Photography

18-1. Full-Plate Ambrotype by an Important Pioneer Photographer.

A significant photographic trophy: Full-  plate ambrotype - by a prominent  photographer who worked both with  Brady and his protégé A.W. Paradise -  with original hand-coloring, in its original  full leather case. A high-fashion  antebellum image, c. 1855, of three  stylishly dressed women of Rochester  society, in studio, probably identifiable  with research. It is possible that the three  are sisters; their noses are similar. Image  size 5¼ x 7¼, overall case 7 x 9. Photographer’s imprint debossed at lower left corner of brass  mat, “Whitney / Roch(ester) N.Y.” – Edward Tompkins Whitney (1820-93). The visages of the  three women are not only utterly lifelike, the full-size format and photographer’s skill  imparting depth unmatched in smaller ambrotypes, but their expressions offer that Mona  Lisa-esque mystique. Unlike smaller images, the coloring here is understatedly elegant and  indistinguishable from the underlying image, one’s midnight-black dress shimmering like a  deep lake of silken color. The teal-blue pleated hoop skirt of the woman to her left has a three-  dimensional, backlit effect. The gingham dress of the woman standing between them, in pastel  blue and white, is more evocatively rendered than even a screenless collotype of the next  century. At their feet, the studio carpet displays a bold green and white acorn leaf motif, on  sculpted raspberry. This very same rug is seen in a half-plate in the George Eastman  Collection, also with applied color, titled “Man in vagabond clothes”--Neg. 13510; 73:0062-  0004. Born in New York City, and son of a jeweller, photographer Edward Whitney’s own  early work as a jeweller informs his work here. Taught to make daguerreotypes by Martin M.  Lawrence, he moved to Rochester in 1845, soon taking over operation of a Thomas Mercer  branch daguerreian room in the Emporium Block on Main Street. In 1851, he opened  “Whitney’s New Skylight Gallery,” his own studio built on the roof of a fashionable building.  He advertised that his slanted skylight reduced exposure time from 130 to between 2 and 10  seconds, promoting the slogan, “Light is plentiful, light is free, rain or shine it’s always light  enough for me.” In 1852, Whitney helped sponsor the New York State Daguerreian  Association meeting in Rochester. Four years later, he participated in P.T. Barnum’s  “American Gallery of Beauty,” becoming the local daguerreotypist making half-plate images of  Rochester women, for submission to Barnum’s Broadway Museum. From 1,000 entries, the  public would select one hundred, and then ten, of the most beautiful subjects. Throughout his  career in Rochester, Whitney made regular visits to the Matthew Brady and Jeremiah Gurney  studios in New York City to keep up with the latest improvements, learning to make stereo  views and solar enlargements. In 1859, Whitney sold his business in Rochester, citing health  problems caused by the use of cyanide. He moved to Norwalk, Conn., opening a studio there,  and another Broadway studio in partnership with A.W. Paradise, previously an employee of  Rochester’s Thomas Mercer, and later Brady’s “right hand man.” In 1861, Whitney worked for  Brady directly, making photographs of scenes of the war for the government, and “refusing to  stop by the way to make portraits for money, which many were doing.” He remained active in  photography until 1886, probably at times in partnership with Paradise and a Mr. Beckwith.  He was a regular contributor to the Photographic and Fine Art Journal, and the Photographic  Times, which published his “Reminiscences“ in the issue of March 1884. – See: “Captured  Images, The Daguerreian Years in Rochester, 1840-1860” by Joseph R. Struble, in Rochester  History, Vol. LXII, No. 1, Winter 2000. • Newhall, Beaumont, image no. 60, April 1958, p. 92 (discussion of full-plate daguerreotype of  Whitney Studio at Main and State Sts.). • Photographic and Fine Art Journal, April 1854. p. 111, and Mar. 1855, p. 76. Superbly  decorated case with intricately intertwined shells, leaves, and geometric elements in a blend of Baroque and Gothic Revival, deep coffee  brown with gilt ornamental border, both clasps with petal pivots. Deliciously grape velvet lining with embossed floral finery, imparting  a regal effect. Orange-brass mat with double razor-thin herringbone chevron oval surround. Front cover with loss of small circular area  at left, irregular 1 x 1¾ upper right corner, fairly minor scuffing at edge angles; back cover with only incidental superficial scuffing,  mainly at lower right, with loss of less than 1% of design; spine unusually fine and tight, especially for such a large, heavy example; dent  at upper right corner when open; case understandably with other very minor imperfections, else very good plus. Image with  characteristic micro-orange peel, seen only at certain angles, else the color, contrast, overall effect, and integrity of the ambrotype  superior, and judged about very fine. A more alluring specimen of a full-plate American ambrotype, with all of its magic and cachet,  could only be encountered by serendipity. Doubly desirable, with its photographer’s attribution. $2400-2900 

