Carleton E. Watkins Mammoth Plate Photographs of Yosemite, New Almaden Mine and the Mendocino Coast, California: Finding Aid 379010
Suzanne Oatey
The Huntington Library
2019
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated in October 2022 by Mari Khasmanyan.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Carleton E. Watkins mammoth plate photographs of Yosemite, New Almaden Mine and the
Mendocino Coast, California
Creator:
Watkins, Carleton E., 1829-1916
Identifier/Call Number: 379010
Physical Description:
20 Linear Feet
(8 boxes).
50 mammoth plate photographs in 2 volumes (disbound): albumen prints; size of
prints varies, approximately 40 x 53 cm; volumes each 53 x 67 cm
Date (inclusive): 1861-1864
Abstract: A collection of 50 mammoth plate
photographs of Yosemite, the New Almaden Mine, and Mendocino, California by American
photographer Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916). The prints were in a two-volume set, now
disbound, containing a title page dated 1863 and a dedication page reading: "To Ernest
Frignet / His California Friends / April 1864." The photographs are landscape views of
Yosemite and the Mariposa giant sequoias, taken by Watkins in 1861, followed by 1863 views
of New Almaden Quicksilver Mine and Mendocino, both in Northern California.
Language of Material: English
RESTRICTED. Photographs are fragile and only available with curatorial approval. Please
view digital surrogates.
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.
[Identification of item], Collection of Carleton E. Watkins mammoth plate photographs of
Yosemite, New Almaden Mine and the Mendocino Coast, California, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased by the Friends of the Huntington Library from Pierre Berès, Inc., April 1,
1950.
Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916) was born in 1829 in Oneonta, New York. In 1851, he migrated
to Sacramento, California in the company of businessman Collis P. Huntington and several
other residents of Oneonta. He began his photographic career as an apprentice to established
San Francisco Bay area studio photographers Robert H. Vance (1825–1876) and James May Ford
(c. 1827–1877).
Watkins photographed Yosemite for the first time in 1861. His large-scale images inspired
President Abraham Lincoln and the United States Congress to declare Yosemite the nation's
first national preserve in 1864. By the end of the American Civil War, the photographer had
become one of the medium's leading lights, winning prestigious commissions and international
awards.
Over the course of his career, Watkins operated studios at various Montgomery Street
addresses in San Francisco. Around 1869, he purchased Alfred A. Hart's stereographic
negatives documenting the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. Watkins subsequently
published Hart's negatives under the series title: "Watkins Central Pacific Railroad."
Watkins suffered severe financial reverses in 1875, losing his negative inventory to
competitor Isaiah H. Taber. From that point onward, Watkins published negatives under the
"New Series" heading.
In 1879, Watkins married Frances Henrietta Snead. The couple had two children, Julia
(1881–1977) and Collis (1883–1965). By the early 1890s, declining health forced Watkins to
curtail his activities. He took his last major commission in 1894, photographing the Phoebe
Apperson Hearst residence, Hacienda del Pozo de Verona, in Pleasanton, California. The
earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed Watkins' San Francisco studio and its contents.
Shortly thereafter, he entered the Napa State Asylum for the Insane in Napa, California,
where he died in 1916.
This collection contains 50 mammoth plate, albumen photographs made in 1861 and 1863 by
Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916), depicting Yosemite, the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine, and
Mendocino, California. The prints are all signed by Watkins and were originally bound in two
volumes, now disbound. The first volume begins with a title page dated 1863 and a dedication
page reading: "To Ernest Frignet / His California Friends / April 1864."
Ernest Frignet (b. 1823), dedicatee, wrote several books and articles on California and the
West that published in France, most notably "La Californie, histoire, organisation politique
et administrative, législation, description physique et géologique.
Agriculture—industrie—commerce," (Paris, 1866). The "California Friends" who presented him
with the photographs are unidentified.
The title pages are in decorative calligraphy by Fulgenzio Seregni, a native of Milan,
Italy who came to California in 1858. He established himself in San Francisco, where he
taught drawing and writing in public schools and colleges, and later became a well-known
designer of marble monuments.
In addition to Watkins' signature, each print has a handwritten title in the style of
calligrapher Seregni, on the mount below the print. The top corners of the prints are
rounded or "dome-topped," a practice used to eliminate darkened corners caused by early
camera lenses.
The volumes were bound by noted French bookbinder Léon Gruel (1841-1923), who operated a
renowned bindery in Paris. The first leaf of each volume is stamped "GRUEL."
