Carleton E. Watkins Mammoth Plate Photograph Albums: Finding
Aid
Finding aid prepared by Suzanne Oatey.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical
Gardens
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2019
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: Carleton E. Watkins Mammoth Plate
Photograph Albums
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1876-1889
Collection Number(s): 137500; 137501; 137502; 137503
Creator:
Watkins, Carleton E.,
1829-1916
Extent:
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.)
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: 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.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. Due to the fragility of the albums, access is granted only by permission
of the Curator of Photographs. Copy prints are available for reference use. For more
information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
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], Carleton E. Watkins Mammoth Plate Photograph Albums,
The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
These albums were most likely made sometime in the 1890s for railroad magnate
Collis P. Huntington (1821-1900), a boyhood friend of Watkins' from Oneonta, New
York. They eventually came into the private library of Henry E. Huntington,
Collis' nephew, who established the Huntington Library in 1919. Library catalog
records show that the "Summits of the Sierras" album was in the Library as of
1922 and the other three albums were in the Library as of 1930.
Provenance Note / Related Material
The Hispanic Society of America, New York, also held a set of four Watkins
mammoth plate photograph albums, identically bound to these, of related
subjects. They were received in the 1920s from the museum’s founder, Archer
Huntington, who was Collis P. Huntington’s stepson. In 2018, the museum sold
three of the albums through Christie’s to an unknown buyer, and it is anticipated
they will be donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (
New York
Times,
Nov. 1, 2018). The HSA retained one of the albums, photographs
of Spanish missions of California.
There isn't any surviving documentation
regarding the transfer of the albums from Watkins to Collis P. Huntington. It
appears likely, though, that all eight albums were made at the same time for
Huntington and were dispersed to his heirs sometime after his death in 1900.
Biographical Note
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’s 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.
Sources consulted
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: Photographer of the American
West
(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983)
Scope and Content
This collection contains four albums of mammoth plate photographs made approximately
1876-1889 by photographer Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916). Prints are mounted on
boards and are accompanied by labels with titles, descriptions, and Watkins'
imprint. The albums are described briefly here, with expanded descriptions and
photograph titles in the contents list:
-
Photographic Views of Kern County, California (39 prints),
approximately 1881-1889, focuses on agricultural production in California's
Central Valley. Views include crops, details of irrigation dams built on a
river, livestock, farm workers in the field, farming company ranch houses,
and farm owners. Some views depict everyday farm work, such as men
harvesting wheat and alfalfa with the aid of horses, tools, and large
machinery.
-
The Central Pacific Railroad and Views Adjacent (48 prints),
approximately 1876-1880s, contains photographs of trains, lodging and
scenery along the California-Nevada route of the Central Pacific Railroad,
from ports in the San Francisco Bay Area to the Sierra Nevada mountain
range.
-
Summits of the Sierra (41 prints), 1879, contains photographs
of the vistas, mountain peaks, lakes, and topography of the Sierra Nevada
mountains. Watkins took the photographs in the summer of 1879 while
accompanying a government survey team.
-
Arizona and Views Adjacent to the Southern Pacific Railroad
(46 prints), 1880, includes views of mining camps, railroad depots, towns,
desert landscapes, cactus, and the Spanish colonial mission San Xavier del
Bac. There are several views of mines near Tombstone, Arizona, and the
railroad bridge spanning the Colorado River at Fort Yuma. Native Americans
and others are seen posed with a large steam locomotive in the desert, and
there are several views of the ancient stone ruins at Casa Grande.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Arrangement
The albums were assigned call numbers in an arbitrary sequence by the Library, and
are listed here in that order:
-
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)
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Davidson, George,
1825-1911 -- Photographs.
Hopkins, Mark,
1813-1878 -- Homes and haunts -- Photographs.
Central Pacific
Railroad Company -- Photographs.
Southern Pacific
Railroad Company -- Photographs.
Mission San Xavier del
Bac (Tucson, Ariz.) -- Photographs.
U.S. Coast and Geodetic
Survey -- Photographs.
Agriculture -- California --
Photographs.
Agricultural exhibitions -- California
-- Photographs.
Agricultural laborers -- California --
Photographs.
Farms -- California -- Kern County --
Photographs.
Irrigation -- California -- Kern County
-- Photographs.
Orchards -- California -- Kern County --
Photographs.
Locomotives -- Photographs.
Railroad construction workers --
Photographs.
Railroad trains -- Photographs.
Railroads -- United States -- History --
19th century -- Photographs.
Train ferries -- Photographs.
Boats and boating -- Photographs.
Foreign workers, Chinese -- West
(U.S.)-- Photographs.
Hotels -- California -- 1880-1910 --
Photographs.
Lakes -- California --
Photographs.
Landscapes -- West (U.S.)--
Photographs.
Logging -- Photographs.
Mountains -- California --
Photographs.
Surveying -- Instruments --
Photographs.
Trestles -- Design and construction --
Photographs.
Cactus -- Photographs.
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
-- Photographs.
Indians of North America -- Southwest,
New -- Photographs.
Mines and mineral resources -- Arizona
-- Photographs.
Mines and mineral resources -- West
(U.S.) -- Photographs.
Missions, Spanish -- Arizona --
Photographs.
Silver mines and mining -- Arizona --
Photographs.
Tohono O'odham Indians --
Photographs.
Bakersfield (Calif.)--
Buildings, structures, etc. -- Photographs.
