Daguerreotype Collection, 1839-1870

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Daguerreotype Collection

Summary

Extent:
4.23 linear feet (7 oversize letter document boxes)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item, date]; Daguerreotype Collection, PC DAG; [box number; daguerreotype number]; California Historical Society at Stanford. Dept of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises daguerreotypes, primarily portraits, and also views of cities, towns, and mining areas in California taken between 1839 and 1870. Most daguerreotypes are portraits of early California families and pioneers, such as Maria Paula Rosalia Vallejo Leese and John Augustus Sutter. The collection also contains a seven part, framed panoramic view of San Francicso taken in 1851 and street views of California towns such as Diamond Springs (El Dorado County), Iowa Hill (Placer County), and the Oak Valley House (Yuba County). Images documenting California's Gold Rush are also featured in this collection, including a view of the Madomak Fluming and Mining Company (Yuba County), and a group portrait of Gold Rush era miners. The collection also features unique examples of the format including a stereoscopic view daguerreotype patented by John F. Mascher, and rare encasements such as union cases and ornately designed cases with mother of pearl inlays. The collection holds examples of work from daguerreotypists practicing across the United States, including the following daguerreotypists who had studios in San Francisco: Robert H. Vance, William J. Shew, John Macdonough Ford and Charles F. Hamilton.

Acquisition information:
Assembled collection from various donors. Transferred to Stanford University Libraries, 2025.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections. Some items are fragile and require curator permission to access. See access notes for individual daguerreotypes.

Terms of access:

Materials in this collection, which were created between 1839 and 1870, are in the public domain in the United States. Permission to publish or reproduce is not required.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item, date]; Daguerreotype Collection, PC DAG; [box number; daguerreotype number]; California Historical Society at Stanford. Dept of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Location of this collection:
Department of Special Collections, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US
Contact:
(650) 725-1022
chscollection@stanford.edu
Website