Collection View
Title Page, circa 1880-1884
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Hot Bath White Terrace," "Cold Water Basin White Terrace" (No. 28), and "Top of the White Terrace" (No. 15). Photographs likely taken by George Dobson Valentine.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs of 'Iolani Palace.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
1 photograph. Includes a photograph captioned "Veranda of Arlington Hotel, Santa Barbara" (Taber, No. B 1497) on the verso.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
1 photograph.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
1 photograph.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Eureka Humboldt Co. (2 Street Eureka)," "Redwood Mills Humboldt Bay," "Bowery N. York Elevated Railway," and "Mule Teams at Logging Camp Near Olympia."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
State of "Oregon", circa 1880-1884
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "City of Portland and Willamette River," "Portland and Mount St. Helens," "Portland River and Mount Hood," and "Columbia River Steamer (16 Miles an Hour)." Includes a photograph captioned "Eagle Creek and Tooth Bridge, Columbia River, Oregon" (Taber, No. 1198) on the verso.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "The Passage of the Dalles," "Upper Cascades and Indian Block Houses," "Mount Hood and Passage of the Dalles Railway," and "Mount Hood and the Dalles."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
6 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Mount Rainier From New Tacoma Puget Sound W.T.," "Hospital Victoria B.C.," "Victoria Vancouvers Island B.C. from Government Buildings," "Panorama of Victoria B. Columbia From Christ Church," "View of Victoria B.C.," and "Panorama of Seattle Puget Sound W.T."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Port Blakely Mills (Store and Workmens Houses)," "Port Blakely (Loading Lumber)," "Port Blakely Mills (Jerries and Shipping)," and "Port Blakely (Wharfs)."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
5 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Port Gamble Mill," "Port Ludlow Mill," and "Port Blakely Mill Panorama," a panorama consisting of 3 photographs showing the mill and ship building yard.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "S.G. Reed Columbia River," "Fall River Streamers N. York (Steamboat 'Providence')," "'Solano' Train Ferry Straits of Carquinez California," and "S.G. Reed (Dining Saloon)." The verso includes 3 photographs captioned "The Nevada Fall, 617 feet, Yosemite Valley, Cal. (Taber, No. B 3053), "Glacier Point, 3,300 ft. from Anderson's Trail" (Taber, No. B 2628), and "El Capitan, 3,300 ft. (reflected) Tu-toc-a-nula Pass" (Taber, No. B 2630).
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
4 photographs, including photographs captioned "Mirror View of Half Dome," "Dead Giant Mariposa Grove," "Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point and Bridal Veil Fall," and "Five Domes from Sentinel Dome."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
State of Nevada, circa 1880-1884
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Boca Brewery Near Reno," "Squaw," "Indian Chief," and "Squaw and Papoose on Tramp."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
7 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Residence of Brigham Young's Widow (Eagle Gate and Bee Hive House)," "Grave of Brigham Young," "The Tabernacle Finished and Temple Being Erected of Granite (Temple Block, Salt Lake City)," "Interior Tabernacle 250 Ft. Long 150 Wide," "East Part Salt Lake City," and "Residence of Head of Mormon Church (Gardo House)."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
6 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Post Office and Court House, Leadville" (W.H. Jackson, No. 638), "'Clarendon' Leadville" (No. 651), "Buena Vista Main Street" (No. 477), "Leadville, N.E. From Central Fire Station" (No. 986), "S.E. From the Court House, Leadville" (No. 991), and "Leadville from Capitol Hill" (No. 644).
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
5 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Rainbow Falls, Ute Pass" (No. 788), "On the Denver and Rio Grande Railway," "Cathedral Spires Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak," "North Portal Castle Gate D&RGR," and "Williams Canon" (No. 794).
