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Finding aid of the General Photograph
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Title: General Photograph Collections
Dates: 1850s-present
Bulk Dates: 1900-1940s
Creator:
Various
Collection Size:
~50,000 images
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Dept. of
Special Collections
Stockton, California 95211
Abstract: The photographs contained in the library make up
one of the richest and most comprehensive collections of images which document
the history of the great Central Valley of California and the development of
agricultural technology. The photograph collections (of over 50,000 images)
contain positive prints, stereographs, lantern slides, daguerreotypes,
tintypes, ambrotypes, glass plate negatives, film negatives, and 35 mm slides.
They cover the period from the Gold Rush to the present, although the bulk of
the collection is pre-World War II. Geographically the collections focus on the
San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, the San Francisco Bay Region, Northern
California, and the Mother Lode areas. In addition there are many images of
Alaska, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona. Works of over 700 identified photographers
are represented.
Physical location: For current information on the location
of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection open for research.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as
the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the
researcher.
General Photograph Collections. Holt-Atherton Department of Special
Collections, University of the Pacific Library.
Scope and Content of Collection
The photographs contained in the library make up one of the richest and
most comprehensive collections of images which document the history of the
great Central Valley of California and the development of agricultural
technology. The photograph collections (of over 50,000 images) contain positive
prints, stereographs, lantern slides, daguerreotypes, tintypes, ambrotypes,
glass plate negatives, film negatives, and 35 mm slides. They cover the period
from the Gold Rush to the present, although the bulk of the collection is
pre-World War II. Geographically the collections focus on the San Joaquin and
Sacramento Valleys, the San Francisco Bay Region, Northern California, and the
Mother Lode areas. In addition there are many images of Alaska, Oregon, Nevada
and Arizona. Works of over 700 identified photographers are represented.
At its core are the photographs collected and/or taken by V. Covert
Martin, an early Stockton photographer (active 1900-1940s). Press photographer
for the Stockton Record, and later a commercial photographer, Martin's
photographs show the development of the Central Valley, agricultural machinery
(many relating to Benjamin Holt, the inventor of the caterpillar tractor),
shipbuilding, commercial and residential buildings, etc. As a federal
contractor during World War II, Martin documented military activities in and
around Stockton, and the creation of emergency civilian housing. Martin had a
flair for the spectacular and sensational, and his vivid images of disasters
and catastrophes document many exciting events. He developed a large portfolio
of the history of the fire department.
Martin also copied and collected the works of many nineteenth century
photographers in the area, thus preserving many images that would have been
lost. In collaboration with R. Coke Wood, he published a visual history of
Stockton, Stockton Album Through the Years (1959). Martin accumulated a
sizeable J. Pitcher Spooner collection. Spooner was a local photographer
(1860's-1900). The collection contains glass plate negatives, cabinet cards and
carte de visite portraits of early Stocktonians, images of local scenes, gold
camps, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains (including Yosemite). Over 400
stereograph views by Spooner are in the collection.
Other local photographers are well represented in the collections, such
as B. P. Batchelder, Marino Monaco, Charles Logan and Edwin McCullagh. Other
well-known western photographers included are J. J. Reilley and Carleton E.
Watkins of San Francisco.
The Watkins' collection of stereographs contain many images including
Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Monterey, and the Pacific Coast from
Washington to California. A collection of 1,000 stereographic views represent
roughly 50 photographers. The majority of stereos are of California, with most
scenes taken by J. P. Spooner and C. E. Watkins of the Pacific Coast and
Yosemite.
A card catalog listing many individual photographs is available with
access by photographer and subjects. Other photographs connected to manuscript
collections are available through those collections finding aids.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Spooner, John Pitcher,
1845-1917
Martin, Van Covert,
1885-1962
Watkins, Carleton E.,
1829-1916
Batchelder, B. P. (Benjamin Pierce),
1826-1891
Photographers - California -
Stockton
Photography - California - 20th
century
Photography - California - 19th
century
Photography
Photographers