https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:37:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1 https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2026/03/watkins-cliff-house-environs-san-francisco-california-stereoview/ https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2026/03/watkins-cliff-house-environs-san-francisco-california-stereoview/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2026 04:29:43 +0000 https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2026/03/watkins-cliff-house-environs-san-francisco-california-stereoview/





Watkins Cliff House & Environs San Francisco California Stereoview. He found international fame for his award winning photographs of Yosemite, San Francisco, the Pacific coast and subjects throughout the western states. Watkins is best known for his mammoth plate photographs but actually published the majority of his work as stereoviews. They represent a comprehensive look into California and the West from the 1860s through the 1890s. Carleton Watkins was born in Oneonta, New York on November 11, 1829. He traveled to California with Collis Huntington (later to become one of the “Big Four” owners of the Central Pacific Railroad). Watkins was employed by Huntington in Sacramento delivering supplies to the mining operations. After the great Sacramento city fire of November 2-3, 1852 he set out to be a professional photographer. Between 1852 and 1854 Watkins worked as the camera operator for several established photographers including Robert Vance who had a gallery at the corner of Sacramento and Montgomery Streets, near George Murray’s Bookstore where Watkins worked as a clerk. By 1858 Watkins was working on his own, taking on a number of photographic commissions for publishers and individuals, such as James M. Hutching who used the photographs as a source for engravings in his “Illustrated California Magazine”. He produced photographs for evidence in courts of law and also documented the mining estate of John Fremont and his wife Jessie Benton Fremont in Mariposa County and their estate at Black Point. In July of 1861 Watkins traveled to Yosemite equipped with a mammoth-plate camera, which used 18 by 22 inch glass plate negatives, and a stereoscopic camera. These photographs and later Yosemite images, established him as a master of landscape photography. The prints helped influence the U. Congress to pass legislation protecting Yosemite Valley. Watkins may have traveled to Yosemite in 1858-59 and the first 100 stereographs could include a combination of the two trips. Watkins issued his early stereoviews on glass mounts and on card mounts with handwritten titles. These have come to be known as manuscript or hand-signed Watkins views. After about 1863, stereoviews were mounted on yellow cards with printed labels. These were later replaced with orange card stock and printed labels. Watkins won many awards during his career, starting in 1865 with an award for “Mountain Views” at the Mechanics’ Institute Exhibition in San Francisco. In 1867 Watkins won a medal for landscape photographs at the Paris International Exposition and the following year started printing his stereoviews with an acknowledgment of the medal on the back of the card. After problems with Eastern firms pirating his images, Watkins began copyrighted his work in 1867. Hart’s negatives of the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, probably through his relationship with Collis Huntington. Watkins published them under the series title “Watkins Central Pacific Railroad” using Hart’s original view numbers (1 through 364). Watkins continued to travel widely, making photographic excursions to Northern California, Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains as well as Utah. Watkins photo wagon, which served as a portable darkroom in the field, displayed advertising for his San Francsico studio. In 1871 Watkins moved his studio to number 22-26 Montgomery Street. Located near one of his largest competitors, Thomas Houseworth, & Co, he named the establishment the “Yosemite Art Gallery”. In the mid-1870s both photographers had studios in the first block of Montgomery Street. The location was convenient to tourists staying just across the street at the Lick House, and to the Palace Hotel at the end of the block. While Watkins won acclaim for his artistic efforts he was not considered a good businessman and, during the financial crisis of 1875, lost his studio and negatives to creditor J. Cook, along with photographer I. Taber, took over the Yosemite Art Gallery. Taber began marketing Watkins stereoviews under the I. Taber label, although retaining Watkins original view numbers and titles. In spite of this devastating setback, Watkins began to rebuild his inventory of negatives by revisiting locations he photographed in the 1860’s. He called these views “Watkins New Series” and started numbering at 3000. Over the next ten years Watkins photographed much of California and the western states eventually publishing more than 2300 New Series titles. Subjects include the Central Pacific Railroad, Sierra Nevada mining, Lake Tahoe, Big Trees, Virginia City, southern California, Arizona, the Pacific Northwest, Yellowstone, and of course, extensive coverage of San Francisco and the Bay Area. By the mid-1890’s Watkins deteriorating eyesight and other health problems impacted his ability to work. The earthquake of 1906 destroyed Watkins studio along with the negatives of his life’s work. Watkins died on June 23, 1916 at the age of eighty-seven. Although the negatives were lost, Watkins prints exist today in many private and institutional collections. Please See our other views. Listing and template services provided by inkFrog.

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2 OLD VINTAGE ALBUMEN PHOTOs BOOTHSIDE MOUNTED ON THE SAME CARDBOARD (NOT NEWTIME COPYS OR REPRINTs) MADE APPROX. 1880s PHOTOGRAPHER ISAIAH WEST TABER UPPER CORRIDOR, PALACE HOTEL, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA + THE CLIFF HOUSE AND SEAL ROCKS SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA+ PHOTO SIZE (WITHOUT CARDBOARD) 202 x 123mm & 203 x 120mm CONDITION THE PHOTOS ARE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION!! THE CARDBOARD HAS A SOFT WAVE PLEASE HAVE A INTENSIVE LOOK AT THE PHOTO DESCRIPTIONS!

