Taber (Isaiah West) Miscellaneous Views of California, circa 1890-1899

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Summary

Title:
Miscellaneous Views of California Taken by I. W. Taber
Dates:
circa 1890-1899
Abstract:
Eight of the twelve photographs in this collection by I. W. Taber are of the San Francisco area. Included are views of Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, Union Square, the Palace Hotel, and Telegraph Hill. The remaining photographs are of the State Capitol in Sacramento, the Hotel del Monte in Monterey, Santa Barbara Mission, and a Mexican-American family at Mission San Juan Capistrano. All but one of the photographs bear a printed caption and photographer's number. The photograph of the Hotel del Monte is dated 1895. The other photographs were presumably taken in the 1890s
Extent:
12 photographic prints, black and white; 19 x 24 cm. or smaller 12 digital objects
Language:
Collection materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Miscellaneous Views of California Taken by I. W. Taber, BANC PIC 1977.021--AX, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Background

Scope and content:

Eight of the twelve photographs in this collection by I. W. Taber are of the San Francisco area. Included are views of Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, Union Square, the Palace Hotel, and Telegraph Hill. The remaining photographs are of the State Capitol in Sacramento, the Hotel del Monte in Monterey, Santa Barbara Mission, and a Mexican-American family at Mission San Juan Capistrano. All but one of the photographs bear a printed caption and photographer's number. The photograph of the Hotel del Monte is dated 1895. The other photographs were presumably taken in the 1890s

Biographical / historical:

Isaiah West Taber was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts August 17, 1830. Taber went to sea at the age of fifteen and spent several years working on whaling ships in the North Pacific. He came to California in 1850, where he spent four years working first as a miner, then a farmer. Taber returned to New Bedford in 1854 where he studied dentistry and began a dental practice. An interest in amateur photography eventually became his life-work. He settled in Syracuse, New York, where he opened his first studio. In 1864 he returned to California at the inducement of the photographers Bradley and Rulofson, whom he worked for until 1871. Taber established the "Taber Gallery" at No. 12 Montgomery Street in 1871. His highly successful business was well-known for portraiture and a vast stock of California and Western views -many of which were the unacknowledged works of other photographers. Taber's success and stature in California and abroad are evident in his being awarded the photographic concession of the Midwinter Fair of 1893-94 in San Francisco, his being sent to London in 1897 to photograph the pageant of the Queen Victoria Jubilee, and his commission to photograph King Edward VII. Taber's career ended in 1906 when his entire collection of glass plates, view negatives and portraits on glass were destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake and fire. He died February 22, 1912.

(Sources: Hart, James D.A Companion to California.New York:Oxford University Press,1978, p.439;Murray, W. H.The Builders of a Great City: San Francisco's Representative Men.San Francisco:The Journal,1891, p.329-330; and Burdette, Robert J. American Biography and Genealogy. California edition. ( Chicago:Lewis Publishing Co.,[191-]), p. 756-761.)

Acquisition information:
Unknown.
Rules or conventions:
Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Padma Rubiales.
Date Prepared:
© 1996
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid generated by GenX; markup validated by The Bancroft Library using CDL validation tools; Date of source: December 2013

Access and use

Restrictions:

Restricted originals. Use viewing prints only. Use of originals only by permission of the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library.

Terms of access:

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], Miscellaneous Views of California Taken by I. W. Taber, BANC PIC 1977.021--AX, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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