Friday, July 4, 2025

Early Photo of Parsons West Jersey Hotel in Camden, New Jersey (1850)

 


View of Parsons West Jersey Hotel in Camden, New Jersey, c. 1850. The building was constructed 1849-1850, was eventually renamed the Hotel Ridgway during the early 1900s and seems to have finally been demolished during the 1950s. Taken by the Langenheim brothers and originally published as a salted paper print.

Source: J. Paul Getty Museum.

Another early image West Jersey Hotel.

More information.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Photo of a Crowd on Main Street in Front of the Spotswood Hotel To Greet Jefferson Davis in in Richmond, Virginia (1867)

 

View of a crowd in along Main Street in front of the Spotswood Hotel said to be there to greet Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, presumably shortly after his release from Federal custody in the city in May 1867. This information comes from a note on the back of the card. I could not find any other corroboration that the photo shows a crowd waiting for Davis. Taken by photographer D. H. Anderson and originally published as a stereoview.

Source: Library of Congress.

Friday, June 27, 2025

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Early Photo of the Colonial Courthouse Building in Williamsburg, Virginia (1870's)

 

Portrait of a group posing in front of the colonial Courthouse building in Williamsburg, Virginia, c. 1870s. Another group appears to be practicing their baseball skills in the background at right. Taken by photographer D. H. Anderson and originally published as a stereoview.

Source: New York Public Library.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Photo of Writer Henry Tuckerman Posing in His Office in New York City, New York (1861)

 


Portrait of writer Henry Tuckerman posing in his office in a building along West 10th Street in New York City, New York, c. 1861. Taken by photographer Sigismund Beer and originally published as a stereoview.

Source: Library of Congress.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

Photo of a Review of Union Soldiers of the 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Regiment on the South Common in Lowell, Massachusetts, During the American Civil War (1860's)

 

Photo of Union soldiers of the 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Regiment and civilians on the South Common in Lowell, Massachusetts, c. 1861-1864. Taken by photographer Simon Towle and originally published as a stereoview. The caption on the back of the stereoview is: "May training on South Common, jail in distance, 7 companies of the 6th Regiment Volunteers." The city's jail is prominently featured in the background at center.

Source: New York Public Library.

Friday, June 20, 2025

Early Photo of the Boulder Lodged in Flume Gorge Near Franconia, New Hampshire (1859)

 

Early photo of the boulder lodged in Flume Gorge at the base of Mount Liberty near Franconia, New Hampshire, 1859. Taken by Luther White and originally published as a glass stereoview. The boulder was swept away by a landslide in 1883.

Source: New York Public Library.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Photo of a Group Posing in Front of Mr. Dinsmore's House Along the Hudson River in New York (1860)

 


Portrait of a group posing in front of a Mr. Dinsmore's house along the Hudson River in New York, c. 1860. Originally published as a glass stereoview with the title: "Private Residence - Hudson River." The Krannert Art Museum has a stereoview copy of the photo with an E. & H. T. Anthony number on it (#1288) with which I could then find the Anthony caption for the photo on the National Stereoscopic Association's exhaustive list of Anthony stereoviews. The original Anthony caption for the photo is "The Residence of Mr. Dinsmore, on the Hudson River." I was not able to find a surviving house that looks like this today with the Dinsmore name attached online.

Source: New York Public Library.

Krannert Art Museum Link. 

National Stereoscopic Association's Anthony stereoview list (PDF).

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Photo of Businesses Along a Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania (1870's)

 

View of businesses along a street in Allentown, Pennsylvania, c. 1870s. Probably taken by photographer W. H. S. Gross. Originally published as a stereoview.

Source: Library of Congress.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Photo of Settlers and Their Covered Wagons Traveling Through Strawberry Valley, California (1865)

 

"Emigrant Train, Strawberry Valley, going East." Photo of settlers and their covered wagons traveling through Strawberry Valley, California, 1865. An inscription on a rock at right says "J. T. Lee" followed by more partially visible words/letters/symbols. By photography firm Lawrence and Houseworth and originally published as a stereoview. A rare copy of the stereoview in the collection of the New York Public Library has a copyright date of 1865 on it.

Source: Library of Congress. 

 More information: New York Public Library.