Processed by Suzanne Oatey in 2019. In October 2022, Mari Khasmanyan updated the finding
aid and included links to their digital reproductions.
- Photographic views of Kern County, California, 137500.
- Central Pacific Railroad and views adjacent, 137501.
- Summits of the Sierras, 137502.
- Arizona and views adjacent to the Southern Pacific Railroad, 137503.
- Carleton E. Watkins photograph collection, photCL 74.
- Carleton E. Watkins stereograph collection, photST Watkins.
- Scenes in Yosemite photograph album, photCL 409.
- Sunny Slope. San Gabriel, Cal. / by Watkins, photCL 522.
- Album of the Yo-semite Valley, California, 406039.
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection has been digitized in its entirety and the digital reproductions are
available in the
Huntington Digital Library.
The original arrangement of the volumes has been retained:
Volume 1. Yo-semite Valley / Photographic Views of the Falls and Valley of Yo-semite in
Mariposa County, California, (30 prints), 1861-1864.
Volume 2. New Almaden Quicksilver Mine, (8 prints), 1863.
Volume 2. Mendocino Coast Views, (12 prints), 1863.
Green, Tyler.
Carleton Watkins: Making the West American
(University of California Press, 2018).
Naef, Weston J. and Christine Hult-Lewis.
Carleton Watkins: The
Complete Mammoth Photographs
(Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011).
Palmquist, Peter E. "Carleton E. Watkins: Master of the 'Grand View'"
The Argonaut, vol. 6, no. 2 (1995/96).
Palmquist, Peter E.
Carleton E. Watkins: Photographer of the
American West
(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Giant sequoia -- California -- Photographs
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.) -- Photographs
Landscapes -- California -- Photographs.
Trees -- California -- Photographs.
Mercury mines and mining -- California -- New Almaden --
Photographs
Mining camps -- California -- New Almaden -- Photographs
Mines and mineral resources -- California -- Photographs
Mexican Americans -- Employment -- History -- 19th century --
Photographs
Child labor -- United States -- Photographs
Pomo Indians -- Photographs
Indians of North America -- California -- Photographs
Lumber trade -- California -- Mendocino County -- Photographs
Logging -- California -- Photographs
Mills and mill-work -- California -- Photographs
Rivers -- California, Northern -- Photographs
Frontier and pioneer life -- California -- Photographs
Soldiers -- California -- Photographs
California -- Photographs
Mariposa Grove (Calif.) -- Photographs
Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.) -- Photographs
Yosemite Valley (Calif.) -- Photographs
Yosemite National Park (Calif.) -- Photographs
New Almaden (Calif.) -- Photographs
Mendocino County (Calif.) -- Photographs
Mendocino (Calif.) -- Photographs
Pacific Coast (Calif.) -- Photographs
Fort Bragg (Calif.) -- Photographs
New Almaden Mines -- Photographs
Albumen prints
Mammoth plate
Landscape photographs
Photograph albums
Photographs
Clark, Galen, 1814-1910 --
Photographs
Gruel, Léon, 1841-1923, binder
Vol. 1. Yo-semite Valley / Photographic Views of the Falls and Valley of Yo-semite in Mariposa County, California 1861-1864
Physical Description: (Disbound) title page, dedication
page, and 30 photographs (Vol. 1, plates 1 - 30).
Watkins made these photographs in Yosemite in 1861, with a camera he made himself to
hold glass plate negatives measuring 18 x 22 inches, which was the largest size ever
used at that time. The photographs are scenic landscape views of Yosemite Valley,
including rivers, waterfalls, massive granite cliffs and boulders, and giant sequoia
trees in the Mariposa Grove. One view depicts naturalist Galen Clark (1814-1910)
standing in front of the ancient sequoia called Grizzly Giant.
All titles are transcribed from the item. Watkins' numbers and dates of photographs are
from the catalog raisonné by Weston Naef and Christine Hult-Lewis,
Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty
Museum), 2011.(Cited below as Naef.)