Kern County (Calif.)--
Photographs.
Alameda (Calif.) --
Photographs.
Donner Pass (Calif.) --
Photographs.
California --
Photographs.
Nevada --
Photographs.
Placer County (Calif.)
-- Photographs.
Reno (Nev.) --
Photographs.
Sierra Nevada (Calif.
and Nev.) -- Photographs.
Sierra Nevada (Calif.
and Nev.) -- Surveys
Soda Springs (Calif.)
-- Photographs.
Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and
Nev.) -- Photographs.
West (U.S.) -- Surveys
-- Photographs.
Arizona --
Photographs.
Casa Grande Ruins
National Monument (Ariz.) -- Photographs.
Fort Yuma Reservation
(Ariz. and Calif.) -- Photographs.
Tombstone (Ariz.) --
Photographs.
Tucson (Ariz.) --
Photographs.
West (U.S.) --
Photographs.
Yuma (Ariz.) --
Photographs.
Forms/Genres
Albumen prints.
Mammoth plate.
Landscape photographs.
Photograph albums.
Photographs.
Contributors
BFK Rives (Firm).
Call no. 137500
Photographic Views of Kern County,
California
[1881-1889]
Creator: Carleton E. Watkins, photographer
Physical Description:
39 mammoth plate photographs in 1 album: albumen prints; album 50 x
69 cm. (19 ¾ x 27 ¼ in.). Size of prints varies; approximately 36 x 53
cm. (14 ¼ x 21 in.).
The front cover of the album has gilt-stamped
lettering that reads: “Kern County, California. C. E. Watkins, Photo.
San Francisco, Cal.” Inside is a title page with a printed paper label
that reads: “Photographic Views of Kern County, California. / By
Watkins, 427 Montgomery St. and 27 New Montgomery St., under Palace
Hotel, San Francisco.” The photographs are mounted on board, and each
has a printed paper label with a title and Watkins' imprint mounted
below the photograph. There is no writing in the album.
Access Information
Due to the fragility of the album, access is granted only by permission of
the Curator of Photographs. Copy prints of the photographs are available for
reference use.
Scope and Content Note
The 39 photographs in this album illustrate the agricultural industry of Kern
County, California, and were made by Watkins on multiple trips to the area
between 1881 and 1889. The album itself is not dated, but based on the dates
of the photographs, it was most likely assembled in the early 1890s. Views
include landscapes of agricultural crops, details of irrigation dams built
on a river, livestock, farm workers in the field, farming company ranch
houses, and farm owners. Some views depict everyday farm work, such as men
harvesting wheat and alfalfa with the aid of horses, tools, and large
machinery. Other photographs of note are a detail view of peaches in a
crate, and men posed with a steam locomotive built at the Southern Pacific
Railroad Shops in Kern County. The first two photographs in the album are
interior views of promotional displays of Kern County produce and grains,
exhibited in San Francisco in 1889.
Note on contents list:
All photograph titles are from the album. Watkins’ numbers and dates are also
taken from the album, except those in brackets, which 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.)
Plate 1
Kern County Exhibit. Twenty-Fourth Industrial Fair of the
Mechanics' Institute, 1889
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 927.
Image size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: In San Francisco. Naef no. 971.
Plate 2
Kern County Exhibit. Twenty-Fourth Industrial Fair of the
Mechanics' Institute, 1889
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 928.
Image size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: In San Francisco. Naef no. 973.
Plate 3
Kern County Groups,
[1886-1888]
Watkins' New Series, Watkins no. 924.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Collage of 16 agricultural and
livestock views. Naef no. 969.
Plate 4
Kern County Groups,
[1886-1888]
Watkins' New Series, Watkins no. 925.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Collage of 14 agricultural and
livestock views. Naef no. 970.
Plate 5
Southern Hotel, Bakersfield, (B. McDougall & Son,
Architects, S.F.), Kern County, Calif.,
[1888-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 941.
Image size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 968.
Plate 6
Bellevue, Kern County, Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 946.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 1008.
Plate 7
Farm House in Kern County.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 972.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1007.
Plate 8
Farm House in Kern County.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 971.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/2 in.
Note: Naef no. 1006.
Plate 9
Headquarters Buena Vista Farm, Kern County,
Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 983.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1010.
Plate 10
Headquarters Buena Vista Farm, Kern County,
Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 984.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1009.
Plate 11
Wible's Peach Orchard, Bakersfield, Kern County, Cal.
[1886-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 942.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 980.
Plate 12
Late George Cling Peaches
[1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 931.
Image size:
14 3/8 x 21 in.
Note: Printed on label after title: "These
peaches were picked from my young orchard, four miles south of
Bakersfield, planted in the months of February and March, 1888. The
trees consequently have been but eighteen months planted, and as they
were but one year old from the bud at the time of planting, the total
age of the trees is but thirty months. A photograph of the orchard
accompanying will show the size and thriftiness of the trees. S. W.
Wibble [sic] / We hereby certify that we are well acquainted with the
orchard from which the peaches above refer to were picked, and we know
the above statement from Mr. Wibble [sic] to be correct. / C. Brower,
President / W. E. Houghton, Secretary / Kern County Board of Trade."
[Correct spelling is Wible.] Naef no. 975.
Plate 13
Orange Cling Peach, Natural Size, Maul Orchard, Kern
County, California
[1886-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 934.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 978.
