Detroit Publishing Company Collection: Finding Aid
645655
Suzanne Oatey
The Huntington Library
August 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Detroit Publishing Company collection
Creator:
Detroit Publishing Co.
Identifier/Call Number: 645655
Physical Description:
21.58 Linear Feet
(14 boxes, 3 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1898-1929
Abstract: Over 5,000 color postcards, prints, and
print proofs made by the Detroit Publishing Company in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. Also photographs by William Henry Jackson, who was a partner in the
business.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Detroit Publishing Company collection, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased by the Library Collectors' Council from Ursus Rare Books, January 21, 2006.
Biographical / Historical
The Detroit Publishing Company was originally founded as the Detroit Photographic Company
in the late 1890s by William A. Livingstone Jr. and Edwin H. Husher in Detroit, Michigan.
The firm became the Detroit Publishing Company in 1905 and was renowned for the brilliant
color, technical precision, and diverse subject range of their postcards. They had obtained
the exclusive rights to the Swiss "Photochrom" process, a technology that added color to
black-and-white photographs using lithography, which preceded the invention of color
photography. The process was a carefully guarded secret that the company employed to great
success, mass-producing postcards and prints of a wide variety of subjects. In 1897,
photographer William Henry Jackson joined the firm, adding his thousands of negatives
(photographs) to the firm's inventory. He was also responsible for acquiring images by
several other professional photographers. As newer printing methods eventually led to more
competition and fewer sales, the company was dissolved in 1932.
Scope and Contents
A collection of over 5,000 color postcards, prints, and proof prints of American views
produced by the Detroit Publishing Company approximately 1898 to the late 1920s. The
company's distinctive postcards were made using their exclusive "Photochrom" process that
combined photographic negatives and color lithography to create the look of early color
photographs. This collection was assembled by a printing foreman for the company and
includes several trial press runs and proof sheets with the printing register marks on the
edges. There are 51 oversize color prints, also created using the photo-lithographic
process, including one sheet with 24 postcard-size views. Also included are 105 photographs
of American travel views and scenery, chiefly 7 x 10 inches, attributed to William Henry
Jackson, with some bearing his credit. A few photographs have printed captions like those
that appear on postcards.
The Detroit Publishing Company was noted for the breadth of topics, people, activity, and
industry depicted in their postcards, chronicling American life shortly before and after the
turn of the 20th century. In addition to extensive scenes from 42 U.S. states and a few
foreign countries, imagery depicts topics such as farming, museums, World War I, naval
ships, and cowboys. There are also several postcards of African Americans, some depicting
racist stereotypes and containing racist captions.
Processing Information
Processed by Suzanne Oatey in August 2023.
Arrangement
Organized in four series:
- 1. Postcards
- 2. Photographic prints with lithographic coloring
- 3. Oversize prints
- 4. Photographs
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African Americans -- Pictorial works
African Americans -- Social conditions --
To 1964
Americana -- Pictorial works
Cities and towns -- Pictorial works
Color printing -- History
Indians of North America -- Pictorial works
Lithography -- 20th century
Monuments -- Pictorial works
Printing -- History
Tourism – United States
United States -- Description and travel
Lithographs--Color
Photographs
Photomechanical prints
Postcards
Souvenirs
Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942, photographer
Detroit Publishing Co.
Fred Harvey (Firm)
Postcards
approximately 1898-1929
Physical Description: 5.83 Linear
Feet (10 boxes)
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by state, then by topic.
Scope and Contents
Over 5,000 color "Photochrom" postcards created using color lithography and a
photograph. These postcards did not circulate and have no writing on them. Subjects
include people, activities, city scenes, small towns, farming and agriculture, steel and
heavy manufacturing, harbors and shipping, mansions, landmarks, and many others. Each
box contains approximately 500 postcards except Box 10, which contains about 75 trial
proofs.
Box 1
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California
Scope and Contents
California locations are Anacapa Island, Arrowhead Springs, Beverly Hills, Coronado,
Del Mar, Hollywood, La Jolla, Los Angeles, Mojave Desert, Monterey, Mount Lowe,
Pasadena, Riverside, San Diego, San Gabriel Mission Play, Santa Barbara, Santa
Catalina Island, South Pasadena, Venice, Ventura County, and Yosemite.
Box 2
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland
Scope and Contents
California topics: Flowers, Missions, Railroads, Miscellaneous.
Box 4
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nevada
Scope and Contents
Postcards of Detroit, Michigan include advertising cards with printed text
advertising specific Detroit businesses.
Box 5
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York
Box 6
New York and New York City
Box 7
New York City, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas
Scope and Contents
Includes two fold-out panoramas of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Box 8
Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington (State), Washington, D.C., West Virginia,
Wisconsin, Wyoming
Box 9
Postcards of topics and foreign countries
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by topic, then by country.
