Carleton E. Watkins Mammoth Plate Photographs of California Missions photCL Watkins 1-38
Suzanne Oatey
The Huntington Library
October 2019
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Carleton E. Watkins Mammoth Plate Photographs of California Missions
Creator:
Watkins, Carleton E., 1829-1916
Identifier/Call Number: photCL Watkins 1-38
Physical Description:
21.86 Linear Feet
(8 oversize boxes)
Physical Description:
37 Photographic Prints
(mammoth plate, albumen; size of prints varies, approximately 39 x 54 cm. (15 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.))
Date (inclusive): 1876-1884
Date: 3 copies of daguerreotypes, 1850s
Abstract: A collection of 37 mammoth plate photographs of Spanish missions in California by American photographer Carleton E. Watkins
(1829-1916). The photographs are among the earliest made of the former mission buildings and grounds, which are seen in various
states of ruin, 1876-1884. Sixteen missions are represented, and three photographs are copies of daguerreotypes made in the
1850s.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
RESTRICTED. Due to the fragility of the prints, available only with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery
time.
Conditions Governing Use
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 photographs of California missions, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
In library as of 1948.
Biographical / Historical
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.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains 37 mammoth plate, albumen photographs of Spanish missions in California by photographer Carleton
E. Watkins. Most of the photographs were made approximately 1877, when Watkins made his first photography trip into Southern
California on the newly-built railroad route from San Francisco. Traveling in a flat railcar with room for his photography
wagon and equipment, Watkins then traversed extensively by horse and wagon from San Diego, systematically photographing most
of the missions. One view was made later - Mission San Juan Bautista (item 23) - around 1884, as it shows a steeple that was
added in restoration work completed that year. Three views in this set are mammoth-plate copies of original daguerreotypes
made in the 1850s: Mission San Jose, Mission San Francisco de Asis, and Mission Santa Clara de Asis (items 31, 37, 38), depict
the missions as they appeared in the 1850s.
Sixteen of the 21 California missions are represented in this collection. It is not known exactly why Watkins did not photograph
all of the missions, though it is likely they were in such ruin there was little left to photograph. The photographs in this
set were made at a time when the missions were in various states of decay and abandonment, just before serious preservation
efforts began in the 1880s. The views include crumbling or discolored walls, various adobe structures, bell towers, cemeteries,
fountains and other built details. The surrounding landscapes include footpaths, worn wagon roads, oak trees, palms, agricultural
fields, and some houses. A bird's-eye-view of San Luis Obispo gives an overview of the town that developed near the former
mission.
The prints are mounted on boards, accompanied by labels below the prints. Each label has a printed title, Watkins' negative
number, "Watkins' New Series," and "26 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco."
Related Materials
Carleton E. Watkins Mammoth Plate Photograph Albums:
Photographic Views of Kern County, California (137500); The Central Pacific Railroad and Views Adjacent (137501); Summits
of the Sierra (137502); and Arizona and Views Adjacent to the Southern Pacific Railroad (137503)
Carleton E. Watkins Mammoth Plate Photographs of Yosemite, New Almaden Mine and the Mendocino Coast, California:
(379010)
Carleton E. Watkins Photograph Collection
(photCL 74)
Carleton E. Watkins Stereograph Collection
(photST Watkins)
Watkins, Carleton E. Scenes in Yosemite photograph album
(photCL 409)
Watkins, Carleton E. Sunny Slope. San Gabriel, Cal. photograph album
(photCL 522)
Watkins, Carleton E. Album of the Yo-semite Valley, California (New York: D. Appleton, 1866)
(406039)
Arrangement
Huntington Library staff assigned numbers to the photographs at an unknown time, mid-20th century, and the photographs are
arranged in this sequence (1-38). Note that the number 32 was inadvertently skipped, and the numbering sequence goes from
1-31, then 33-38.
General
This is one of three known complete sets of Watkins' mammoth plate photographs of the California missions. Another set is
held by UCLA Special Collections, and the Hispanic Society of America, New York, holds a bound volume of all 37 photographs
titled "Franciscan Missions of California." The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley holds an album of 35 cut-down mission views.
Bibliography
Naef, Weston J. and Christine Hult-Lewis.
Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011). See esp. 313-15, "The California Missions Project" by Jennifer A. Watts.
Palmquist, Peter E.
