Collection Guide
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Finding Aid to Benjamin Brooks Photograph Albums
1896-1900
SFP 33
SFP 33
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Title: Benjamin Brooks Photograph Albums
Creator:
Brooks, Benjamin, 1876-1961
Identifier/Call Number: SFP 33
Physical Description:
2 photograph albums with 289 photographic prints.
(2 albums)
Date (inclusive): 1896-1900
Abstract: This photograph
collection consists of two photograph albums taken and assembled by amateur photographer
Benjamin Brooks, 1896-1990, of San Francisco and Northern California locations.
Physical Location: The collection is stored
onsite.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English.
The collection is available for use during Photo Desk hours.
No copyright clearance needed as photographs in the photograph album are in the Public
Domain.
[Identification of item], Benjamin Brooks Photograph Albums (SFP 33), San Francisco History
Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Gift.
Benjamin Brooks was born in San Francisco on November 26th, 1876, to William Brooks and
Alice Foster Moody. He was the nephew of Benjamin H. Brooks, a cable car promoter, and the
grandson of Benjamin S. Brooks, a San Francisco attorney. He married Mabel W. Gould in
Boston on June 30th, 1903, and had at least one daughter, Isabel Brooks Dorn. He served in
the United States Armed Forces during World War I. During his life, he was a draughtsman,
civil engineer, and a yachtsman. Benjamin died in Hayward, California on May 10, 1961, at
the age of 84. His remains were cremated and interred at Cypress Lawn Cemetary.
Album 1, circa 1896, consists of 31 early matte silver photographic prints and includes
many commonly seen views of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park such as Children's Playground,
Japanese Tea Garden, Lodge House, Stowe Lake, Conservatory of Flowers, the original De Young
Museum, and Prayer Book Cross. The photograph album also includes unusual views of Alcatraz
Island as it looked before 1900. There are also some non-San Francisco views, including
Duncans Mills, Yosemite, Mill Valley, Mt. Shasta, Russian River, and Bohemian Grove. Album
measures 7.5 x 9.5 inches and are mostly snapshot prints with many including handwritten
captions.
Album 2, 1899-1900, consists of 258 photographic prints of various types. The album
includes a series of six faded images of San Francisco from Bernal Heights dated 7/8/1900,
as well as views of the Market Street streetcar turntable at Ferry Building, unlabeled
panoramic San Francisco street scenes, the Ferry Building from the Bay, and Golden Gate
Park. Views outside of San Francisco include Port Costa, Sacramento, the Port of Stockton,
Tiburon, and Yosemite, including Glacier Point. There are many nautical scenes throughout
the album, and a page of cyanotypes of Cleveland, Ohio at the back. Album measures album 9 x
14 inches. The photographic prints are mostly snapshots with some that may have been made
with one of the early Kodak snapshot cameras, which produced a circular print. There are
also early glossy brown-toned silver prints and a few cyanotype prints with many including
handwritten captions and exact dates.
Prints in album 1 are arranged on album paper with 1-2 prints to a page, many with
handwritten captions. Only 1 side of each page is used. Prints in album 2 is arranged on
album paper with 4 prints to a page, many with handwritten captions and exact dates. Only 1
side to each page is used.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, Calif.) -- Pictorial
works.
San Francisco (Calif.) -- 20th century -- Pictorial works
California -- Pictorial works.
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- Pictorial
works.
Photographic prints.
Photograph albums.
Amateur works