18-2. Full-Size Albumen Photograph of a Union Soldier.

Rarely encountered large-size original Civil War period albumen photograph, of Union soldier with  sabre at his side, holstered sidearm, cartridge pouch on belt, three stripes on his sleeves, wearing  Hardee-style hat but with flat brim. Shown from boots up, cutting a lean figure. 5¼ x 7½ oval, on  original 8 x 10 tan mount, thick and thin gilt surround. Studio backdrop with camp scene, American  flag in foreground. Considerable waterstaining at three margins, miraculously skirting the image;  light foxing, image somewhat light with coffee-and-cream tones, else good. A fresh find in  Pennsylvania Dutch country, the size representing something of an extravagance for the Civil War  period; this soldier clearly flatters the full-size format, his visage ready to step into the pages of a  coffee-table book on the conflict. $350-450

18-3. Daguerreotype of a Black Woman.

Seated photograph of a young, slim woman, her light complexion suggesting a mulatto, hair in the  style of Mary Lincoln, enswathed in a rich cape over floral dress. Identified as “Betsy [Elizabeth?] Noyes Belknap” on piece of cloth tape  mounted on facing raspberry satin, judged penned in first half of 20th century. Brown case with urn overflowing with bouquet of a  sunflower, rose, tulip, and grapes. Case with relief scuffing on back panel only, suggesting this was kept on a table for many years;  lacking articulating pin, else about fine. Medium-brown platelet corrosion at right vertical periphery of image, lesser around balance,  some moderate verdigris spots on her cape and arms, but the likeness sharp, dark, and her serious gaze - her eyes suggesting she may  never before have sat for a photographer - beguiling and unrelieved. Very scarce and desirable. $250-325 

An Archive of the Western Photography of H.C. Tibbitts,

Precursor of Ansel Adams

18-4. The American Shangri-La.

