Monday, December 15, 2025

Photo of Union Army Cooks of the 43rd New York Infantry Regiment Preparing a Meal in Camp Griffin in Lewinsville, Virginia (1861-1862)

"Culinary art in Camp, 43rd Reg. N.Y. Volunteers." Photo of Union Army cooks of the 43rd New York Infantry Regiment preparing a meal in Camp Griffin in Lewinsville, Virginia, c. 1861-1862. Taken by photographer Charles Bierstadt and originally published as a stereoview. The lattice fence seen in the background of this looks quite similar to the one in the photo of the "hotel" building at Camp Griffin taken by George Houghton, so I surmise this kitchen scene might have been taken nearby, maybe even on the same property.

Source: New York Public Library.
 

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Early Photo of a Large Inscription on Riguang Rock Celebrating a Defeat of Japanese Forces in Xiamen, China (1871)


Photo of an inscription on Riguang Rock celebrating a defeat of Japanese forces (probably actually pirates) in Xiamen, China, c. 1871. Taken by Scottish photographer John Thomson. The inscription on the rock seems to have either been destroyed or covered up by construction in the decades after this photo was taken as the few other photos of it known to exist look like they were taken during the 1870s or 1880s.

Source: Wellcome Collection.

Second photo of the rock taken by American photographer Charles William Wason, c. 1880.

A third photo of the rock exists in the Phelps Collection of the National Geographic Society Archives.

Monday, December 1, 2025

Photo of a Scattered Group of Bison Bones Taken in a Field Somewhere in Colorado Territory (1870)


Photo of a scattered group of buffalo bones taken somewhere in Colorado Territory, c. 1870. Taken by photographer William Henry Jackson and created using a scan of the original glass negative.

Source: National Archives and Records Administration.

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Early Photo of a Group of Men Posing With the Bottom Portion of Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts (1859)

 

"Forefathers' Rock, Plymouth, Mass." Photo of a group of men posing with the bottom portion of Plymouth Rock a few years before the first stone memorial was built around it in Plymouth, Massachusetts, c. 1859. Taken by photographer Deloss Barnum. This is probably the earliest surviving photo of any portion of Plymouth Rock.

Source: J. Paul Getty Museum.

Friday, November 21, 2025

Photo of a Man Posing With What is Said to be a Bronze Dome From the Porcelain Pagoda Tower in Nanjing, China (1871)

 

Photo of a man posing with what is said to be a bronze dome from the Porcelain Pagoda tower in Nanjing, China, 1871. The tower had been destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion in 1856. Note the graffiti written on the dome and also the building rubble presumably from the tower scattered around it. Taken by Scottish photographer John Thomson. From a scan of the original glass negative.

Source: Wellcome Collection.

Thursday, November 13, 2025

Monday, October 27, 2025

Photo of a Group of Unidentified Chippewa Men in Fort Dufferin, Manitoba (1873)

 

Photo of a group of seven Chippewa (Ojibwe) men posing in front of a building in Fort Dufferin, Manitoba, 1873. Originally published as a stereoview. A caption on the back of the stereoview card says that the men are Chippewa chiefs.

Source: Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.

More information: Gabriel Dumont Institute. 

Sunday, October 26, 2025

Photo of a Group Playing a Cricket Match on a Field Probably In or Near Port Hope, Ontario (1860's)

 

Photo of a group playing a game of cricket on a field probably in or near Port Hope, Ontario, c. 1860s. Taken by photographer W. Williamson and originally published as a stereoview.

Source: J. Paul Getty Museum.

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Early Photo of an Architectural Model of the New US Capitol Dome and the Building's Expanded Wings Designed by Thomas Ustick Walter (1856)

 


Photo of an architectural model of the new US Capitol dome and the building's expanded wings designed by Thomas Ustick Walter, c. 1856. Taken by photographer John Wood and originally published as a stereoview.

Source: J. Paul Getty Museum.

Friday, October 10, 2025

Photo of Union Soldiers of the 13th Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment in Their Winter Camp in Wolf Run Shoals, Virginia (1863)

 

Photo of Union soldiers of the 13th Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment in their winter camp in Wolf Run Shoals, Virginia, early in 1863. From the book Pictorial History Thirteenth Regiment Vermont Volunteers War of 1861-1865 published in 1910.

Source: Library of Congress.