Group of four early California pictorialist photographs by W. Silver-gelatin photographs on matte paper. Each photograph is signed on the reverse : Negative by W. Piatt, San Francisco (either stamped or written in pencil). Some images are titled as well. The subjects of the images are. (1) A view of the Mission Carmel with a man and his dog standing at the side entrance. (2) An architectural study of a California Mission Wall. (3) A view of working men at a train station, possibly in Monterey. (4) A ranch at the foot of Mount Shasta. All of the scenes are beautifully composed and photographed in the Arts & Crafts Pictorialist style of the era. A rare and historically interesting group of images. SIZE (of each) – 4 1/4″ x 6 5/8″. PROVENANCE: San Francisco collection. CONDITION: Excellent condition with the exception light discoloration at the edges (see photos). NOTES / REFERENCES: W. Piatt was a San Francisco photographer of some note during the late 19th and early 20th century. He is known for his views of California in the popular Pictorialist style of the times. He was an associate editor of “The Architect and Engineer of California” a monthly journal published in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He exhibited works in the Photographic Salon of the Mark Hopkins Institute during the early 1900s. Piatt photographs were published in a number of photography journals in America. He was a member of the California Camera Club where he exhibited with Arnold Genthe, Oscar Mauer. Charles Meeker and others. His photographs are rare.