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Summits of the Sierras
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Summits of the Sierras
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In 1879, Watkins was commissioned to travel to the peaks of California's Sierra Nevada mountains to photograph the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey led by George Davidson (1825-1911). The photographs in this album were made during that commission, in the summer of 1879. The album opens with a scene of people positioned in front of a hotel on the shore of Lake Independence, followed by views across the lake looking up toward Mount Lola. Watkins then ascended to the survey base at the top of Mount Lola (9,148 ft.), where he made several photographs of the vistas and details of the rocky terrain, including trees, rivers, canyons, and lakes. He also climbed to the summit of Round Top (10,381 ft.), and made several photographs from that viewpoint, including one carefully orchestrated view of Davidson and his team posed with their instruments and an observation hut on the craggy summit. Occasional figures appear on ridgelines in the photographs, and tents and wooden huts erected by the survey team are seen in some views.
137500; 137501; 137502; 137503
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[Summit Valley.]
Visual Materials
This collection contains 430 albumen photographs by photographer Carleton E. Watkins that chiefly depict buildings, points of interest, and locales in Northern and Southern California in the 1870s and 1880s, as well as 223 card photographs by photographer Alfred A. Hart documenting the construction of the western half of the transcontinental railroad by the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) in the 1860s, which were later published by Watkins under his own imprint. Images by Watkins depict locations in Arizona and California including: Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, the Mammoth Tree Grove, Paso Robles, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Pedro, Santa Monica, Soda Springs, Wilmington, and Yosemite, as well as views related to the Southern Pacific Railroad and of the Colorado River. There are a few images of Native Americans in Arizona and California, and several images related to trains and railroads. The photographs have been removed from the original album, which is a large leather album with brass bindings (Box 10). There are some handwritten identifications in the album pages, most likely written after if was received by the Library.
photCL 74
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[Lake Mary - Summit.]
Visual Materials
This collection contains 430 albumen photographs by photographer Carleton E. Watkins that chiefly depict buildings, points of interest, and locales in Northern and Southern California in the 1870s and 1880s, as well as 223 card photographs by photographer Alfred A. Hart documenting the construction of the western half of the transcontinental railroad by the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) in the 1860s, which were later published by Watkins under his own imprint. Images by Watkins depict locations in Arizona and California including: Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, the Mammoth Tree Grove, Paso Robles, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Pedro, Santa Monica, Soda Springs, Wilmington, and Yosemite, as well as views related to the Southern Pacific Railroad and of the Colorado River. There are a few images of Native Americans in Arizona and California, and several images related to trains and railroads. The photographs have been removed from the original album, which is a large leather album with brass bindings (Box 10). There are some handwritten identifications in the album pages, most likely written after if was received by the Library.
photCL 74
Topanga Canyon summit
Visual Materials
Image of automobiles parked at the summit of Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Topanga, California, with a view of the San Fernando Valley. A sign at left reads "The summit elevation 1560 ft." and "Drink famous Arrowhead beverages ... Distributed for the same old Schiltz in brown bottles. Arrowhead Springs Co., Los Angeles."
photCL_555_01_1742
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Round Top. / Azimuth from west across chasm. Instruments from left as follows:—Man holding bitimeter rod; Solar Radiator; Plane table; Verticle [sic] Circle House; Prof. Davidson with large Heliotrope; Reconnoitering Telescope; The Odolete House, Azimuth; Refraction Station; Astronomical Observatory. In lower right corner are steps leading to bridge over chasm with life lines
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Image size: 14 1/8 x 21 1/8 in. Note: Prof. George Davidson and five other members of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey are positioned with instruments on the summit. Naef no. 863.
137500; 137501; 137502; 137503
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Soda Springs near Summit Station, C.P.R.R
Visual Materials
This collection contains 269 stereographs by photographer Carleton E. Watkins, dating from the 1860s to about the 1880s, that chiefly depict buildings, points of interest, and locales in Northern and Southern California. The collection includes 1 stereograph from the Central Pacific Railroad series; 5 stereographs from Watkins' Pacific Railroad Series; 110 stereographs from Watkins' Pacific Coast series; and 150 stereographs from Watkins' New Series. The Watkins' Pacific Coast Series, created between 1861 and 1874, primarily depict locales in Northern California with many images of buildings in San Francisco, views of Yosemite and Mariposa County, Missions, and some mining operations including photographs of the North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company in Nevada County, California. The Watkins' New Series stereographs, created between 1874 and 1890, consist of images of both Southern California and Northern California, in cities including San Francisco, Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre, and San Gabriel. Among the Southern California residences and properties depicted include the Sunny Slope Ranch of L.J. Rose in San Gabriel, Willow Dale owned by N.C. Carter, and Lake Vineyard owned by B.D. Wilson. Some of the stereographs in Watkins' Pacific Coast Series include titles in the margins in Watkins' own hand (see Nos. 1033, 1135, 1146, 1153, and 1721).
photST Watkins