Guide to the I.W. Taber Photographs MSS.PHOTO.0175
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2016
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Language of Material:
Undetermined
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: I.W. Taber photographs
creator:
Taber, I. W. (Isaiah West), 1830-1912
source:
Hopkins Transportation Library
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.PHOTO.0175
Physical Description:
3 box(es)
33 prints in 3 print boxes
Date (inclusive): circa 1870
Abstract: 33 photographs of the American West and the Southern Pacific Railroad by I.W. Taber.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
Conditions Governing Use
These materials are believed to be in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use of public domain materials.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], I.W. Taber Photographs (MSS PHOTO 0175). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred from the Hopkins Tranportation Library.
Biographical / Historical
Taber was a noted commercial photographer whose studio was based in San Francisco beginning in 1871. Along with his own photographs
he sold work by Carleton Watkins (whose negatives he purchased following Watkins' bankruptcy) and Alfred Hart among others.
By the 1890s Taber had offices around the world, but the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake which destroyed his studio and negatives
effectively ended his career.
Scope and Contents
33 mounted prints by Isaiah West Taber (1830-1912) documenting California mountain scenery and the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Most belong to two numbered series (900-1000 and B2000), but several are not captioned prints and have been identified in
pencil on verso (these are also presumed to be made or sold by Taber). Many of the images depict Mt. Shasta and Castle Rock.
The breakdown is as follows:
1 mammoth plate of the Palo Alto tree for which the town is named (number 548)
6 mammoth plates primarily of Mt. Shasta and vicinity (numbers 995, 996, 997, 999, 1000, and 1001)
4 8x6" vertical mounted prints, unnumbered, of the Shasta Division of the Southern Pacific rail line.
3 8x6" vertical mounted prints of Hot Spring Canyon (Monticeto), Portola Valley (San Mateo County), and Santa Barbara mission.
17 7.5x9.5" horizontal mounted prints of both the Shasta and Oregon Divisions of the Southern Pacific line (numbers 2066,
2070, 2074, 2075, 2081, 2083, 2085, 2086, 2093, 2094, 2101, 2107, 2109, 2110, 2113, 2115, and 2116)
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Please note that due to the nature of these prints the card board mounts have warped over time and do not lie flat.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California -- Description and travel -- Views.
Railroads -- California.
Taber, I. W. (Isaiah West), 1830-1912
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
Southern Pacific Company
Hopkins Transportation Library
box 1, folder 1
Portola Valley San Mateo Co.
box 1, folder 2
Spencer Cascade. Hot Spring Canon. Monticeto
box 1, folder 3
Santa Barbara Mission from the garden
box 1, folder 4
Mount Shasta from Strawberry Valley
box 1, folder 6
The Castle Rocks Northern Cal. near Lower Soda Springs
box 1, folder 7
The 18th Crossing Shasta Division
box 2, folder 1
B2066 Mt. Shasta, Showing Butteville
box 2, folder 2
B2070 Mt. Shasta, Showing Butteville
box 2, folder 3
B2074 Lake at Sisson's Hotel
box 2, folder 4
B2075 Mt. Shasta from Butteville
box 2, folder 5
B2081 Sisson's Hotel, Strawberry Valley
box 2, folder 6
B2083 Sisson's Hotel, Strawberry Valley
box 2, folder 7
B2085 Construction Camp on Sacramento River
box 2, folder 8
B2086 Castle Rock, from Lower Soda Spring
box 2, folder 9
B2093 Scobies Camp at Southerns
box 2, folder 10
B2094 Bridge on Middle Creek
box 2, folder 11
B2101 The Crossing, S.P. Co. Oregon Division
box 2, folder 12
B2107 Sacramento River from Middle Creek
box 2, folder 13
B2109 9th Crossing, S.P. Co. Oregon Division
box 2, folder 14
B2110 5th Crossing, S.P. Co. Oregon Division
box 2, folder 15
B2113 6th Crossing, S.P. Co. Oregon Division
box 2, folder 16
B2115 10th Crossing, S.P. Co. Oregon Division
box 2, folder 17
B2116 Castle Rock, from Lower Soda Spring
box 3, folder 1
548 The "Palo Alto" group of Redwoods in 1874, San Mateo Co., Cal.
box 3, folder 2
995 Mt. Shasta from Cavanaughs
box 3, folder 3
996 Castle Rock, from Lower Soda Spring
box 3, folder 4
997 Castle Rock, from Lower Soda Spring
box 3, folder 5
999 Mt. Shasta Strawberry Valley
box 3, folder 6
1000 Mt. Shasta, showing Butteville
box 3, folder 7
1001 Black Butte and Mt. Shasta
