A set of four albums of mammoth plate photographs by American photographer Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916) made approximately 1876-1889 in California, Nevada, and Arizona. The albums contain 174 photographs and are titled: Photographic Views of Kern County, California; The Central Pacific Railroad and Views Adjacent; Summits of the Sierra; and Arizona and Views Adjacent to the Southern Pacific Railroad.

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).

9.33 Linear Feet (174 mammoth plate photographs in 4 albums: albumen prints; size of prints varies, approximately 36 x 53 cm. (14 1/4 x 21 in.); albums each 50 x 69 cm. (19 3/4 x 27 1/4 in.))

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RESTRICTED. Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.