Significant archive of 54 exquisitely photographed - and beautifully prepared - vintage silverprints of the West, principally northern  California, including Donner Lakes, the Redwoods, Tahoe, Yosemite, and more. Images, numbers, and manuscript titles variously  matching the oeuvres of important San Francisco-based photographer Howard C. Tibbitts, for forty years under contract to Southern  Pacific Railroad to capture the West for their Sunset magazine. One of the original members of the California Camera Club, established  in 1890, Tibbitts was also an official photographer of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Eggshell finish, 6½ x 8½. Judged  variously taken and developed c. 1915-35, based upon ink captions and negative numbers on versos of majority. Inscriptions, in the  style “#13605, Royal Arches & North Dome, Yosemite,” indicate that these may have been Tibbitts’ - or the railroad’s own file prints;  they are not to be confused with the mass-produced photogravure prints, lantern slides, or modern reproductions of his work. The very  wide span of numbers, all in the same hand - a range of over 25,000 - indicates a sizeable body of work. Nearly every image evoking the  grandeur of Ansel Adams et al. Scenes include Sandine Lakes, Sunrise Mono Lake (Calif.), Sunset Mono Lake, Bridal Veil Falls (a 620-  ft. waterfall in Yosemite), Klamath River, Lake Tahoe from Cave Rock, Mt. Tioga and Lake, The Sentinel, Yosemite Valley from Artist  Point, Lake Tahoe at McKinney’s, Lake Tahoe near Tavern, West Walker Cañon (print lacking left sliver), Tioga Pass above Lodge, Half  Dome from Glacier Point, “South Fork, Eel River,” “Fallen Leaf Lake, Lake Tahoe,” Topaz Lake, Yosemite Falls, Liberty Cap, Lambert  Dome, Glen Alpine Lake, North Bell Glen Camp (broken at diagonal crease but repairable), Yosemite Valley from Washburn Point,  “Martin’s Ferry, Klamath River,” Mt. Tallac, “Where Sacramento and Pitt Rivers Meet,” Glenbrook from Shakespeare Point, Minor  Lake, Happy Isles, Cave Rock, Tioga Pass, and others. The automobile facing camera in one scene may be a c. 1922 Jordan. A very few  duplicates, normal soft curl, occasional minor tip or edge wear, several lacking corners or with edge chipping affecting images, else  superbly composed, exposed, and developed, and fine to very fine. Apart from holdings of Tibbitts’ work in several California archives  and museums, the infrequent appearances of his vintage photographs on the market have been as single examples. The present group is  probably the largest to appear in a rather long time; its likely provenance, and the sheer timelessness and universal appeal of the  images makes the group a compelling one. Worthy of exhibition. $5000-9000 (54 pcs.) 

18-5. Cabinet Portraits.

Poignant assemblage of cabinet photographs of 19th-century personalities: Hugh Conway (nom de plum of English novelist and prolific  short story writer - his name reappearing a half century after his death as a main character in Lost Horizon), James Anthony Froude  (publisher of 12-vol. History of England), Sir Frederick Leighton (English painter, in Queen Victoria’s collection), Marcus Stone  (English historical painter of “Interrupted Duel” and “Gambler’s Wife”), Edmund Yates (English journalist, founded The World in 1874,  recently in a news scandal; himself imprisoned for libel), abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher (by Sarony), J.B.C. Corot (French landscape  painter of Barbizon school), Agnes Werndon, likely theatrical (gold script on deepest purple-brown mount), and one unidentified. The  first five were sufficiently prominent at the time for their photos to have been commercially saleable; each is imprinted with their name  in matching typeface. Some light dust toning, Corot with crease across blank top edge, Werndon with one tip ding, else all generally  about V.G. to fine, with rich depth and contrast; the Beecher is especially striking. Decorative. $140-180 (9 pcs.) 

18-6. Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Original albumen photo, c. 1900, 7 x 9¼, showing large group of visitors in front of Mount Vernon. Mount imprinted, “Luke C. Dillon,  Photographer to Mount Vernon, Office at Pullman’s Gallery, 935 Pa. Ave....” Later inscription on verso by one of those pictured:  “Georgia, Father & me while on a trip to Washington - at Mt. Vernon. I was 16 and Georgia was 12 years old.” The only two teens in this  group of over forty tourists are certainly those referred to. Crease at upper left, barely touching image, 1½” strip of surface plies at  blank edge on verso transferred to previous mat, else very good. Handsomely composed, showing the countenances and fashion of a  group of patriotic Americans. • With sepia photo of Mount Vernon, here devoid of visitors. Uncommon elongated cabinet style, judged  c. 1875. “J.F. Jarvis, Publisher, Penn. Ave., Washington, D.C.” Porch railings painted lighter color than in Dillon photo. Upper left tip  bent, photo and top ply of mount lifting at left, else good, with golden toning. $70-90 (2 pcs.) 

18-7. Young Man with a Horn.