Plate 14
Orange Cling Peach, Natural Size, Maul Orchard, Kern
County, California
[1886-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 933.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 977.
Plate 15
Fig Tree, Tejon Ranch, Kern Co., Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [964].
Image size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: The label for this print does not
have Watkins' photograph number; [964] is from Naef.
Plate 16
Alfalfa Fields, Kern County
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 970.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1015.
Plate 17
Alfalfa Fields, Kern County
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 969.
Image size:
14 3/8 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1014.
Plate 18
Haying at Buena Vista Farm, Kern County, Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 982.
Image size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1011.
Plate 19
Harvesting. Wheat and Alfalfa Fields, Jackson's, Kern
County, Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 949.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1012.
Plate 20
Harvesting. Wheat and Alfalfa Fields, Jackson's, Kern
County, Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 950.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1013.
Plate 21
Ditching and Checking, near Poso, Kern County,
Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 944.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1016.
Plate 22
View Down Kern River, From Bluff Above the Water Gates
[1880-1881]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [965].
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/2 in.
Note: The label for this print does not
have Watkins' photograph number; [965] is from Naef, dated 1881; Green
dates 1880-1881 in correspondence June 12, 2019.
Plate 23
View Up Kern River, From Bluff Above the Water
Gates
[1880-1881]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [none].
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/2 in.
Note: The label for this print does not
have Watkins' photograph number and none is given in Naef, dated 1881;
Green dates 1880-1881 in correspondence June 12, 2019.
Plate 24
Irrigating Alfalfa Fields, on the Kern, Kern County, Cal.
[1886-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 940.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 992.
Plate 25
View Up Kern River, Showing Head of Ditch, Kern County,
Cal.
[1880-1881]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 939.
Image size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 989, dated 1881; Green
dates 1880-1881 in correspondence June 12, 2019.
Plate 26
View Down Kern River, From the Mouth of the Cottonwood,
Kern County, Cal.
[1880-1881]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 938.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 988, dated 1881; Green
dates 1880-1881 in correspondence June 12, 2019.
Plate 27
View Up Kern River, Near the Mouth of the Canyon, Kern
County, Cal.
[1880-1881]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 937.
Image size:
14 3/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 986, dated 1881; Green
dates 1880-1881 in correspondence June 12, 2019.
Plate 28
Mouth of Kern Canyon, Kern County, Cal.
[1880-1881]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 936.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 987, dated 1881; Green
dates 1880-1881 in correspondence June 12, 2019.
Plate 29
Pioneer Head Gate, and Bridge, Kern River,
Cal.
[1881 or 1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 962.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 997, dated 1881; Green
dates 1886-1889 in correspondence June 12, 2019.
Plate 30
Pioneer Bridge and Wier [sic], Kern River,
Cal.
[1881 or 1886-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 961.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 995.
Plate 31
Calloway Head Gate and Wier [sic], Kern River,
Cal.
[1881]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 960.
Image size:
13 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 994.
Plate 32
Calloway Wier [sic], Kern River, Kern County,
Cal.
[1881]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 959.
Image size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 993.
Plate 33
View on the Calloway, Near Poso, Kern County,
Cal.
[1887-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 956.
Image size:
14 3/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1002.
Plate 34
View on the Calloway, Near Poso, Kern County,
Cal.
[1887-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 951.
Image size:
14 3/8 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 998.
Plate 35
View on the Calloway, Near Poso, Kern County,
Cal.
[1887-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 953.
Image size:
14 3/8 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1000.
Plate 36
View on the Calloway, Near Poso, Kern County,
Cal.
[1887-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 954.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1001.
Plate 37
Calloway Canal, at Poso, Kern County,
Cal.
[1887-1888]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 963.
Image size:
14 3/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1003.
Plate 38
Alfalfa Fields and Stock, Kern Co.,
Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [967?].
Image
size:
14 5/8 x 20 1/2 in.
Note: The label for this print does not
have Watkins' photograph number; [967?] is from Naef.
Plate 39
El Gobernador. Built at S.P.R.R. Shops, Sac.,
Cal.
[1886-1889]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [none].
Image
size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: View of men posed with a steam
locomotive. Printed on label after title: "Drain of Cylinder, 21 inch.
Stroke, 36 inch. Total weight of engine, 73 tons. Weight on drivers, 64
tons. Diam. of drivers, 4 ft., 9 in. Weight of tender, light, 50, 650
lbs. Total length of engine and tender, 65 ft., 5 in. Driving Wheel
Base, 19 ft., 7 in. Rigid Wheel Base, 14 ft., 7 in. Water capacity of
tender, 3600 gals." The label for this print does not have Watkins'
photograph number and none is given in Naef, dated 1887-1889; Green
dates 1886-1889 in correspondence June 12, 2019.
Call no. 137501
Central Pacific Railroad and Views
Adjacent
[chiefly 1876; a few approximately
1879-1880s].
Creator: Carleton E. Watkins, photographer
Physical Description:
48 mammoth plate photographs in 1 album: albumen prints; album 50 x
69 cm. (19 ¾ x 27 ¼ in.). Size of prints varies; approximately 36 x 53
cm. (14 ¼ x 21 in.).
The front cover of the album has gilt-stamped
lettering that reads: “Central Pacific Railroad and Views Adjacent / C.
