Photograph album of Colorado frontier towns, 1860s-1871

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Summary

Abstract:
A photograph album of early Colorado towns, buildings, scenery, and some carte-de-visite portraits, 1860s-1871.
Extent:
1 Volume (113 photographs)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Photograph album of Colorado frontier towns, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A photograph album containing 113 images of frontier towns, scenery, and residents of Colorado, 1860s-1871. The album is inscribed: "Photos brought home from Colorado - U.S. by J. V. Smedley, May 1871" and contains handwritten captions. Georgetown, Denver, Blackhawk, and other frontier towns are seen in bird's-eye-views and street scenes, along with some portraits dating from the 1860s. Views of Denver include the first buildings, streets with storefronts, and an 1868 photograph by Williams & McDonald of a covered wagon train lined up in a circle with several teams of horses. Landscape photographs depict the Rocky Mountains, Garden of the Gods, Pike's Peak, and two images of a farm and small town titled "Maxwell Land Grant, New Mexico." A few Native Americans are seen in carte-de-visite portraits captioned: "Spotted Tail, Chief of the Cheyennes"; "Pia, Chief of the Utes, a notorious scalp taker"; and "Jack & Pop. Utes." Other portraits are identified as "Mariano Modena - A Mexican"; "Jim Baker"; and "James P. Beckwourth" (a.k.a. Beckwirth, Beckwith), the African American frontiersman and adventurer.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Sotheby's, June 1977.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa late-20th century. In 2020, Suzanne Oatey created a finding aid derived from a collection file.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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]. Photograph album of Colorado frontier towns, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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