects. The results are the candid scenes of people going about their daily routines in a natural unposed way. Frank E. Wulzen (1906-2000) was a photographer for Gabriel Moulin Studios in the 1930s. He photographed the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the World's Fair on Treasure Island in 1939. Frank used his photography skills to become a cinematographer with Photo & Sound and then served as a photo air intelligence officer during World War II. Descriptions of the negatives are adapted from the August 1993 inventory conducted by CCM Associates.

52 glass plate negatives

The photographic prints are open to researchers. Due to their fragility, the glass plate negatives are closed to researchers.