E. Watkins, Photo. / San Francisco, Cal.” Inside is a title page with a
printed paper label that reads: “Central Pacific R.R. and Views Adjacent
/ Photographs by C. E. Watkins, / San Francisco, Cal.” The photographs
are mounted on board, and each has a printed paper label with a title
and Watkins' imprint mounted below the photograph. There is no writing
in the album.
Access Information
Due to the fragility of the album, access is granted only by permission of
the Curator of Photographs. Copy prints of the photographs are available for
reference use.
Scope and Content Note
This album contains photographs made along the California-Nevada route of the
Central Pacific Railroad, from ports in the San Francisco Bay Area to the
Sierra Nevada mountain passes. The majority of views were made in 1876, with
a few made later, approximately 1879-1880s. The album begins with a
photograph of a locomotive that has just traveled across the continent and
has arrived at the Oakland Long Wharf, followed by scenes of a train and its
passengers being transported on a railroad ferry. Other Central Pacific
Railroad views depict a massive wooden bridge being built over the American
River, with one view prominently featuring Chinese workers hauling rock in
wheelbarrows. Trains are shown navigating through a mountain pass at Cape
Horn, and railroad workers are seen posed with locomotives. Other scenes on
the Central Pacific route include Soda Springs recreation area, with views
of Mark Hopkins’ cabin, a man and two women under a gazebo, and a croquet
game set up in a meadow. There are a series of views of Lake Tahoe,
including two hotels with people posed outside; scenic views of the
mountains, lake and surroundings from multiple viewpoints; Emerald Bay;
Fallen Leaf Lake; boats and docks; and a lumber mill on the shore at
Glenbrook. A narrow-gauge lumber railroad is shown in the mountains near
Spooner Summit, and there are two bird’s-eye-views of the town of Reno,
Nevada, that include the train station, buildings and boardwalks.
It is
unclear whether these photographs were made under commission from the
Central Pacific, but many of the 1876 railroad and landscape views were
used, uncredited, in the railroad’s official guidebook,
The Pacific Tourist (Green, p. 323).
Note on contents list:
All photograph titles are from the album. Watkins’ numbers and dates are also
taken from the album, except those in brackets, which 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.)
Note on dates for
Plate nos. 5-8, 10-18, 20-22, and 44-48: Naef dates these "approximately"
1876, but Tyler Green dates them firmly 1876 in correspondence June 12,
2019. They are dated 1876 below.
Plate 1
Farrell [sic] & Palmer's Lightning Express. /
C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins no. 614.
Image size:14 3/8 x 21 in.
Note: Correct name is Jarrett & Palmer.
On June 4, 1876, theatrical promoters Jarrett & Palmer organized a
transcontinental train trip that crossed the country in 83 hours,
arriving at the Oakland Long Wharf in Alameda (pictured). Naef no. 939.
Plate 2
C.P.R.R. Transfer Boat "Solano," Port Costa / Waiting for
the Train
[approximately 1879]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [681].
Image
size:
14 5/8 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: The label for this print does not
have Watkins' photograph number; [681] is from Naef.
Plate 3
C.P.R.R. Transfer Boat "Solano," Port Costa / Waiting for
the Train
[approximately 1879]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [682].
Image
size:
14 5/8 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: The label for this print does not
have Watkins' photograph number; [682] is from Naef, who dates it 1876,
however the "Solano" did not start carrying trains until 1879. ("The
Largest Ferryboat in the World" by H. E. Wright,
Scientific
American,
March 4, 1905.)
Plate 4
C.P.R.R. Transfer Boat "Solano," Port Costa / Discharging
the Train
[approximately 1879]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [683].
Image
size:
14 5/8 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: The label for this print does not
have Watkins' photograph number; [683] is from Naef.
Plate 5
Filling in Secret Town Trestle /
C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1115.
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 951.
Plate 6
Filling in Secret Town Trestle /
C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. [1116 Alt.].
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Label says Watkins no. 1115 (same as
previous photograph), but Naef says this is a printing mistake and
identifies the number as 1116 Alt.
Plate 7
Rounding Cape Horn. / C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1112.
Image
size:
14 3/8 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 948.
Plate 8
Rounding Cape Horn. / C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1113.
Image
size:
14 3/8 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 949.
Plate 9
The Canon of the American River / From Cape Horn,
C.P.R.R.
[1880s]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1114.
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 20 7/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 950.
Plate 10
Soda Springs / Near the Summit
C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1104.
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 829.
Plate 11
Soda Springs / Near the Summit
C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1105.
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 830.
Plate 12
Mark Hopkins' Cottage, Soda Springs
[1876]
Watkins no. 1106.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 828.
Plate 13
Cascades at Soda Springs
[1876]
Watkins no. 1109.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 833.
Plate 14
Cascades at Soda Springs
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1110.
Image
size:
14 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 827.
Plate 15
Berkeley and Anderson Peaks, Soda
Springs
[1876]
Watkins no. 1107.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 831.
Plate 16
Summit Valley, Castle Peak and Snow Sheds. /
C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1117.
Image
size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 835.
Plate 17
Summit Valley and Donner Peak /
C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1118.
Image
size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 836.
Plate 18
Weston Engine at Summit Valley. /
C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1121.
Image size:14 1/4 x 20 3/4
in.
Note: Naef no. 945.
Plate 19
Summit Station with West End of Tunnel. /
C.P.R.R.
[approximately 1880]
Watkins no. 1120.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 953.
Plate 20
Lake Mary—Summit, / C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1119.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 837.
Plate 21
Donner Lake. / C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1122.
