Collection of William Henry Jackson photographs
Scope and content
There are 19 large William Henry Jackson photographs in the archives. Seven of these are of the Grays, Hooker, et al. camped in La Veta Pass, Colorado, July 1877; there are two different views, with two prints of one and five of the other; several prints are mounted on the printing backings of the US Geological Survey of the Territories.
Ten photographs are of Yellowstone and the surrounding area; all of these are on the US Geological Survey of the Territories backings.
There are two other later photographs produced by W.H. Jackson & Co.: one of Florida (no.539) and one of Mexico (no. 1135). The Florida photograph is colored.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1877-1880
Creator
- Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research by appointment. Materials are fragile so staff will do the handling. Researchers must register and provide one form of valid photo identification. Please contact botref@oeb.harvard.edu for additional information.
Extent
0.4 linear feet (19 oversize photographs)Biographical note
Born in Keeseville, New York, on April 4, 1843, William Henry Jackson began working as a photographer in Troy, New York, in 1858. In 1860 he left for the west, where he remained for much of the rest of his life, excluding a year in the Civil War. From 1870-1878 he was the official photographer for the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories, conducted by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, and had the opportunity of being the first to photograph Yellowstone. Like Carleton E. Watkins, Jackson used a mammoth plate camera for his outdoor views. After the survey, Jackson established the W.H. Jackson Photo & Pub. Co. in Denver, Colorado and maintained it until 1897. From 1898 until his retirement in 1924, he was associated with the Detroit (Mich.) Pub. Co. He published an autobiography titled Time Exposure in 1940, two years before his death.
References:
Who Was Who in America, 2.
Palmquist, Peter E. Carleton E. Watkins: Photographer of the American West, 1983.
Provenance
Two of the La Veta Pass photos were given by Mrs. Ingersoll Bowditch (Sarah Scudder) on December 7 1939; the provenance of the remaining La Veta pass photos is not noted.
The Yellowstone photos were given to the Gray Herbarium by Jane Gray.
The Florida photograph was received in 1918 from the bequest of George Golding Kennedy and there is no recorded provenance of the Mexican view.
Creator
- Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942 (Person)
- Title
- Collection of William Henry Jackson photographs, circa 1877-1880: A Guide.
- Status
- in_progress
- Author
- Botany Libraries, Gray Herbarium Library, Harvard University.
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- gra00100
Repository Details
Part of the Botany Libraries, Gray Herbarium Library, Harvard University Repository
The Harvard University Herbaria houses five research libraries that are managed collectively as the Botany Libraries. The Gray Herbarium Library specializes in the identification and classification of New World plants with emphasis on North American plants. The Archives of the Gray Herbarium houses unique resources including personal papers, institutional records, field notes and plant lists, expedition records, photographs, original artwork, and objects from faculty, curators, staff, and affiliates of the Gray Herbarium.
Harvard University Herbaria
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botref@oeb.harvard.edu