Box 1
Vol. 1. Original album covers and end pages
Box 2
Vol. 1. Title and dedication pages; Plates 1-9
Item Vol. 1, Leaf 1
Title page in decorative calligraphy reading: Yo-semite Valley / Photographic Views of the Falls and Valley of Yo-semite in Mariposa County, California / Executed by C. E. Watkins of San Francisco / San Francisco, California / 1863
Item Vol. 1, Leaf 2
Dedication page reading: "To Ernest Frignet / His California Friends / April 1864"
Item Vol. 1, Plate 1
Item Vol. 1, Plate 2
Item Vol. 1, Plate 3
Item Vol. 1, Plate 4
Item Vol. 1, Plate 5
Item Vol. 1, Plate 6
Item Vol. 1, Plate 7
Item Vol. 1, Plate 8
Item Vol. 1, Plate 9
Box 3
Vol. 1. Plates 10-20
Item Vol. 1, Plate 10
Item Vol. 1, Plate 11
Item Vol. 1, Plate 12
Item Vol. 1, Plate 13
Item Vol. 1, Plate 14
Item Vol. 1, Plate 15
Item Vol. 1, Plate 16
Item Vol. 1, Plate 17
Item Vol. 1, Plate 18
Item Vol. 1, Plate 19
Item Vol. 1, Plate 20
Box 4
Vol. 1. Plates 21-30
Item Vol. 1, Plate 21
Item Vol. 1, Plate 22
Item Vol. 1, Plate 23
Item Vol. 1, Plate 24
Item Vol. 1, Plate 25
Item Vol. 1, Plate 26
Item Vol. 1, Plate 27
Item Vol. 1, Plate 28
Item Vol. 1, Plate 29
Item Vol. 1, Plate 30
Vol. 2. New Almaden Quicksilver Mine 1863
Physical Description: (Disbound) title page and 8
photographs (Vol. 2, plates 1 - 8)
In 1863, Watkins was commissioned to photograph the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine near
San Jose, California, by William Eustace Barron, a founding partner and San Francisco
merchant. This group of 8 mammoth plate photographs depict the structures and works of
the quicksilver (i.e. mercury) mine set among hillsides, including smelting furnaces,
metal sheds, and paths leading to mine entrances. One view depicts about 40 workers at a
quarry, including several adolescent boys posed with wheelbarrows. The miners' community
of small houses and wooden shacks is also seen in views titled "Hacienda" and "The Town
on the Hill."
All titles are transcribed from the item. Watkins' numbers and dates of photographs are
from the catalog raisonné by Weston Naef and Christine Hult-Lewis,
Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty
Museum), 2011.(Cited below as Naef.)
Box 5
Box 6
Vol. 2. "New Almaden" title page; Plates 1-8
Item Vol. 2, Leaf 1
Item Vol. 2, Plate 1
Item Vol. 2, Plate 2
Item Vol. 2, Plate 3
Item Vol. 2, Plate 4
Item Vol. 2, Plate 5
Item Vol. 2, Plate 6
Item Vol. 2, Plate 7
Item Vol. 2, Plate 8
Vol. 2 Mendocino Coast Views 1863
Physical Description: (Disbound) title page and 12
photographs (Vol. 2, plates 9 - 20)
Watkins made these photographs in the fall of 1863, most likely on a commission from
Jerome B. Ford, a major mill owner in Mendocino, California (Palmquist, p. 22). Views
show lumber mills along the banks of Big River, Albion River, and Noyo River, near where
they meet the Pacific Ocean. The coastal city of Mendocino is seen on top of a high
beach cliff, and there are scenic views of ocean waves crashing against boulders. One
river view shows men guiding a small ferry by holding a cable mounted across the river,
and a log flume is seen suspended in the background. There is one view of Native
Americans, possibly Pomo, seated in front of dwellings made from wooden planks. The
house of "Mr. Chalfant" in the town, with a fenced yard, is the focus of another
photograph, and there is one view of the Fort Bragg army post.
All titles are transcribed from the item. Watkins' numbers and dates of photographs are
from the catalog raisonné by Weston Naef and Christine Hult-Lewis,
Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty
Museum), 2011.(Cited below as Naef.)
Box 6
Vol. 2. "Mendocino" title page
Item Vol. 2, Leaf 2
Box 6.1
Vol. 2. Plate 9
Item Vol. 2, Plate 9
Box 7
Vol 2. Plates 10-20
Item Vol. 2, Plate 10
Item Vol. 2, Plate 11
Item Vol. 2, Plate 12
Item Vol. 2, Plate 13
Item Vol. 2, Plate 14
Item Vol. 2, Plate 15
Item Vol. 2, Plate 16
Item Vol. 2, Plate 17
Item Vol. 2, Plate 18
Item Vol. 2, Plate 19