Image
size:
14 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 839.
Plate 22
Donner Lake—Evening View, / C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1123.
Image size:14 1/2 x 21 1/4
in.
Note: Naef no. 838.
Plate 23
Grand Central Hotel—Tahoe City, / Lake
Tahoe
[1876]
Watkins no. 1001.
Image size:14 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 810.
Plate 24
Lake Tahoe from Tahoe City.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1002.
Image size:14 1/2 x 21 1/4
in.
Note: Naef no. 807.
Plate 25
Lake Tahoe, View from Tahoe City.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1003.
Image
size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 939.
Plate 26
Lake Tahoe / View from Artists' Rocks.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1004.
Image
size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 809.
Plate 27
Warm Springs, Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1005.
Image
size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Includes a bathing house and the
"Gov. Stanford" ferry boat. Naef no. 811.
Plate 28
Lake Tahoe, View from Warm Springs.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1006.
Image
size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 812.
Plate 29
Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe / View from the
Cascade.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1007.
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 814.
Plate 30
Emerald Bay from the Island, Lake
Tahoe
[1876]
Watkins no. 1008.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 815.
Plate 31
Tallac House, Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1009.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 821.
Plate 32
Larch Grove—Tallac House, Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1010.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 822.
Plate 33
Mt. Tallac / Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1011.
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 819.
Plate 34
Lake Tahoe / View from Fallen Leaf
Lake.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1012.
Image
size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 817.
Plate 35
Fallen Leaf Lake / Near Lake Tahoe.
[1883]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1013.
Image
size:
14 x 20 5/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 818.
Plate 36
Fallen Leaf Lake / Near Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1014.
Image
size:
14 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 820.
Plate 37
Glenbrook Bay, Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1020.
Image
size:
14 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 825.
Plate 38
Glenbrook, Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1017.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Includes Pray's Mill, a lumber mill.
Naef no. 824.
Plate 39
Shakespeare Rock—Glenbrook, Lake
Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1019.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 823.
Plate 40
Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1015.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 813.
Plate 41
A Storm on Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins' New Series; Watkins no. 1016.
Image
size:
14 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 826.
Plate 42
Z Railroad from Glenbrook to Summit, Lake
Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1022.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 956.
Plate 43
Z Railroad from Glenbrook to Summit, Lake
Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1021.
Image size:14 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 954.
Plate 44
Reno—View East, C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1124.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 962.
Plate 45
Reno—View West, C.P.R.R.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1125.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 963.
Plate 46
Cascades, Emerald Bay. / Lake Tahoe.
[1876]
Watkins no. 1038.
Image size:14 1/8 x 20 5/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 816.
Plate 47
Cascades at Soda Springs
[1876]
Watkins no. 1108.
Image size:14 1/4 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 834.
Plate 48
Soda Spring House
[1876]
Watkins no. 1111.
Image size:14 1/8 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 832.
Call no. 137502
Summits of the Sierras [1879]
Creator: Carleton E. Watkins, photographer
Physical Description:
41 mammoth plate photographs in 1 album: albumen prints; album 50 x
69 cm. (19 ¾ x 27 ¼ in.). Size of prints varies; approximately 36 x 53
cm. (14 ¼ x 21 in.).
The front cover of the album has gilt-stamped
lettering that reads: “Summits of the Sierras / C. E. Watkins, Photo. /
San Francisco, Cal.” Inside is a title page with a printed paper label
that reads: “Summits of the Sierras / Photographs by C. E. Watkins, /
San Francisco, Cal.” The photographs are mounted on board, and each has
a printed paper label with a title and Watkins' imprint mounted below
the photograph. There is no writing in the album.
Access Information
Due to the fragility of the album, access is granted only by permission of
the Curator of Photographs. Copy prints of the photographs are available for
reference use.
Scope and Content Note
In 1879, Watkins was commissioned to travel to the peaks of California’s
Sierra Nevada mountains to photograph the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey led
by George Davidson (1825-1911). The photographs in this album were made
during that commission, in the summer of 1879. The album opens with a scene
of people positioned in front of a hotel on the shore of Lake Independence,
followed by views across the lake looking up toward Mount Lola. Watkins then
ascended to the survey base at the top of Mount Lola (9,148 ft.), where he
made several photographs of the vistas and details of the rocky terrain,
including trees, rivers, canyons, and lakes. He also climbed to the summit
of Round Top (10,381 ft.), and made several photographs from that viewpoint,
including one carefully orchestrated view of Davidson and his team posed
with their instruments and an observation hut on the craggy summit.
Occasional figures appear on ridgelines in the photographs, and tents and
wooden huts erected by the survey team are seen in some views.
Note on contents list:
All photograph titles are from the album. Watkins’ numbers and dates are also
taken from the album, except those in brackets, which 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.)
Plate 1
Lake Independence / Foot of Trail to Mt.
Lola.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1250.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: View of Independence Lake House
(hotel). Naef no. 840.
Plate 2
Mt. Lola / From Lake Independence, Sphinx Head and North
Head, to left and right of center, respectively.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1251.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 842.
Plate 3
Mt. Lola / From Lake Independence, Sphinx Head to left of
center, western extremity of the Lake in foreground, North Head on
extreme right.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1252.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 841.
Plate 4
Mt. Lola / Looking N. E. from under North Head. Lake
Independence in center, Washoe Peak and Valley of Truckee to right
of center in distance. South Head on extreme right in
foreground.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1254.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 844.