Carleton E. Watkins: Photographer of the American West (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983)
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Missions -- California -- Photographs
Spanish mission buildings -- California -- Photographs
Building, Adobe -- Photographs
Agriculture -- California
San Luis Obispo (Calif.) -- History
Photographs
Albumen prints
Mammoth plate
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.) -- Photographs
Santa Inés Mission (Solvang, Calif.) -- Photographs
San Luis Rey Mission (Calif.) -- Photographs
San Antonio de Pádua (Mission) -- Photographs
Mission San Carlos Borromeo (Carmel, Calif.) -- Photographs
Santa Barbara Mission -- Photographs
San Buenaventura Mission -- Photographs
Mission San Juan Capistrano -- Photographs
San Fernando, Rey de España (Mission : San Fernando, Calif.) -- Photographs
San Juan Bautista (Mission : San Juan Bautista, Calif.) -- Photographs
Mission San Miguel Arcangel (San Miguel, Calif.) -- Photographs
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) -- Photographs
Mission San Jose (Alameda County, Calif.) -- Photographs
San Diego Mission -- Photographs
San Francisco de Asís Mission (San Francisco, Calif.) -- Photographs
Santa Clara Mission -- Photographs
Box 1
Mission, Santa Ynez. / Santa Barbara County, California, Established September 17th, 1804 (photCL Watkins 1)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1225. [Mission Santa Ines.] Middle distance view toward church and adobe structure. Man and a woman standing at
door.
General
Naef no. 763
Box 1
Mission, Santa Ynez. / Santa Barbara County, California, Established September 17th, 1804 (photCL Watkins 2)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1224. [Mission Santa Ines.] View from street. A man and a woman are posed facing each other in the portal.
General
Naef no. 764
Box 1
Mission, San Louis Rey de Francia. / San Diego County, California, Established June 13th, 1798 (photCL Watkins 3)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1206. Three people standing in middle distance.
General
Naef no. 784
Box 1
Mission, San Louis Rey de Francia. / San Diego County, California, Established June 13th, 1798 (photCL Watkins 4)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 1 /4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1205. Two men and two boys in middle distance.
General
Naef no. 785
Box 1
Mission, San Louis Rey de Francia. / San Diego County, California, Established June 13th, 1798. From the North (photCL Watkins 5)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1207. Distant view from rear.
General
Naef no. 783
Box 1
Mission, San Louis Rey de Francia. / San Diego County, California, Established June 13th, 1798. From the West (photCL Watkins 6)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1208. Distant view toward hills. Shows adobe buildings associated with mission.
General
Naef no. 782
Box 1
Mission, San Antonio de Padua. / Monterey County, California, Established July 14th, 1771 (photCL Watkins 7)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 1 /4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1230. Rear view from middle distance. Includes adobe structure.
General
Naef no. 756
Box 1
Mission, San Carlos del Carmelo. / Monterey County, California, Established June 3d, 1770 (photCL Watkins 8)
1876-1878
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1232. Close view of mission facade.
General
Naef no. 755
Box 1
Mission, San Carlos del Carmelo. / Monterey County, California, Established June 3d, 1770. View looking West, with glimpse
of Carmel Bay
(photCL Watkins 9)
1876-1878
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1233. View of destroyed roof.
General
Naef no. 754
Box 1A
Mission, San Juan Capistrano. / Los Angeles County, California, Established Nov. 1st, 1776. View from the West (photCL Watkins 10)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 14 5/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1211.
General
Naef no. 778
Box 2
Mission, Santa Barbara. / Santa Barbara County, California, Established December 4, 1786 (photCL Watkins 11)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1221. Fountain prominent in foreground.
General
Naef no. 768
Box 2
Mission, Santa Barbara. / Santa Barbara County, California, Established December 4, 1786. View from Olive Orchard, looking
North
(photCL Watkins 12)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1222. Distant view across plowed field.
General
Naef no. 765
Box 2
Mission. Santa Barbara. / Santa Barbara County, California, Established December 4, 1786. View looking West (photCL Watkins 13)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1223.
General
Naef no. 766
Box 2A
Mission, Santa Barbara. / Santa Barbara County, California, Established December 4, 1786 (photCL Watkins 14)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1220. Close view of front facade, with four women in doorway.
General
Naef no. 767
Box 2
Mission, San Buenaventura. / Ventura County, California, Established March 31st, 1782. View from the West (photCL Watkins 15)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: Print has been inked to cover graffiti and/or posters on wall.
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1218.
General
Naef no. 771
Box 2
Mission, San Buenaventura. / Ventura County, California, Established March 31st, 1782. General View from the Rear (photCL Watkins 16)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1219. Overhead view of mission, showing adobe living quarters and old waterworks. Houses and town in distance.
General
Naef no. 769
Box 2
Mission, San Buenaventura. / Ventura County, California, Established March 31st, 1782 (photCL Watkins 17)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: Print has been inked to cover graffiti and/or posters on wall and fence.
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1217. Includes cemetery.
