[GROUP OF SIX STEREOVIEWS OF YOSEMITE, THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS, AND OTHER CALIFORNIA LOCATIONS]

[California Photographica]: Hazletine, Martin Mason

Published by Underwood & Underwood, [California, 1894

Six stereoviews, mounted on beige or orange cardstock, 3 1/2 x 7 inches. Some minor wear and fading, but the Underwood & Underwood cards in quite crisp condition. Very good plus. A group of six early stereoscopic views of California, depicting Yosemite, an early drive-through sequoia in Mariposa Grove, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and Ellwood Ranch. These early stereoviews (or stereocards) each consist of two nearly identical photographs which, when viewed through a stereoscope, produce the illusion of depth. Stereocards enjoyed a meteoric rise to popularity after being featured in London's Great Exhibition of 1851, and many photographers rushed to capture new scenes for the medium. The first two stereo cards in this grouping were published by Underwood & Underwood, a company from Kansas that became the largest publisher of stereoviews in the world. The company's widespread success is evident from the titles of the cards, printed in English as captions as well as on the verso of each card in English, French, German, Spanish, Norwegian, and Russian. The other four views were produced privately by Martin Mason Hazeltine. Hazeltine traveled to California from Vermont in 1850 to search for gold, but instead became a daguerreotype photographer specializing in early stereoviews. He was an itinerant photographer who became known for his landscape photographs of the American West in the 1860s and 70s, and has photograph collections at Claremont College, Princeton, and the Bancroft library. This grouping includes the following stereocards: 1) "(59) Yosemite Falls, from Glacier Point Trail, California." Underwood & Underwood, 1894. Depicts two men on horseback traveling up a ridge in Yosemite, with a third following behind. They turn to face the camera in front of a crisp and dramatic view of Yosemite Falls in the distance. 2) "(58) Wawona, as we drove through it, Mariposa Grove, California." Underwood & Underwood, 1894. Shows a horse-drawn carriage trotting through the great tunnel tree Wawona in Mariposa Grove, not long after it was made. Wawona was a giant sequoia which stood over 220 feet tall and more than twenty-six feet in diameter. In 1881, an existing fire scar was widened to become large enough for travel; the tree became a popular tourist attraction, and visitors spent nearly 100 years taking pictures much like this one until the massive tree finally fell under a heavy load of snow in 1969. 3) Captioned in pencil on the verso: "Yo Semite valley west from top of S D." No date. Depicts a man perched precariously on a dramatic precipice in the far distance; the valley far below is filled with trees. 4) Captioned in pencil on the verso: "Starr King + Buena Vista ridge from top of S. D." No date. A wide view of the distant snow- capped Sierra Nevada Mountains. 5) Captioned in ink on the recto, lower right corner: "139. Brea (Asphaltum) hill on Sea Shore, Santa Barbara" An undated though early view of the Santa Barbara coast, showing surf crashing against barren rocks. 6) Captioned in ink on the recto, lower right corner "149. Cathedral Oaks in Ellwood Ranch." No date. A photograph depicting a beautiful colonnade of oak trees on Ellwood Ranch, with two young women walking between them in the distance and part of a house to one side. Ellwood Ranch is one of numerous areas around Goleta, California named for Ellwood Cooper. He moved there in 1870 and bought 2,000 acres of land, calling it "the paradise of the western world." Ellwood planted hundreds of acres of trees of every variety at his ranch, which was more successful as a local tourist destination than as a business venture. A charming collection of stereoviews of California, depicting impressive landscapes. Seller Inventory # WRCAM57367

Bibliographic Details

Title: [GROUP OF SIX STEREOVIEWS OF YOSEMITE, THE ...
Publisher: Underwood & Underwood, [California
Publication Date: 1894