Plate 5
Mt. Lola / Looking east from point 400 ft. below Azimuth.
Camp on left; next is Lola, Azimuth, Sphinx Head, Lake
Independence.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1255.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 843.
Plate 6
Mt. Lola / From Sphinx Head looking W. N. W.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1256.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 847.
Plate 7
Mt. Lola / From E. S. E. under North Head. Sphinx Head and
Station Camp show [sic] to right of middle.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1257.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 848.
Plate 8
Summit of Mount Lola / 9280 ft. high. Middle left is
Heliotropers' Stone Hut; middle background is the North Summit.
Picture shows the effect of wind on the trees.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1259.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 849.
Plate 9
Lake Edna / Looking west from point 400 ft. below station.
Lake Edna shows in center.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1260.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 850.
Plate 10
From Mt. Lola / Looking toward Lake Tahoe, Truckee Valley
on left. Round Top on distant ridge to right of center. Castle
Mountain on rear ridge.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1261.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 851.
Plate 11
From Mt. Lola / Looking toward Round Top. On farthest
ridge near center counting from the left, are Mt. Tallac, Round Top,
and Pyramid; to right of center in middle ridge is Castle
Mountain.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1262.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 852.
Plate 12
From Mt. Lola / Looking toward Round Top (not visable
[sic]), South Head on left foreground; Castle Peak to right of
center in distance.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1263.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21 1
/4 in.
Note: A papermaker's watermark is faintly
visible across top of print: "B. F. K. Rives, No. 74, N. P. A." B. F. K.
Rives was a maker of printing paper in Rives, France. Naef no. 853.
Plate 13
From Mt. Lola / North Head on left, wide trail along snow.
To right of same is Lake Independence. Sphinx Head in middle
foreground. South Head on the right.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1264.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 854.
Plate 14
From Mt. Lola / Looking N. W. Downieville, Buttes and
Weber Mountain to right of center in distance.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1265.
Image size: 14 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 855.
Plate 15
From Mt. Lola / Looking to N. N. W. from station.
Downieville, Buttes and Weber Mountain on extreme left.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1266.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 856.
Plate 16
Round Top. / From Point on road near Carson Pass looking
S. S. W. 3 miles.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1267.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
in.
Note: Naef no. 857.
Plate 17
Round Top. / From Lake Winnemucca (1370 ft.) looking S.
W.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1268.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 862.
Plate 18
Round Top. / From Lake Winnemucca (1370 ft.) looking S.
W.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1269.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 861.
Plate 19
Round Top. / 3 1/2 miles distant looking from W. N. W.
over Upper Twin Lake (2800 ft.)
[1879]
Watkins no. 1270.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 859.
Plate 20
Round Top / 4 miles distant looking from W. S. W. over
Lower Twin Lake. Blue Rock shows to left of Round Top in middle
distance.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1271.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 858.
Plate 21
Round Top. / 4 miles distant looking E. S. E. from lower
end of Twin Lakes. The Elephant in left background, Blue Rock to
left of Round Top in middle distance.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1272.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 860.
Plate 22
Round Top. / Azimuth from west across chasm. Instruments
from left as follows:—Man holding bitimeter rod; Solar Radiator;
Plane table; Verticle [sic] Circle House; Prof. Davidson with large
Heliotrope; Reconnoitering Telescope; The Odolete House, Azimuth;
Refraction Station; Astronomical Observatory. In lower right corner
are steps leading to bridge over chasm with life
lines.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1273.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Prof. George Davidson and five other
members of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey are positioned with
instruments on the summit. Naef no. 863.
Plate 23
Round Top. / Look from E. N. E.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1274.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 864.
Plate 24
Round Top. / From western part of ridge: Cory's Peak on
upper left; Summit City middle right; Lake Winnemucca on lower left;
Azimuth 10,645 ft. elevation.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1275.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 865.
Plate 25
View from Round Top. / From a point S. S. W. of summit
looking east. Summit City in middle of middle distance. Silver
Mountain back of Summit City. Blue Lake to the right of last.
Mokelumne Canon in right foreground.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1277.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 870.
Plate 26
Round Top. / From western ridge looking east. Trail
(blasted out) on extreme left foreground. Station Observations etc.
in same. Summit City in middle of middle distance. To right of
middle distance lie Blue Lake. Mokelumne Canon winding to foreground
on left.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1278.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 868.
Plate 27
View from Round Top. / From western ridge looking toward
the N. W. The Saddle in left middle distance. Clear Lake in center,
immediately to left of which is the western extremity of Round Top.
Twin Lakes in the middle right.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1279.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
in.
Note: Naef no. 871.
Plate 28
View from Round Top. / Looking W. N. W. Twin Lakes in the
middle right distance.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1280.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 873.
Plate 29
View from Round Top. / Looking westward. Pyramid, Round
Top Proper, Azimuth Mark in left background. Mt. Tallac in middle
background. Woods Lake in foreground under it. Lake Tahoe to right
of Mt. Tallac. Red Mountain and Carson Pass on extreme right.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1281.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 874.
Plate 30
View from Round Top. / Looking to N. W. Red Mountain in
extreme left middle distance. Hope Valley, Job's Peak, and Carson
Pass in middle distance on left. Lake Collonna in left middle
distance. In foreground is Lake Winnemucca and back of it the hill
called the Elephant. Cory's Peak in right background.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1282.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 872.
