William Henry Jackson Hayden survey albertypes, 1871-1878

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942.
Title
William Henry Jackson Hayden survey albertypes
Dates
1871-1878 (inclusive)
1871-1874 (bulk)
Quantity
1 box, (1 linear ft.)
Collection Number
USU_P0345
Summary
Eleven reproductions of photographs taken by William Henry Jackson during his time with Ferdinand V. Hayden and the Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories in the 1870s. The albertypes (a photo-mechanical printing process) were made from Jackson's photographs by Edward Bierstadt. The photos were taken in northern Utah, Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, and Montana.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions
Restrictions

Open to public research.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

William Henry Jackson was arguably the premier frontier photographer of his age. Jackson's photographs helped convince congress to create Yellowstone National Park in 1872 and introduced Eastern America and Europe to the landscape of the American West. The 40,000 photographs he took during his lifetime remain an unmatched record of the expansion of the West in the last part of the nineteenth century.

Jackson was born in 1843 and grew up with a love of art and photography. He served as an artist during the Civil War and afterwards worked as a bullwhacker running from St. Joseph Missouri to Montana. Jackson obtained employment in an Omaha, Nebraska photo gallery before opening his own portrait studio with his brother, Edward. In 1869 he photographed construction along the route of the Union Pacific Railroad with Arundel C. Hull. His photographs of the railroad and his studio portraits of local Indians captured the attention of Ferdinand V. Hayden who asked Jackson to accompany him on his 1870 expedition into the Utah and Wyoming Territories. Jackson would receive no salary during the expedition, only expenses, but he became a paid government employee the following year. Jackson remained with the Hayden Survey until 1878. This collection represents only a handful of the more than 2,000 photographs taken during those years.

Jackson went on to document the Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico, and the ever-expanding empire of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in Colorado and Utah. His fame propelled him into a photographic expedition in 1894-95 that took him to England, Egypt, India, Australia, New Zealand, the East Indies, China, Japan, and Russia. Jackson later turned to historical and landscape painting before he died in 1942 at the age of ninety-nine.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The William Henry Jackson Albertypes Collection consists of eleven reproductions of photographs taken by William Henry Jackson during his time with Ferdinand V. Hayden and the Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories in the 1870s. The albertypes (a photo-mechanical printing process) were made from Jackson's photographs by Edward Bierstadt. The photos were taken in northern Utah, Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, and Montana.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Copyright

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Permission to publish material from the William Henry Jackson Hayden survey albertypes must be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Alternative Forms Available

View selected digitized images from the Harry Reuben Reynolds photograph collection.

Preferred Citation

William Henry Jackson Hayden survey albertypes, 1871-1878. (P0345). Utah State University. Special Collections & Archives Department.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arrangement: Topical.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Cowan's Historic Americana in June, 2003.

Processing Note

Register completed by Brad Bowers, December 2004.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box
1 1:01: "Plate I, Camp at Ogden, Utah, Wasatch Mountains." Men standing around a camp of canvas tents and wagons below the Wasatch Mountains
1 1:02: "Plate II, Ogden CaƱon, Wasatch Mountains." Five men looking at upthrust vertical rock formation by a river
1 1:03: "Plate III, Red Rock Pass." One wagon with a two-horse team, three pack horses, and a group of men standing on a rutted road in Cache Valley, Utah
1 1:04: "Plate IV, White Mountain Hot Springs, Group of Upper Basins." Man climbing on cascading geothermal formation, in what is now Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
1 1:05-06: "Plate VI, Snake River." River winding through a volcanic plain. "Plate VII, Balsaltic Rocks, On Snake River." Close-up of volcanic rocks
1 1:06: "Plate IX, White Mountain Hot Springs, Cap of Liberty - near view." Geothermal formation in what is now Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
1 1:07: "Plate XII, Hydraulic Gold Mining, Alder Gulch - near Virginia City." Men working water cannons as they eat away at the side of a gulch, with the runoff flowing into sluice boxes
1 1:08: "Plate XIII, Fort Ellis, Montana." View of town situated in a broad plain, with mountains in background
1 1:09: "Plate XIV, Mystic Lake - near Fort Ellis." Scenic view of a valley with lake visible in the background
1 1:10: "Plate XVIII, Bottler's Ranch - Opposite Emigrant Peak." Men standing by log fence, rough-hewn lumber building on right, log cabin in background, appears to be animal carcasses hanging from rafters of rough-hewn lumber building
1 1:11: "Plate XIX, Emigrant Peak." Camp of wagons, canvas tents in foreground on the plains, treeline of a creek in middle of frame, mountains in background

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Geological surveys--United States--Photographs.

Personal Names

  • Bierstadt, Edward, 1824-1907. (contributor)
  • Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942--Photographs.

Corporate Names

  • Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (U.S.)--Photographs.

Geographical Names

  • Emigrant Peak (Mont.)--History--19th century--Photographs.
  • Yellowstone National Park--History--19th century--Photographs.