General
Naef no. 770
Box 2
Mission, San Juan Capistrano. / Los Angeles County, California, Established Nov. 1st, 1776 (photCL Watkins 18)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1209. Two women and a girl standing at center of picture.
General
Naef no. 777
Box 2
Mission, San Juan Capistrano. / Los Angeles County, California, Established Nov. 1st, 1776 (photCL Watkins 19)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1210. Close view of ruins of former sanctuary.
General
Naef no. 779
Box 2B
Mission, San Fernando Rey. / Los Angeles County, California, Established Sept. 8th, 1797 (photCL Watkins 20)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1215.
General
Naef no. 774
Box 3
Mission, San Fernando Rey. / Los Angeles County, California, Established Sept. 8th, 1797 (photCL Watkins 21)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1214.
General
Naef no. 773
Box 3
Mission, San Fernando Rey. / Los Angeles County, California, Established Sept. 8th, 1797. General View from the East (photCL Watkins 22)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1216. Bird's-eye view of mission and mission's grove of olive trees.
General
Naef no. 772
Box 3
Mission, San Juan Bautista. / San Benito County, California, Established June 24th, 1797 (photCL Watkins 23)
approximately 1884
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1234. Includes steeple added in restoration work completed around 1884.
General
Naef no. 753
Box 3
Mission, San Miguel. / San Luis Obispo County, California, Established July 25th, 1797. General View, looking North (photCL Watkins 24)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1228. View of valley from the north end of the mission property.
General
Naef no. 758
Box 3
Mission, San Miguel. / San Luis Obispo County, California, Established July 25th, 1797 (photCL Watkins 25)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1229. Roof tiles stacked in foreground.
General
Naef no. 759
Box 3
Mission, San Luis Obispo. / San Luis Obispo County, California, Established Sept. 1st, 1772 (photCL Watkins 26)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1226.
General
Naef no. 762
Box 3
Mission, San Luis Obispo. / San Luis Obispo County, California, Established Sept. 1st, 1772 (photCL Watkins 27)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1 4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1227. Includes bird's-eye-view of town and farms of San Luis Obispo.
General
Naef no. 761
Box 3
Mission, San Antonio de Padua. / Monterey County, California, Established July 14th, 1771 (photCL Watkins 28)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1231.
General
Naef no. 757
Box 3A
Mission, San Gabriel. / Los Angeles County, California, Established September 8th, 1771 (photCL Watkins 29)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 1/2 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1213.
General
Naef no. 775
Box 3
Mission, San Gabriel. / Los Angeles County, California, Established September 8th, 1771 (photCL Watkins 30)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 1/2 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1212. Horse and people standing in front of mission.
General
Naef no. 776
Box 4
Mission, San Jose. / Alameda County, California, Established June 11th, 1797 (photCL Watkins 31)
approximately 1877, from daguerreotype approximately 1852
Physical Description: A mammoth-plate copy of an original daguerreotype. Print is dark and softly focused. Label has a typo: "Esatblished."
Physical Description: 15 1/4 x 21 1/2 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1237.
General
Naef no. 752
Box 4
Olive and Palm Orchard. / San Diego Mission (photCL Watkins 33)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1204.
General
Naef no. 787
Box 4
Mission, San Diego. / San Diego County, California, Established July 16th, 1769. From the Rear, Looking Down the Valley (photCL Watkins 34)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1202.
General
Naef no. 786
Box 4
Mission, San Diego. / San Diego County, California, Established July 16th, 1769. From the East Side (photCL Watkins 35)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 3/8 x 21 1/4 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1203. Includes cemetery.
General
Naef no. 788
Box 4
Mission, San Diego. / San Diego County, California, Established July 16th, 1769 (photCL Watkins 36)
approximately 1877
Physical Description: 15 1/8 x 21 3/8 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1201. View of adobe living quarters around mission.
General
Naef no. 789
Box 4
Mission, San Francisco de Asis. / San Francisco County, California, Established Oct. 4th, 1776 (photCL Watkins 37)
approximately 1878-1883, from daguerreotype approximately 1850-1851
Physical Description: A mammoth-plate copy of an original daguerreotype. Print is slightly grainy.
Physical Description: 12 x 20 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1236. Also known as Mission Dolores.
General
Naef no. 749
Box 4
Mission, Santa Clara. / Santa Clara County, California, Established Jan. 18th, 1777 (photCL Watkins 38)
approximately 1878-1883, from daguerreotype approximately 1855-1858
Physical Description: A mammoth-plate copy of an original daguerreotype.
Physical Description: 11 x 17 inches (image)
Scope and Contents
Watkins no. 1235.
General
Naef no. 750