Plate 31
View from Round Top. / Looking along south side of ridge.
Mokelumne River in left foreground. Trail on face of ridge.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1283.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 866.
Plate 32
View from Round Top. / Looking S. W. Mokelumne Canon
winding from middle distance foreground.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1284.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 876.
Plate 33
View from Round Top. / From a point just below Azimuth.
Stanislaus Mountain toward Mt. Dana in left background. Mokelumne
Mountain in distance over the cleft in foreground. Three Brothers in
distance over the sharp, higher pinacle to right cleft in
foreground. Mokelumne Canon (2800 ft. high) winding from middle
distance to foreground.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1285.
Image size: 14 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 875.
Plate 34
View from Round Top. / Looking east, left foreground,
vertical walls just east of Azimuth. Cory's Peak left of center in
background. Summit City in middle of middle distance. Silver
Mountain in background to right of Silver City. Blue Lakes in middle
distance on right.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1286.
Image size: 14 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 877.
Plate 35
View from Round Top. / Cloud Scene looking east from
Azimuth. Vertical wall just west of Azimuth in foreground. Blue
Lakes on right.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1287.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
3/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 878.
Plate 36
Conglomerate Formations. / Below Twin Lakes. Road to
Jackson's in the right foreground.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1288.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 881.
Plate 37
Conglomerate Formations. / On road to Jackson's, below
Twin Lakes.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1289.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 880.
Plate 38
Conglomerate Formations. / On road to Jackson's, below
Twin Lakes.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1290.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 879.
Plate 39
Round Top. / From S. W. (instruments pointing upwards)
Debris at angle of 45 degrees. Huts in chasm.
[1879]
Watkins no. 1276.
Image size: 14 x 21 1/8
in.
Note: Naef no. 867.
Plate 40
Lake Independence / Looking eastward from under Sphinx
Head and showing Lake Independence 2,100 ft.
high
[1879]
Watkins no. 1253.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 845.
Plate 41
Mt. Lola / Looking toward Azimuth from under Sphinx
Head
[1879]
Watkins no. 1258.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 846.
Call no. 137503
Arizona and Views Adjacent to the Southern
Pacific Railroad
[1880]
Creator: Carleton E. Watkins, photographer
Physical Description:
46 mammoth plate photographs in 1 album: albumen prints; album 50 x
69 cm. (19 ¾ x 27 ¼ in.). Size of prints varies; approximately 36 x 53
cm. (14 ¼ x 21 in.).
The front cover of the album has gilt-stamped
lettering that reads: “Arizona and Views Adjacent to the Southern
Pacific Railroad / C. E. Watkins, Photo. / San Francisco, Cal.” Inside
is a title page with a printed paper label that reads: “Arizona and
Views Adjacent to the Southern Pacific R. R. / Photographs by C. E.
Watkins, / San Francisco, Cal.” The photographs are mounted on board,
and each has a printed paper label with a title and Watkins' imprint
mounted below the photograph. There is no writing in the album.
Access Information
Due to the fragility of the album, access is granted only by permission of
the Curator of Photographs. Copy prints of the photographs are available for
reference use.
Scope and Content Note
The photographs in this album were made in 1880, mostly in Arizona Territory,
with occasional views in California. They include mining sites, depots and
bridges of the Southern Pacific Railroad, towns, desert landscapes, cactus,
and the Spanish colonial mission San Xavier del Bac. Mining scenes are
mostly overviews showing buildings, mine shafts, stamping mills, equipment,
water reservoirs, and workers. There are several views of the Contention,
Tough-nut and Lucky Cuss mines of the Tombstone Mill and Mining Company,
established by prospector Edward Schieffelin, the founder of Tombstone,
Arizona. A scene of the railroad roundhouse in Yuma prominently features a
large locomotive with Native Americans and others posed next to the engine
and an engine house in the background. There are a series of views of the
railroad bridge over the Colorado River at Yuma that includes views of the
U.S. Army’s Fort Yuma on the California side of the river, along with Native
American huts near the river. A group of unidentified men in western garb
are posed in front of the Yuma railroad office, and a few figures and
railcars are shown at Dos Palmas Station in the Colorado Desert. Other
subjects include a bird’s-eye-view of Tucson; architectural details and an
interior view of Mission San Xavier del Bac; prehistoric stone ruins at Casa
Grande; and a few railroad crossings.
Note on contents list:
All photograph titles are from the album. Watkins’ numbers and dates are also
taken from the album, except those in brackets, which 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.)
Plate 1
Tombstone Companies' 10-Stamp Water Mill and Tailings Dam.
Town of Charleston, with Huachuca Mountains in the Distance,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1301.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1207.
Plate 2
Rear View of Tombstone M. & M. Companies' 10-Stamp
Water Mill, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1302.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1212.
Plate 3
General View of Tombstone M. & M. Companies' 10-Stamp
Water Mill and Office. 20-Stamp Steam Mill in back-ground, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1303.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1211.
Plate 4
Millville, Arizona. General View of Tombstone M. & M.
Companies' Reduction Works.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1304.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1206.
Plate 5
Tombstone M. & M. Companies' Dam,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1305.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1210.
Plate 6
Tombstone M. & M. Companies' 20-Stamp Steam Mill,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1306.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1213.
Plate 7
Rear View of Tombstone M. & M. Companies' 20-Stamp
Steam Mill, looking up San Pedro Valley,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1307.
