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Guide to the Levi Vandercook photograph collection
MS0055  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
The Levi Vandercook photograph collection consists of 918 glass plate negatives and a small number of acetate negatives documenting people and places in Sacramento, California between 1895 and 1935. The collection is organized into nine series by the subjects in the photographs. Subjects include views of the Vandercook family, family and group portraits, houses, churches the state capitol building, the waterfront, Sutter's Fort and festivals. There are images of the Folsom area, including Folsom Prison, dredging and river scenes. A large portion are of the Lodi and Woodbridge area. The negatives were housed in dry plate boxes, usually with a list, and are well identified. These included images of the Mills and Ellis families, Tokay Carnival of 1907 rivers, schools and more. There are also images of St. Helena and the Napa area. Many of these boxed images are masked and inscribed for postcard printing. Other images in the Vandercook collection included the foothill and Sierra Nevada region, Yosemite, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, Omaha, New York and the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
Background
Levi Eugene Vandercook (1854-1937) was born December 22, 1854 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He came to Sacramento around 1880. With him were his father Henry Vandercook, his mother, Susan Buck Vandercook and three sisters: Frances, Susan and Clara. The family lived at 1426 J Street in downtown Sacramento.
Extent
988 photographs (27 boxes)
Restrictions
All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH 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 patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
Availability
Collection is open for research use.