WATKINS, C. TWENTY ONE MAMMOTH ALBUMEN PRINTS OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

21 MAMMOTH ALBUMEN PRINTS (average 398 x 522mm., or the reverse), individually mounted on card (one window mounted), most titled in ink on the mount, some fading and spotting to images, mounts with spotting and wear; [TOGETHER WITH 3 large oblong folio plates (560 x 710mm.) from 'Glimpses along the Canadian Pacific Railway', c.1890s]; preserved in a nineteenth-century cloth portfolio

Naef, Weston and Christine Hult-Lewis. Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs (Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2011), nos. 105, 116, 126, 139, 152, 199, 220, 224, 234, 454, 458, 523

Carleton Watkins. Multnomah Falls, cascades, Oregon', [Multnomah Falls, Side View, Oregon], print 522 x 396mm.; mount 583 x 460mm., 1867, [CMP 458], print very good, slight wear to corners of mount and spotting to mount, ink title on recto of mount, pencil title on verso Carleton Watkins. Yosemite Falls, 2634 feet' [Yosemite Falls], print 522 x 397mm.; mount 735 x 529mm., 1865-66, [CMP 199], slight fading to print, overall Carleton Watkins. Section of "the Grizzly Giant", Mariposa Grove, 33 feet in diameter' '[Section of the Grizzly Giant with Galen Clark, Mariposa Grove], print 522 x 398mm.; image 734 x 529mm., 1865-66, [CMP 105], slight fading at edges of print, overall good, slight spotting and minor wear to mount, caption in ink on mount Charles L. Weed. 'Sentinel Rock, 3270 feet high, California', print 397 x 517mm.; mount 476 x 604mm., 1864, slight dust soiling, overall a good print, slight spotting and wear to mount, captioned in ink on the mount Unidentified. Witches Caldron, Geysers, Sonoma Co., California', print 408 x 528mm.; mount 478 x 606mm., [1860s?], [cf. CMP 798], spotting and light dust-staining to image, slight spotting and wear to mount Unidentified. [untitled. view from Glacier Point, Yosemite], print 405 x 532mm.; mount 607 x 737mm., 1860s?, sky area yellowed, spotting to mount, mount chipped with loss Unidentified. [River view, Yosemite Falls], print 404 x 527mm.; mount 605 x 737mm., [1861?], [cf. CMP 194], slight overall fading, spotting and slight wear to mount Unidentified. Cathedral Rocks, 2670 feet high, California [Cathedral Rock and Spires,Yosemite], print 403 x 530mm.; mount 478 x 604mm., c.1880?, [cf. CMP 152 and 162], spotting and slight surface wear, spotting and soiling to mount Carleton Watkins. Tasayac, the Half Dome, 5000 feet, Yosemite [Half Dome, Best Close View, Yosemite], print 397 x 522mm.; mount 528 x 732mm., 1855-56, [CMP 220], slight fading and stains to image, spotting and wear to mount Carleton Watkins. The Yosemite Valley, from the "best general View", Mariposa Trail [Yosemite Valley from the "Best General View"], print 397 x 522mm.; mount 529 x 734mm., 1866, [CMP 116], slightly faded, spotting and slight wear to mount, captioned in ink lower left Carleton Watkins. Pohono, the Bridal Veil, 900 feet, Yosemite [Bidalveil Fall from Coulterville Trail], print 397 x 523mm.; mount 528 x 735mm., 1865-66, [CMP 139], slight fading to centre, spotting and light wear to mount Carleton Watkins. Morion Lake, Yosemite' [Mount Watkins, Fully Reflected in Mirror Lake, Yosemite], print 522 x 397mm.; mount 732 x 528mm.,1865-66, [CMP 234], slight fading to image, a few stains, mount spotting and with slight wear Unidentified. Three Brothers, 4200 feet high, California, print 530 x 410mm.; mount 601 x 475mm., c.1880?, [CMP cf. 173], spotting and slight surface wear, spotting and soiling to mount Carleton Watkins. Tutocoanula, El Capitan, 3600 feet, Yosemite' [El Capitan, Yosemite Valley], print 398 x 520mm., mount 450 x 580mm., 1861, [CMP 126], fading to image and some spotting, mount spotted, slight wear Carleton Watkins. Seal rocks, Farralon Islands, California' [Sugar Loaf Island and Seal Rocks, Farallon Island], print 395 x 524mm.; mount 462 x 584mm., 1868-69, [CMP 523], rather faded and dust-soiled, spotting and wear to mount Carleton Watkins. Cape Horn, Colorado River, Oregon' [Cape Horn, Columbia River, Washington Territory], print 525 x 398mm.; mount 583 x 462mm., 1867, [CMP 454], fading to image, rather dust-soiled and spotted, spotting to mount Carleton Watkins. Mirror View, North Dome, 3730 feet, Yosemite' [Mirror View, North Dome, Yosemite], print 398 x 521mm.; mount 528 734mm., 1865-66, [CMP 224], Some fading and staining to image, spotting and slight wear to mount Carleton Watkins. Cathedral Rocks, 2600 feet, Yosemite, print 398 x 522mm.; mount 529 x 734mm., 1865-66, [CMP 152], Fading to image, rather dust-soiled and spotted, spotting to mount Unidentified. North and South Dome, California', print 395 x 514mm.; mount 477 x604mm., c.1860s?, slight dust-soiling to image, spotting and stains to mount Unidentified. [Unititled: Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall from Glacier Point, Yosemite], print 395 x 512mm.; mount 606 x 737mm., window mounted, c.1860s?, [cf. CMP 263], a few spots in the sky area of the print and some fading, print laid down and window mounted (previously framed?), wear to extremities of mount and spotting Unidentified [Watkins?]. 'Nevada Fall, 700ft high, California', print 528 x 410mm., mount 602 x 476mm., minor spotting and wear to sky area of image, spotting to mount
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In 1860 Josiah Whitney was appointed head of California State Geological Survey, whose primary goal was to map the geography of California. The Survey also gave names to previously unnamed geographical features, and among geologists and others honoured was Sir Charles Lyell. A hand written label, which was probably once attached to the back of the window mounted image (at one time framed) reads: 'Rocky Mountains, Yosemite Valley. Mount Lyell central Peak in the distance, 13,217 feet. Nevada Falls, Upper & Lower. Liberty Cap is the Mountain in the centre, with a Hotel at the foot, where Frank lunched'.  This probably refers to Francis Horner Lyell, nephew of Sir Charles Lyell.