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
State of Colorado, circa 1880-1884
State of Colorado, circa 1880-1884
State of Colorado, circa 1880-1884
3 photographs, including photographs captioned: "On the Denver and Rio Grande Railway (Marshall Pass, West Side)" (W.H. Jackson, No. 3011), "Colorado Mining Township (Buena Vista)" (No. 480), and "The Capitol of California at Sacramento."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Colorado State, circa 1880-1884
5 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Rocks in Monument Park," "Red Cliff Summit Col." (No. 668), "Village of Manitou and Hotels" (W.H. Jackson, No. 3009), "Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak, Denver and Rio Grande Railroad" and "Cathedral Rocks Garden of the Gods."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
5 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Merchants Residence," "Douglas University," "North Side Water Works and Tower," "Cook County Hospital," and "Calumet Club House."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Chicago, Illinois, circa 1880-1884
6 photographs, including photographs captioned: "The Sherman House," "Scene in Union Park," "In Lincoln Park," "State St. looking North from Madison St.," "Harbour and Elevators from Viaduct," and "Corner Clark and Wisconsin Streets in Winter."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
6 photographs, including photographs captioned: "City of Saint Louis from Court House Dome," "Great Bridge over the Mississippi," "City and Bridge from Court House Dome," "Shaw Gardens St. Louis," "The Post Office Philadelphia," and "Entrance Shaw Gardens."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
7 photographs, including photographs captioned: "U. State Treasury," "U.S. Post Office," "War and Navy Department," "Capitol Near Front View," "The Capitol," "Corcoran Art Gallery," and "The White House."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
8 photographs, including photographs captioned: "The Great Watch Factory, Waltham," "Back of Watch Factory," "Deck of Lake Champlain Steamer," "Waltham Massachusetts," "On the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, Grand Canyon of the Arkansas," "Castle Rock, Denver and Rio Grande Railway," "Lake George Steamer," and "Grand Canyon, Denver and Rio Grande Railway." Includes an uncaptioned photograph of a large inn, likely in Massachusetts, on the verso.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
8 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Glen Falls," "On the St. Lawrence (Thousand Island House)" (No. 825), "Frozen Mineral Spring at Saratoga," "Fort Ticonderoga," "The Cave referred to in Cooper's Last of the Mohicans at Glen Falls," "For George Hotel, west front from south," "House in Woodland Park Saratoga N.Y.," and "Ticonderoga."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
5 photographs, including photographs captioned: "The Great Factory and Town of Pullman," "On Lake Champlain (Mt. Defiance, from Fort Ticonderoga, 1877)" (No. 295), "Frankenstein Trestle New Hampshire," "On Lake George N. York (Caldwell from beach east of Ft. Wm. Henry Hotel, Lake Geo)" (No. 838), and "Summer Hotels on Lake George (Lake George, the Sagamore from the west)" (No. 1162).
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
3 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Railway to the Summit of Mount Washington," "Mount Washington and Summit Houses," and "'Crawford's' Through the 'Notch.'"
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
5 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Thousand Island Scenery," "Thousand Island and Residences," "Shooting the Great Rapids (Lachine)," "Summer Residences Thousand Islands, and "Thousand Island Scenery." Includes a photograph captioned "St. Lawrence River Steamer at Thousand Island House" on the verso.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
10 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Power's Block," "Genessee Falls and Paper Mill," "Genessee High Falls," "Genessee Middle Falls," "From Powers Block Rochester," "On Erie Canal Schenectady," "Mohawk River and Erie Canal Schenectady," "Compound Railway Bridge Schenectady," and "Fitzhugh St. Rochester."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Canada, Toronto, circa 1880-1884
8 photographs, including photographs captioned: "City from Metropolitan Hall," "General View of Toronto," "Masonic Hall," "St. James Cathedral," "Instantaneous View Burning Toronto Mail Office," "Canadian Park Cottage (Cottage, Sunset Point, Westminster Park)" (No. 878), "City From St. Lawrence Hall," and "St. Lawrence Hall."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Canada, Montreal, 1883-1884
7 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Notre Dame R.C.," "Ice Palace," "Interior of Notre Dame," "Souvenir of Carnival Winter 1883-1884" (William Noliman & Sons, 1884), "Windsor Hotel," "Bourdon in Notre Dame," and "Montreal Bank and Post Office."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Montreal, circa 1880-1884
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "From Custom House Montreal Looking E." (No. 841), "Montreal-From Mount Royal Park" (No. 5), "Cathedral of Notre Dame," and "Victoria Square-Montreal" (No. 57).
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
New York City, 1880-1884
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
8 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Assembly Chamber" (No. 2199), "Senate (Senate Chamber, Notman Photo Co., 1878)" (No. 2323), "The Capitol," "Assembly" (No. 2852), "Governor's Room," "Grand Staircase Capitol" (2 photographs), and "The City Hall."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Niagara, 1880-1884
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
10 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Old Russian Gun Boat 'Politofsky' on Puget Sound," "Salmon Cannery Columbia River," "Lake George Steamer," "Erecting Engine on New Steamer," "Saloon on Lake Champlain Steamer (State-room Hall, Steamer Vermont)" (No. 635), "From the Steps of the Capitol," "Saloon Lake Champlain Steamer," "Lake Champlain Scenery," "San Francisco Ferry Boat," and "Train Ferry Boat California."
