Finding aid to Stereographic Views of San Francisco Bay Area Locations by Eadweard Muybridge circa 1865-1879

Processed by James Ryan.

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

1997

Finding aid to Stereographic Views of San Francisco Bay Area Locations by Eadweard Muybridge circa 1865-1879

Collection number: BANC PIC 1971.069--STER

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

Finding Aid Author(s):: Processed by James Ryan.
Finding Aid Encoded By:: GenX

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Stereographic Views of San Francisco Bay Area Locations by

Eadweard Muybridge

Date (inclusive): circa 1865-1879

Collection Number: BANC PIC 1971.069--STER

Photographer:

Eadweard Muybridge

Extent: 42 stereographs; 12 x 18 cm. and 9 x 18 cm. 41 digital objects

Repository: The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

Abstract: The Stereographic Views of San Francisco Bay Area Locations collection consists of 42 stereographs taken by

Eadweard Muybridge

from circa 1865 to circa 1879.

Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English

Information for Researchers

Access

Restricted originals. Use viewing prints only. Use of originals only by permission of the Curator of Pictorial Collections, The Bancroft Library.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Stereographic Views of San Francisco Bay Area Locations by

Eadweard Muybridge

, BANC PIC 1971.069--STER, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Digital Representations Available

Digital representations of selected original pictorial materials are available in the list of materials below. Digital image files were prepared from selected Library originals by the Library Photographic Service. Library originals were copied onto 35mm color transparency film; the film was scanned and transferred to Kodak Photo CD (by Custom Process); and the Photo CD files were color-corrected and saved in JFIF (JPEG) format for use as viewing files.

Related Collections

Lone Mountain College Collection of Stereographs by

Eadweard Muybridge

, BANC PIC 1971.055

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Fernside (Alameda County, Calif. : Residence) -- Pictorial works.

Mosswood (Alameda County, Calif. : Residence) -- Pictorial works.

Pacific Rolling Mill Company -- Pictorial works.

California Standard Sack Company -- Pictorial works.

Gardens -- California -- Photographs.

Dwellings -- California -- Alameda County -- Photographs.

Industries -- California -- San Francisco -- Photographs.

Alameda County (Calif.) -- Pictorial works.

San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.) -- Pictorial works.

Muybridge, Eadweard

, 1830-1904. Homes of California.

Muybridge, Eadweard

, 1830-1904. California.

Muybridge, Eadweard

, 1830-1904. San Francisco.

Muybridge, Eadweard

, 1830-1904. Bay of San Francisco.

Muybridge, Eadweard

, 1830-1904. Views of the Pacific Coast.

Lone Mountain College (San Francisco, Calif.). Library. Associated name CU-BANC

Bradley & Rulofson.

Helios Flying Studio.

Online Archive of California.

California Heritage Project. CU-BANC

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Stereographic Views of San Francisco Bay Area Locations photographs were formerly part of the Lone Mountain College Collection of Stereographs by

Eadweard Muybridge

(BANC PIC 1971.055). The collection was purchased in 1971.

Biography

Edward James Muggeridge was born on April 9, 1830 in Kingston-on-Thames, England. He was the second of four sons born to John Muggeridge and Susanna Smith Muggeridge. John Muggeridge was a grain, coal and timber merchant and Susannah Smith Muggeridge came from a prosperous family engaged in the business of carrying by barge. At the age of 22 Edward decided to go to America and he changed his name to Eadweard Muygridge. He took the spelling of his first name from the "Coronation Stone," which had been discovered in Kingston in 1850. Seven Saxon kings had been crowned upon this stone and two kings named Eadweard appeared on its plinth. As for the spelling of his last name, the "muy" may have been added to reflect some Spanish ancestry.

Upon his arrival in New York, Muybridge secured employment as a commission merchant for the London Printing and Publishing Company. One of his first friends in the U.S. was daguerreotypist Silas T. Selleck, who sparked

Eadweard's interest in photography. When Selleck went West and established a successful photography studio, Muybridge

soon followed. In 1855 he settled in San Francisco, where he opened a bookstore at 113 Montgomery Street. In his free time Muybridge explored California; he was so overwhelmed by the beauty of the state that he began to think about photographing landscapes. Muybridge was aware of the potential of new photographic markets in America and he considered the possibility of photography as a second career. In 1860 he returned to England where he spent several years regaining his health (he was injured in a stage coach accident during the trip from SF to NY) and studying photography more seriously. Around 1866 he returned to America, altering his surname from Muygridge to Muybridge. When he arrived in San Francisco he joined Silas Selleck in the photography business. The following year Muybridge took his "Flying Studio" to Yosemite and made numerous photographs which were presented in 1868 under the pseudonym "Helios." Over the next couple of years he made photographs of the San Francisco Bay Area, Alaska, and the Pacific Coast.

In the Spring of 1871 Muybridge married Flora Shallcross Stone. A year later he became acquainted with the Leland Stanford family and this marked the beginning of his motion photography. Over the next couple of years, in addition to his motion studies, he photographed the Modoc Indians and U.S. soldiers in Northern California, Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad. In February of 1875, after being acquitted for the murder of his wife's lover, Muybridge went south to photograph Panama and Central America. He returned to San Francisco in November upon hearing of his wife's death. The rest of his career was spent primarily on the motion studies, first at Stanford University and later at the University of Pennsylvania.

Eadweard Muybridge

died May 8, 1904 at 2 Liverpool Road, Kingston-on-Thames.

Scope and Content

The Stereographic Views of San Francisco Bay Area Locations collection consists of 42 stereographs taken by

Eadweard Muybridge from circa 1865 to circa 1879. The collection is distributed into five Series consisting, for the most part, of garden and woodland scenes from the "Homes of California" series, many captioned "Mosswood, Alameda County" and some captioned "Fernside, Alameda County." Also represented are the following series: "Views of the Pacific Coast," "San Francisco," "California," and "Bay of San Francisco." Many show views of residences and estates featuring interiors and exteriors. Industrial views include the Pacific Rolling Mills (San Francisco) and one view of women at work in the California Standard Sack Company (San Francisco). Some views were published by Bradley & Rulofson, San Francisco, and those from the "Views of the Pacific Coast" series bear Muybridge's pseudonym, "Helios Flying Studio." A number were for a time in the possession of the Monsignor Joseph Gleason Library as part of the Muybridge Lone Mountain Collection. Printed captions are reprinted in the container listing. Captions in parentheses appear in manuscript on the stereographs. Captions in brackets have been supplied.

Mosswood, Alameda Co.

Mosswood, Alameda Co. BANC PIC 1971.069:2--STER