Frank B. Rodolph Photograph Collection

Processed by Padma Rubiales and The Bancroft Library staff.

The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California 94720-6000

Frank B. Rodolph Photograph Collection

Collection number: BANC PIC 1905.17146-17161--PIC

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:

July 1995

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Frank B. Rodolph Photograph Collection

Date:

Collection Number: BANC PIC 1905.17146-17161--PIC

Extent: 1254 photographs in 16 albums 620 digital objects

Photographer: Rodolf, Frank B.

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

Berkeley, California 94720-6000

Languages Represented: English

Information for Researchers

Access

Collection is open for use.

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], Frank B. Rodolph Photograph Collection, BANC PIC 1905.17146-17161--PIC, 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.

Materials Cataloged Separately

Materials concerning Frank B. Rodolph and the Rodolph family transferred to Manuscripts Division and cataloged with call number BANC MSS 95/103 c.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Frank B. Rodolph Photograph Collection was a gift of Margaret E. Schlichtmann, February 2, 1968.

Biography

Frank Bequette Rodolph (1843-1923) was a commercial photographer active in Oakland during the 1870s and 1880s. Born in Wisconsin, he and his family traveled overland to California in 1850. They settled first in Placerville and later operated a ranch on Cache Creek. Moving to Oakland in 1869, Rodolph attended business college and opened a stationery store on Broadway in partnership with his father. The store also sold school books and sheet music, and in the 1880s Rodolph began doing printing work as well. Many of his photographs were taken on his extensive travels throughout California.

Scope and Content

The Frank B. Rodolph collection consists of 1254 original photographs taken by Rodolph and associates, including Isaiah W. Taber. The Taber photographs, primarily of Alaska, can be found in volume 14 (BANC PIC 1905.17159). Rodolph's subjects include a variety of cityscapes, residences and other buildings chiefly of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma County, Santa Cruz and Monterey areas of California. Many of the photographs are of recreational and leisure activities, including outings of a Bay Area group of photographers (including Rodolph) who called themselves "the Merry Tramps." Numbers in parentheses on the caption lists are photographer's numbers that appear on the photographs. Captions on the container listing were provided by the donor of the collection, Margaret E. Schlichtmann.

Container List

Album 1 : BANC PIC 1905.17146-PIC

1 Lake Merritt from Adams Point (2.3)