Vandercook (Levi) photograph collection, 1895-1935

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Summary

Title:
Levi Vandercook photograph collection
Dates:
1895-1935
Creators:
Vandercook, Levi
Abstract:
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.
Extent:
988 photographs (27 boxes)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Levi Vandercook photograph collection , MS0055, Center for Sacramento History.

Background

Scope and content:

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 ten 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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Levi and his father were carpenters. Initially Levi worked for the Central Pacific Railroad. He then worked for Pearson, Amsden & Burnett, a planning and lumber mill and eventually Burnett & Sons Planning Mill and Lumber Co.

Photography was a secondary occupation for Vandercook. He did not maintain a studio, but worked from his home. A business card is evidence that he sold his services as a photographer. And two photographs in the collection show that he sold his photographic artwork.

In 1907 Vandercook married Mary Gertrude Fraser. She was the daughter of State Senator Thomas Fraser of Sacramento. They moved into the home Levi built for them at 2025 P Street. The Vandercooks had two children, Thomas and William. Levi was eighty-two years old when he died May 2, 1937.

Acquisition information:
The Levi Vandercook photograph collection was donated by Lynne Riley Courtney to the Center for Sacramento History on March 24, 1993 (accession #1993/013).
Processing information:

Collection was catalogued and processed by Sherry Hatch and Don Benning, 1993-2015.

Arrangement:

Series 1. Businesses Series 2. Churches Series 3. Family Series 4. Farming / agriculture Series 5. Festivals / celebrations Series 6. Folsom, California Series 7. State parks and government Series 8. Statues /memorials Series 9. St Louis, Mo. Louisiana Purchase Exposition Series 10. Assorted

Physical location:
4E1 Drawer J, 35L1-7, 35K3
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Sherry Hatch and Don Benning
Date Prepared:
© 2013
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by Sean Heyliger. Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: September 10, 2019.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Levi Vandercook photograph collection , MS0055, Center for Sacramento History.

Location of this collection:
551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95811, US
Contact:
(916) 808-7072
csh@cityofsacramento.org
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