Handsome photograph of moustached musician, in dress uniform, possibly Fire Department Band - and probably Queens, N.Y. or  vicinity, around time of consolidation of New York City into five boroughs in 1898; in all events, judged not later than about 1905. Twin  “11” badges on lapels, different shields on coat and cap, wearing white gloves, and holding what is likely a flugelhorn. On rigid original  mount, 5¾ x 7¾, pale cream canvas embossing, grey-green border simulating frame. Bright gilt imprint, “Fred’k Weber / Jamaica,  N.Y.,” with detailed eagle and patriotic shield, “E Pluribus Unum.” In mid-century hand on verso, “Uncle Herman Utz.” He appears in  the 1921 Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac as Pres. of the Franklin Square School Board. Very minor edge wear, few tiny mount stains, else  image very fine. An important chronicler of local history, a collection of Frederick J. Weber’s photographs resides in the Queens  Library Archives. $60-80

18-8. Ships on Parade.

Fascinating group of 39 varied photographic studies of ships and flotillas, mostly U.S. Naval, with some foreign, by a skilled lensman,  possibly of activities during Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition, else not later than about the turn of century. Image sizes 2½ x 3¾  to 4¼ x 7, mostly the latter range. Almost all on matte paper, most on complementary pale grey mounts, some with photo both sides.  Few identified in old pencil: “Austolio - England” and “Nuevo de Julio - Argentina”; others likely familiar to specialists. Generally  informative composition, with full-length beauty shots, and a few dynamic multi-vessel scenes. Some multiples, sometimes in different  sizes, croppings, on glossy albumen papers or different mats, suggesting these may have been the work of a commercial photographer,  experimenting with samples in varying presentations. • Plus: 2 of galleons - perhaps replicas of Columbus’ ships - cut to ovals, different  papers. • Accompanying the preceding and believed by the same photographer: 6 of the Columbian Exposition, glossy sepia, on white  mounts with blind-embossed borders. 4¼ x 5¼ overall. Each identified in contemporary ink on verso. • 1 water view of the Fair, on  same paper and grey mat as ship photos. • 3 of other ships, datestamped 1889 on verso, on different paper, plum gilt-edged mats, one  with vertical crease: handsome full-length view of a three-masted U.S. Navy ship in full dress, the same ship in a flotilla, and tugs with  Brooklyn Bridge in distance. Some with moderate foxing, dust-toning, or tip wear, others fine, and generally very satisfactory. Highly  interesting perspective of transitional period in marine design. A treat for the naval historian, comprising the creative efforts of a  photographer covering the latest in maritime modernity - at an exposition still talked about today. $225-325 (51 photos, some back-to-  back on mats) 

18-9. Chinese Restaurant in Old San Francisco.

Large-format photograph, “Grand Dining Room of the Chinese Restaurant, Washington St., San Francisco. Taber Photo, San  Francisco,” c. 1880-1890. 7¾ x 9½, on original 13 x 14¾ mount with profuse thread inclusions. Milk chocolate tone. Showing an  almost fantastically ornate tableau awaiting diners - reminiscent of Zeffirelli’s Turandot - with chandeliers, lanterns, folding screens,  tapestries, pictorial panels, and more. Right half brightly lit, toning of mat (only) from old frame (not present; “plain gilt” in pencil on  verso), lacking blank lower left and upper right corners, else image fine, clean, and attractive. Born in Massachusetts, Isaiah West  Taber became an important daguerreotypist, ambrotypist, and photographer of the Old West, his resumé also including the vocations  of whaler, artist - and dentist. First arriving in California during the Gold Rush, he returned again during the Civil War, then opened  his own studio around 1871. Visiting Hawaii, he photographed King Kalakaua. Taber’s San Francisco studio and priceless negatives  were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, ending his business. A group of four Taber photographs of San Francisco’s Chinatown sold at  Swann for $880 in 2009. This image perhaps unique on the market. $200-250 

18-10. The World’s Quintessential Actor - in Theatre’s Seminal Role.