Scope and Contents
Postcards grouped into the following topics: African American stereotypes;
Agriculture (mostly cotton workers); American flag; Artwork; Children; Cowboys; Native
Americans (primarily in Arizona, California, New Mexico); Prospectors (1 postcard);
Railroads; Revolutionary War artwork; Scenic views and nature; Ships; World War I
(most with printed text at the top: "Authorized by censor").
Foreign countries represented: Bahamas, Canada, Cuba (railroad views), Japan, Mexico,
and Switzerland.
Box 10
Trial proofs
Scope and Contents
Examples of postcards with no printing on front or back, some with vertical
lettering, some full bleed images with no border.
Photographic prints with lithographic coloring
approximately 1898-1929
Physical Description: 1.5 Linear
Feet (2 boxes)
Scope and Contents
Approximately 300 color "Photochrom" prints of various locations and subjects,
generally 3.75 x 7 to 7 x 9 inches. Most are on proof paper with no printed text, though
some have printed captions like those on postcards.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by state, then by topic.
Box 11
Color prints by state and topic
Scope and Contents
Prints by state: Grand Canyon, Arizona; California (chiefly Santa Catalina Island);
Florida; Michigan; New York; Salt Lake City, Utah; Library of Congress, Washington,
D.C.; Wisconsin; Wyoming.
Prints by topic: Animals (cattle, lion, pack mules, ostrich); Boats and ships;
Bridges; Buildings; Canyons and scenery (chiefly the Grand Canyon, with many
containing copyright of Fred Harvey); Children (African American boys playing, and a
Chinese woman with children); Churches and religious art; City and town
bird's-eye-views; Commerce; Cowboys; Foreign countries (one image "12770 A Quebec
Caleche" with penciled note "Sk Ok DB"; Fruit and flowers; Mining; Missions.
Box 12
Color prints by topic
Scope and Contents
Prints by topic: Monuments; Mountains; Native Americans; Parks; Pastoral; Residences
(chiefly of literary figures in Massachusetts); Rock formations; Street scenes; Trains
and railroad tracks; Trees; Water scenes; Waterfalls; Winter scenes; Unidentified.
Oversize prints
approximately 1898-1929
Physical Description: 13.25 Linear
Feet (1 box, 3 oversize
folders)
Scope and Contents
This series contains 51 large color prints, generally 11 x 18 inches to 22 x 34 inches
in size. Includes several proof prints with lithographic markings, and some lithographs
of artwork. One photograph is included here, with the matching print.
Arrangement
Arranged by size.
Box 14, Folder 2
Scenic color print and original black-and-white photograph of
image
Box 14, Folder 3
Color lithographs of paintings by artists Louis Akin (1904), E. I. Couse
(1904), J. Hambridge, Birge Harrison, and Thulstrup
Box 14, Folder 4
Proof print of postcard images; scenic prints
Folder Oversize 1
Color lithographs of paintings by artists C. Graham (1901), William Harden
Foster, Maxfield Parish, and other images
Folder Oversize 2
Color lithographs of paintings by artists Louis Akin (1904), Carl Kustner,
and H. Yoshida (1903), and two views of New York
Folder Oversize 3
Scenic prints of mountains and canyons; Library of Congress
interior
Box 13
Photographs
approximately 1898-1902
Physical Description: 1 Linear
Feet (1 box)
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by state and then topic.
Scope and Contents
This box contains 107 black-and-white photographic prints of the American West, chiefly
7 x 9 inches, attributed to photographer William Henry Jackson. A few have his credit:
WHJ & Co., and contain dates between 1898 and 1902. See also Box 14, Folder 2 for a
photograph with matching print.
Photographs:
- • Arizona, including Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest (18 images)
-
- • California, including El Portal and Merced River; Mammoth Hot Springs;
Mariposa Grove; Missions (Dolores, San Antonio, San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Juan
Capistrano, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara); Monterey; Santa Cruz; Santa Catalina
Island; San Francisco Bay; and Yosemite (27 images)
-
- • Canada: British Columbia (10 images)
-
- • Colorado: Mesa Verde (1 image)
-
- • Florida: St. Augustine (1 image)
-
- • Massachusetts (Cambridge: Lowell House; Haverhill: Whittier's birthplace;
Lexington: Line of the Minute Men commemorative marker) (3 images)
-
- • Michigan: Belle Isle, Detroit (1 image)
-
- • New Hampshire: North Conway, White Mountains (2 images)
-
- • New York: Catskill Mountains (3 images)
-
- • Washington, D.C. (Capitol; Library of Congress; Washington monument; White
House) (6 images)
-
- • Wyoming (13 images)
-
- • Native Americans, including Hopi women (5 images)
-
- • Unidentified (25 images)
-
