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Guide to the Levi Vandercook photograph collection
MS0055
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Title: Levi Vandercook photograph collection
Dates: 1895-1935
Collection number: MS0055
Creator:
Vandercook, Levi
Collection Size:
988 photographs
(27 boxes)
Repository:
Center for Sacramento History
Sacramento, California 95811-0229
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.
Physical location: 4E1 Drawer J, 35L1-7, 35K3
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research use.
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.
[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Levi Vandercook photograph collection , MS0055, Center
for Sacramento History.
The Levi Vandercook photograph collection was donated by Lynne Riley Courtney to the Center for Sacramento History on March
24, 1993 (accession #1993/013).
Collection was catalogued and processed by Sherry Hatch and Don Benning, 1993-2015.
Biography / Administrative History
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.
Scope and Content of Collection
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.
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
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Folsom (Calif.)--History--Pictorial works
Folsom Prison--Pictorial works
Lodi (Calif.)--History--Pictorial works
Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)--Pictorial works
Sacramento (Calif.)--History
Sutter's Fort (Sacramento, Calif.)--History