Superb photograph of John Gielgud, in character, signed “...Hamlet, 1936,” 7½ x 9½. A member of the rarified ranks of the “Grand  Slam of Theatre” - winning an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony - shown here glaring intently to left, his unrelenting presence  heightened by the soft focus. Apparently trimmed but preserving bands of blank margin four sides, two creases at upper right, else fine,  and striking, its warm olive-brown tones and velvety finish complementing his ink. A superior example. $60-80 

18-11. “What’s an idle young fellow to do....”

British portrait in same specialty format as preceding lot, this 7¼ x 12¾, of celebrated and handsome stage actor (Sir) Geo(rge)  Alexander, c. 1890, in character as an eighteenth-century dandy, wearing feathered three-cornered hat, wrist and collar ruffles, a  jeweled broach at his neck, holding riding crop. Inscribed, “What’s an idle young fellow to do without his dice, his horse, and his... /  Oliver Act 1. Yours Sincerely....” By Barraud, Oxford St., London. Under Alexander’s management, the famed St. James’s Theatre  glittered with its productions of “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “The Prisoner of Zenda,” and he honed the modern drawing  room comedy. Uniform butterscotch toning, last word in inscription indistinct, lacking lower right corner of mount, some edge  chipping at top and about 3” of right edge of emulsion, else satisfactory and with enormous character. $80-110 

18-12. The Richest Woman in America?

Seldom-seen tall oversize photographic format, 7½ x 12¾, signed flamboyantly by Louise Hungerford Mackay, 1889, wife of one of the  richest men in American history, John William Mackay. In one year alone, his Comstock silver lode yielded almost $190 million. On  rigid black mount, gilt beveled edges, by Falk, 949 Broadway, N.Y. With an unusually short hairstyle for the era, Mackay is wearing a  massive pearl choker, part of her vast treasury of jewels described in an astonishing 1884 New York Times article, “Mrs. Mackay’s  Jewels” (modern text accompanies). Her husband was a remarkable Horatio Alger story: Coming from Dublin as a 9-year-old, he later  worked as a miner in Gold Rush California. One of the four Bonanza Kings in the Comstock silver lode, he literally struck it rich.  Moving to New York in 1876, he founded Commercial Cable Co. with James Gordon Bennett, followed by the Postal Telegraph Cable  Co., breaking the Gould and Western Union monopolies respectively. Living in New York, Louise was snubbed by Gotham high society;  her husband purchased a large mansion in Paris, where for two decades she fêted royalty with lavish parties. Interestingly, this photo is  by a New York photographer upon her return. Ink drop on two letters of “Yours Sincerely,” old pinholes at top, lower right corner  chipped and rounded, wear at other corners, else pleasing caramel patination, and generally good. The combination of unusual size,  Drake DeKay-esque hand, and her wealth comprise a striking item. Jay Gould said of her husband, “You can’t beat Mackay; all he has  to do when he needs money is go to Nevada and dig up some more.” The Mackay telegraph empire remained in service into the World  War II years, only absorbed into Western Union and IT&T in 1943. $175-250

18-13. Small-Town America in the New Century.

Three oversize cabinet photographs of “1st Town Fair, Marlboro(ugh), N.H., Sept. 28, 1912,” capturing the look and demeanor of small-  town America. Comprising: two photos on original black linen-embossed mounts, title stamped in gold, 6½ x 10 overall. One probably  taken from upper floor of a building, looking down on crowded village green, with a large tent and flagpole. Under light magnification,  a fascinating tableau is revealed, with many of the faces discernable. Two men with long beards sit in a stationery buggy, as a child  stands on a wagon to have a better look at the crowd. A man seems to stand at a lectern at the distant end of the green, but people are  mingling, with a great many faces seen by the camera. Some silvering, else about fine. • Interior view of the tent, with displays of pears  and tomatoes, risers of preserved food in jars, probably jam, floral arrangements, elaborate quilts, enormous gourds and vegetables,  and more. A portion of a sign, “...Tenney,” can be seen behind the items. Minor chip at right edge of black mount, else fine. • Sharp,  bright view of “Marlboro Grange” float, pulled past a reviewing stand by a team of handsome spotted white horses. 5¼ x 8½. On cream  mount. 1” diagonal crack through road portion at lower left, some edge soiling, else very good. Originally a colonial fort town known  only by a number, by the time of these photographs Marlborough was an important supplier of granite to notable buildings in Boston  and elsewhere. $110-150 (3 pcs.)