Image size:
13 3/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1208.
Plate 8
Lucky Cuss Mine and Hill, Arizona. Monument on Summit of
Lucky Cuss Hill is initial point for all District
Surveys.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1308.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1209.
Plate 9
Hoisting Works, Northwest Shaft, Tough-nut mine. Hoisting
Works, Main Shaft in near back-ground, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1309.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 1214.
Plate 10
Old South Shaft Ore Quarry, Tough-nut Mine. Part of Town
of Tombstone. Dragoon Mountains, with Cachise [sic] Stronghold in
back-ground, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1310.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Refers to Chiricahua Apache chief
Cochise (correct spelling). Naef no. 1215.
Plate 11
Hoisting Works, Main Shaft, Tough-nut Mine. Whitestone
Mountains on the left, Santa Caterina Mountains on the right,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1311.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1216.
Plate 12
General View of Town of Tombstone, Arizona, from the
North. Tombstone Hills in back-ground.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1312.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 923.
Plate 13
Town of Tombstone, Arizona. Santa Caterina Mountains on
left, Dragoon Mountains on right.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1313.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 924.
Plate 14
Contention Hoisting Works and Ore Dump, Town of Tombstone,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1314.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1219.
Plate 15
Contention Hoisting Works and Ore Dump, from below,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1315.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1220.
Plate 16
Profile View of the Contention Works and Mine, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1316.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1218.
Plate 17
General View of Contention Works and Mine,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1317.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1217.
Plate 18
San Pedro Valley from the Contention Mill, Contention,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1318.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1221.
Plate 19
San Pedro Valley from Contention Mill, showing R. R.
Crossing of the Southern Pacific of Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1319.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1222.
Plate 20
Contention Mill, Contention, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1322.
Image size:
14 1/4 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 1225.
Plate 21
Pantano, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1323.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: View includes a Southern Pacific
train stopped at Pantano Station, a construction camp for the railroad.
Naef no. 1205.
Plate 22
In the Cienega, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1324.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 925.
Plate 23
City of Tucson. / S.P.R.R., Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1325.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
in.
Note: Naef no. 926.
Plate 24
San Xavier Mission, near Tucson. / Papago Indian Village.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1326.
Image size: 14 1/2 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: The number 1331 is crossed out on the
label and 1326 written over it in ink. Naef no. 790.
Plate 25
San Xavier Mission, near Tucson, A. T.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1328.
Image size:
14 3/8 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 791.
Plate 26
Casa Grande, Pre-Historic Ruins,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1331.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 927.
Plate 27
Casa Grande, Pre-Historic Ruins,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1332.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 928.
Plate 28
Casa Grande, Pre-Historic Ruins,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1333.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 929.
Plate 29
Casa Grande, Pre-Historic Ruins,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1334.
Image size:
15 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 930.
Plate 30
Cereus Giganteus. / S.P.R.R., Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1336.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: View of saguaro cactus. Naef no. 932.
Plate 31
Cereus Giganteus, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1337.
Image size: 15 1/8 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 933.
Plate 32
Desert Cactus, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1339.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
in.
Note: Naef no. 935.
Plate 33
Palo Verde, Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1340.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
in.
Note: Naef no. 936.
Plate 34
Round House, Yuma.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1341.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: View of Southern Pacific locomotive
no. 10 with "S.P.R.R. of Arizona" on side, with another locomotive in
background. Three Native Americans posed in photograph along with
others. Naef no. 946.
Plate 35
Yuma, from the Fort.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1342.
Image size: 15 1/4 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 916.
Plate 36
Bridge over the Colorado, at Yuma.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1343.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Native Americans and others on a
ferry boat. Naef no. 917.
Plate 37
Bridge over the Colorado, at Yuma. / S.P.R.R.,
Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1344.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Native American huts in view. Naef
no. 918.
Plate 38
Bridge over the Colorado, at Yuma.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1345.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Native American huts in view. Naef
no. 919.
Plate 39
Bridge over the Colorado. / From Fort
Yuma.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1346.
Image size: 14 3/8 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: View of U.S. Army barracks made of
adobe bricks. Naef no. 920.
Plate 40
Fort Yuma, from the Arizona Side.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1347.
Image size: 14 3/8 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 921.
Plate 41
The Gila River, at Yuma.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1348.
Image size: 14 3/8 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: Naef no. 922.
Plate 42
Railroad Office, Yuma.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1349.
Image size: 14 1/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Men posed in front of Southern
Pacific Railroad office. Naef no. 915.
Plate 43
Dos Palmas, Colorado Desert.
[1880]
Watkins no. 1350.
Image size: 14 1/4 x 21
1/4 in.
Note: In what is now Riverside County,
California. Naef no. 1067.
Plate 44
Cereus Giganteus. / S.P.R.R., Arizona.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1336.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 931.
Plate 45
San Xavier Mission, Near Tucson. /
"Facade"
[1880]
Watkins no. 1329.
Image size: 14 3/8 x 21
1/8 in.
Note: Naef no. 792.
Plate 46
Interior San Xavier Mission, Near Tucson, A.
T.
[1880]
Watkins' New Series. Watkins no. 1330.
Image size:
14 1/8 x 21 in.
Note: Naef no. 793.
Box 1 / Copies
Copy prints for reference use
This box contains 8 x 10-inch copy prints of all photographs in each of the
four albums. The copies were made by the Huntington Library in the 1980s.
