Lone Mountain College Collection of Stereographs by Eadweard Muybridge, 1867-1880

Processed by Alyson Belcher.

The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California 94720-6000

1996

Lone Mountain College Collection of Stereographs by Eadweard Muybridge, 1867-1880

BANC PIC 1971.055

The Bancroft Library

University of California

Berkeley, California 1996

Finding aid and digital representations of archival materials funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed and encoded by:

California Heritage Digital Image Access Project staff in The Bancroft Library and The Library's Electronic Text Unit

Digital images processed by:

The Library Photographic Service

Finding aid completed:

January 1996

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Lone Mountain College Collection of Stereographs by Eadweard Muybridge.

Collection Number: BANC PIC 1971.055--STER, ALB, PIC, AX, B (Former accession number: 1905.16892. Some copy negatives are available under this number.)

Extent: 1700 stereographs, 6 albums and 39 oversize prints 1727 digital objects

Photographer: Eadweard Muybridge

Repository: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley.

Berkeley, California 94720-6000

Languages Represented: English

Information for Researchers

Access

Originals restricted. Viewing prints are available under the call number BANC PIC 1971.055--PIC. Individual prints, original stereographs and albums may be viewed only with the permission of the Curator of Pictorial Collections.

Publication Rights

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.

Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Lone Mountain College Collection of Stereographs by Eadweard Muybridge, BANC PIC 1971.055, 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

Note

The Bancroft Library has a large collection of photographs by Muybridge; see the Guide to Pictorial Collections for more listings. See also: Catalogue of Photographic Views Illustrating the Yosemite, Mammoth Trees, Geyser Springs, and Other Remarkable and Interesting Scenery of the Far West, by Muybridge , published by Bradley and Rulofson in 1873.

Materials Cataloged Separately

Identifier/Call Number:

Title:

Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/189c:

Title: Eadweard Muybridge Papers: additions, 1818-1839.

Removed from photographic collection.

Identifier/Call Number: xF870.P5M82 1893:

Title: Descriptive Zoopraxography; or, the Science of Animal Locomotion Made Popular

Identifier/Call Number: xffF870.P5M75:

Title: Animal Locomotion: an Electro-Photographic Investigation of Consecutive Phases of Animal Movements, 1872-1885

Identifier/Call Number: xfF870.P5M76 1899:

Title: Animals in Motion ; an Electro-Photographic Investigation of Consecutive Phases of Animal Progressive Movements. Commenced 1872, completed 1885.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Eadweard Muybridge Photographic Collection was originally owned by Monsignor Joseph M. Gleason; it was later acquired with his library by the San Francisco College for Women (Lone Mountain College). The Collection was purchased by The Bancroft Library in March of 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 Susannah 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, and "gridge" was later changed to "bridge."

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 Muybridge Lone Mountain Collection of photographs consists of 1700 stereographs, 6 albums and 39 individual photographs taken during the years 1867 to 1880. Most of the albums contain single stereo size images arranged in Muybridge's series number order and are imprinted with his "Helios" trade name. These albums may represent his own record of his work. He spent most of his time from 1867 to 1873 photographing California, Alaska and the Pacific Coast; this work is documented in Catalogue of Photographic Views Illustrating the Yosemite, Mammoth Trees, Geyser Springs, and Other Remarkable and Interesting Scenery of the Far West, by Muybridge , published by Bradley and Rulofson in 1873. The greatest number of these images are in stereographic form, intended for mounting and sale on cards, but some were made in larger sizes for framing or albums. Photographs 1-278 do not appear in the Catalogue.

Subjects covered in this collection include: Alaska (1868), Big Trees (Calaveras and Mariposa Groves), British Columbia, Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma Co., Calistoga, Chinese, the Earthquake of 1868, Farralon Islands, Geysers, Indians of Yosemite, Light Houses, Marin County, Missions, Modoc War, Panama and Central America (1875), Railroads, San Francisco and The Bay Area, and Yosemite Park.

Series Descriptions

SERIES 1: ALBUMS. BANC PIC 1971.055--ALB (6 VOLUMES)

Scope and Content Note

The column in the listing titled "stereo copy" indicates whether or not a duplicate of the image is available as a stereograph (the number will be the same).

Volume 1: 1-400

Scope and Content Note

Helios album. Yosemite, San Francisco. Single stereo images with Muybridge item numbers.

Volume 2: 401-800

Scope and Content Note

Helios album. San Francisco, Alaska, Vancouver Island, Studies, Central Pacific Railroad. Single stereo images with Muybridge item numbers. Some captioned by Muybridge, some in another unidentified hand.

Volume 3: 4101-4172

Scope and Content Note

Helios album. San Francisco, Sonoma and Farralone Islands. Larger format album containing prints approx. 8 x 10 in. bearing Muybridge item numbers.

Volume 4: 9001-9033

Scope and Content Note

Helios Album. San Francisco mansions, construction of the U.S. Branch Mint and Railroads.

Volume 5: 1-100

Scope and Content Note

Helios album. Mixture of photographs covering San Francisco, Alaska, Pacific Coast, etc. Includes duplicates of material in other albums but not numbered as part of Muybridge's series. First few items are numbered in Muybridge's hand, the rest were numbered after receipt at The Bancroft Library. Single stereo images.

Volume 6: 1-70

Scope and Content Note

Not a Helios album. Separate series of photos of Woodward's Gardens, probably taken around 1869-70. Woodward's Gardens was formerly located on Mission, Valencia and Fourteenth Streets in San Francisco. It was founded in 1867 and demolished in 1895. This album belonged to Henry C. Melone at one time and it bears no markings from Lone Mountain College. After receipt by The Bancroft Library, the items were numbered by J. B. Tompkins, who also supplied Muybridge item numbers for some photos. It is probable that not all of these photos were assigned Muybridge item numbers or formed part of his permanent catalog.

SERIES 2: STEREOGRAPHS. BANC PIC 1971.055--STER (1700 ITEMS)

Scope and Content Note

Same subjects as the albums. The column in the listing titled "album copy" indicates whether or not a duplicate of the image is available in the albums (the item number will be the same). Numbered with the photographer's number, accounting for the gaps in the library's numbering.

SERIES 3: INDIVIDUAL PRINTS. BANC PIC 1971.055--AX or B (39 ITEMS)

Scope and Content Note

Primarily photographs of Panama and Central America, taken in 1875. Some photographs of San Francisco and California.

Container Listing

Series 1

Volume 1

Yosemite

[No caption]