18-14. Postmaster General Known to every Manhattanite.

Photograph of James Farley, boldly inscribed in white lower margin, “To Leighton Shields, With sincere good wishes, James Farley.”  7½ x 10, warm matte sepia, by Hal Phyfe. A top Democratic Party figure, credited with F.D.R.’s ascendency to the Oval Office, Farley  was rewarded with the post of Postmaster Gen., serving 1933-40; later Chairman of Coca-Cola. New York’s venerable G.P.O. - the  surviving sister building of Penn Station - was named for him. Bearing the inscription, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of  night...,” his namesake building is home to Operation Santa, made famous in the movie Miracle on 34th Street. Farley is certainly the  only Postmaster General to supply the materials for construction (more precisely, enlargement) of a post office bearing his name.  Trimmed two sides, but margins nearly equal, scrape at blank left margin, fine blind indentation on chin, cheek, and top of head,  perhaps from being kept on a desk beneath a working pile of papers, else very good and suitable for framing. $50-70 

18-15. Along a Jungle River.

Intriguing and evocative original large-format photograph of a river scene in  south Asia, c. 1895, image 9 x 11¼, on larger period ivory card mount. Rich  deepest sepia, with purple undertone. Dramatically composed, by a proficient  lensman, depicting menagerie of boats making their way up a silty river,  evidently very shallow, the banks heavily overgrown with tropical foliage. Seven  watercraft in all, from oar- propelled barrels (at least one apparently with a small  child inside!), to an elaborate if ramshackle houseboat. A thatched, pagoda-like  structure functions as a dock, probably for local traders; bundles of bamboo(?)  fill a small rowboat. “Doghouse” style boat in foreground carries two earthenware  gourds. Downstream, a square-hulled boat boasts an unusually tall mast, but  sans sails. The appearances of an oarsman clad only in loincloth, beside another  in full all-white garb, together with marine architectural, hat styles, and other  clues, suggests a colonial locale, somewhere between the Indian subcontinent  and the Malay States. Research may allow closer localization. Minor tip wear and  few outline water drops on blank mount only, nearest boat trifle out of focus, else image informatively sharp and very fine. Wonderful  conversation piece for display. $100-130

18-16. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb – in the Old West.

Oversize photograph of Mrs. Tom Thumb and her second husband, Count Magri, who together appeared for years with P.T. Barnum’s  traveling show. C. 1890, image 5 x 7¼, on original moss-green mount 6¾ x 10, with ornate photographer’s imprint, “The Doré Studio,  122 N. Main St., Butte, Mont.” Captioned on verso, “Count and Countess Magri (Mrs. Gen. Tom Thumb) and Mrs. D.F. Haggerty.”  Mount fractionally trimmed at left (only), probably to fit an old album, some scuffing at rounded corners and at margins, not affecting  image; hairline checkmark-shaped blemish on Mrs. Tom Thumb’s face, two small stains in blank field of photo, else good plus. Just 2  ft. 8 in. tall – shorter than Tom Thumb – Count Magri, a.k.a. Count Rosebud, and Mrs. Tom Thumb traveled the world, even appearing  before Queen Victoria. A rare Western image of two of showdom’s most enduring personalities. $150-225 

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