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TODD HIDO Photographic Giclee Print. “#2215 from the series House Hunting, 1998″. Limited Edition Photograph Print, from States of Change 2024. Matted and Ready to Frame, with a Charles Scott Gallery Certificate of Authenticity. States of Change was a unique offering of Photographic art by photographers looking to support voting rights in 2020. It was then run again in 2024 with ALL NEW photographs and artist. The art was listed as an “open edition” but their offering was limited to an availability time period of only 7 days from October 29 to November 4, 2024. That’s an INCREDIBLY low edition size. Edition: Open but likely only approx. Size: 10″ x 12″ photograph (with border), unframed but matted to 11″ x 14″. Epson Legacy Platine paper. This is a premium 100% cotton fibre paper that combines the look and feel of the original darkroom silver halide print with a true cotton base, and that provides outstanding image permanence and durability. We only use archival/acid-free materials in mounting your artwork. Todd Hido is an American photographer. He has produced 17 books, had his work exhibited widely and included in various public collections (the Whitney and the Art Institute of Chicago for example). Hido is currently an adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Let us send you an invoice. Once you pay for them we cannot combine them. While we do not do digital appraisals we are happy to answer questions you might have or consider your item for consignment. And, as always, we will treat you how we want to be treated – with the highest level of customer service of any gallery. WE ARE FANATICAL ABOUT PACKAGING. So far we’ve never had an item arrived damaged. WE RECYCLE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT – so you may find everything from wrapping paper to plastic shopping bags as your packing material. WE NEVER compromise on the safety or cleanliness of your item, so rest assured we WILL get it to you in the shape it left us.

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Real Photo Postcard, RPPC. Creases – 3 corners, also small ones – 2 center top, 1 center bottom.

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Very rare never seen another one like it. Suitcase baggage tags from September 1940 post dated. VERY RARE PIECE OF SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY. If you’re a collector of San Francisco souvenirs then this is a MUST HAVE. These are the baggage tags the nice hotels used to use. It’s a Leather tag and is in unbelievable shape after 84 years! I found it tucked away in a large book in an envelope. Great find and I’m just trying to pass on some California history. Open to offers on this rare piece of history.

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1948 VINTAGE CLIFF HOUSE & SEAL ROCKS SOUVENIR SNAPSHOT ALBUM San Francisco, CA. 1948 Vintage Cliff House and Seal Rocks, San Francisco, California Souvenir Snapshot Album–with 43 coastal California snapshots, some annotated. Inscription in ink writing on inside cover, To My Husband – 2/14/48 May The Pictures Within These Pages Begin An Album of Lifetime Love and Understanding For Us. Exterior album dimensions are approximately: 6-3/4″ x 5-1/8″. Condition: album has a leather cover that is printed with hand painted embellishment on the illustration. Typical light soiling and fading with occasional scuffs and edge wear. Please see photos for additional condition review. Get images that make Supersized seem small. Showcase your items with Auctiva’s. Attention Sellers – Get Templates Image Hosting, Scheduling at Auctiva. Com. Track Page Views With.

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The product is a real photo postcard depicting the Burning of the Cliff House in San Francisco on September 7, 1907. This historical event is captured in a rare and original postcard, providing a glimpse into the devastating fire that destroyed the iconic building. The postcard, with a posted stamp, reflects a significant moment in San Francisco’s history, making it a valuable collectible for those interested in topographical postcards and urban disasters. The post card was sent from San Francisco just days after the disaster.

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Antique Real Photograph Postcard. Location: San Francisco, California. 5.5″ x 3.5″. Postcard is in good antique condition with some light wear. Please contact to make arrangements.

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Souvenir and Book of Information of San Francisco. Published by and compliments of Newman’s New Russ House Montgomery, Bush and Pine Sts. Army and Navy Headquarters (wrapper title). The Gabriel Printing Co. Profusely illustrated from photographs & drawings; advertisements. 19.2×23.3 cm (7½x9¼), string-tied through punchholes. Scarce, well-illustrated promotional brochure for the landmark hotel in Old San Francisco. Much of the booklet is devoted to the hotel mascot, Lester C, known as Dewey, a massive St. Bernard weighing nearly 240 lbs, and just shy of nine feet from nose to the tip of his tail, and to Dewey’s canine friends. OCLC lists three copies, at the California Historical Society, the Huntington Library, and Yale University. The Russ House was built by Christian Russ who arrived in San Francisco with his wife and sons on March 26, 1847 from New York on a boat called the Loo Choo. He was a jeweler by trade established a jewelry shop which turned into a huge booming business when the upcoming gold rush came. In fact, he expanded to different areas of the business like assaying where he was able to take a little gold off the top for each assayer. When the Gold Rush ended, he tore down those cottages and built the Russ House which became a famous hotel and restaurant. In 1902 the new proprietor Charles Newman assumed control of the house, and expended many thousands of dollars in remodeling and refitting the Russ. The Russ House contained four hundred rooms, all spacious, well ventilated. The house had the latest electrical devices. The Russ had one of the finest Gentlemen’s café and bar in the city. There are great full pages photographs of these café and bars in the book, barber shop, as well as printed program and menu of the café. There are also photos of the Russ’ beautiful ceiling decoration and paintings, including big Henry Raschen “Discovery of Gold in 1848″. There are also some great San Francisco pre-earthquake photos, San Francisco map, as well as some great advertisements. Like most everything on Montgomery street the Russ House burned in 1906, and Charles Newman lost his business. It was replaced by three story office-building. In 1927 or so, the building was rebuilt and turned into a 31 story Russ Building which, as hard as it may be to believe, was then known for a long time as the tallest building in the West. Well Worn and dusty, the string tie is original; Was found in an estate of dusty books. I started cleaning, but did not want to ruin pages. Non-smoking home, stored out of sunlight.

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Antique Real Photograph Postcard. Location: San Francisco, California. 5.5″ x 3.5″. Postcard is in good antique condition with some light wear. Please contact to make arrangements.

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