This collection consists of an album of 47 photoengravings produced from photographs taken by E. T. Dooley in 1902. It features views of Arbor Villa, the residence of Francis Marion Smith, in Oakland, California. Walter J. Mathews was the architect of the estate. Exterior views include sculptures, fountains, the court, the hot house, the grape arbor, the lily pond, and the deer pen. Interior views include the ballroom, bedroom, dining room, and more.

Francis Marion Smith (1846-1931) was an entrepreneur in California and Nevada who discovered borax and established the Pacific Coast Borax Company. Its trademarked "20 Mule Team," which hauled borax from Death Valley for refining, became a famous advertising symbol. Smith put his profits into the Realty Syndicate for land development, a major street railway company, and the Key Route train and ferry system. He made 25 million dollars in his business ventures, but by 1913, due to short-term debt and over-expansion, lost his fortune. He was able to partly rebuild his fortune by using the money from his Nevada silver mine and putting it into the Searles Lake Borax industry in California.

47 photoengravings in 1 album; 36 x 50 cm. 47 digital objects

Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish photographs must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Pictorial Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Collection stored off-site; advance notice required for use.