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Boats, circa 1880-1884
4 photographs, including photographs captioned: "Fall River a Boston Steamer Long Island Sound," "Hudson River Boat," "Portion of 'Pilgrim's' Saloon," and "Cunard Steamer "Aurania.""
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Back Cover, circa 1880-1884
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
Loose Materials, circa 1870-1884
Consists of loose clippings and printed materials that were tucked into the front and back covers of the original album, including a layout design of the State Capitol in Albany, New York (1870); a transparency showing the lifecycle of the emperor gum moth, clippings of a frog and a snake tail, and the cover of a box of Italian matches.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
- Scope and Contents
Consists of a photograph album containing over 300 photographs of urban and rural locations in North America, Hawaii, and New Zealand, collected by Australian engineer Norman Selfe (1839-1911) during an 1884 tour. The album comprises a photographic record of Selfe's travels across the North American continent, and to a lesser extent, Hawaii and New Zealand. These travels were a part of Selfe's larger 1884-1885 tour of North America and Europe, which he undertook to inspect and document local engineering and architectural works. Selfe appears to have collected photographs from various photographers and studios in the locations he visited; while photographers or studios responsible for individual photographs are occasionally identified, most images are unattributed. Identifiable photographers include William Henry Jackson (Colorado), George Dobson Valentine (White Terrace, New Zealand), George Fiske (Yosemite Valley), I. W. Taber (San Francisco), William Noliman and Sons (Montreal), Notman Photograph Company (Albany), and Wheeler (Colorado Springs). Though Selfe collected photographs intended to depict locations and scenery as they appeared in 1884, most of the photographs were likely taken between 1880 and 1884, and some were taken as early as 1870.
The album is primarily arranged by location, with page titles and captions handwritten by Selfe. It begins with a group of photographs of New Zealand, taken in Auckland and at White Terrace (Te Tarata), followed by a series depicting Honolulu, Hawaii, including shots of the King's Palace ('Iolani Palace). The rest of the album documents the United States and its territories, and to a lesser degree, Canada. California features prominently; of note are photographs of street architecture, wooden houses (including houses under construction), and hotels in San Francisco and San Rafael, California, including seven large albumen plate images of houses in San Francisco; a series documenting logging and milling operations in the redwood and giant sequoia forests of central and northern California, including Eureka and other locations in Humboldt County; and images of Yosemite Valley, Mariposa Grove, and the Boca Brewery near Lake Tahoe. The California architecture series includes views of the grand palace-style houses of Central Pacific Railroad tycoons Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker. There are also a number of shots documenting the Oregon and Washington Territories and nearby Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Photographs show urban areas such as Portland, Oregon; Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; and Victoria, British Columbia; as well as locations along the Columbia River Gorge, including Multnomah Falls and the Dalles; mills on the Puget Sound; and the Cascade Range, including Mount Hood, Mount Saint Helens, and Mount Rainier. There are also a significant number of photographs of Colorado, including Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak, the Garden of the Gods, Ute Pass, Manitou Springs, Buena Vista, and Leadville; as well as the Utah Territory, including Salt Lake City. Photographs of Nevada include three staged portraits of an American Indian man, woman, and child from an unidentified tribe. Midwestern locations represented consist of urban Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri. The last third of the album documents the eastern United States and Canada, including New York City, Albany, and Rochester in New York State; the White Mountains of New Hampshire; factories in Waltham, Massachusetts; government buildings in Washington, D.C.; and Montreal, Toronto, Niagara Falls, and the St. Lawrence River in Canada. Other frequent subjects are boats, particularly American steamboats, bridges, and railroads, photographs of which Selfe collected throughout his travels.
The title of the collection reflects the original title Selfe gave to the album. Descriptions of individual album pages also reflect Selfe's original page titles and photograph captions.
- Arrangement
The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.
- Collection Creator Biography:
Selfe
Norman Selfe (1839-1911) was an English-born Australian engineer, urban planner, naval architect, and inventor. Selfe was born in Teddington, England, into a family of engineers and inventors, including his cousin Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904), a photographer known for his contributions to early motion picture projection. In 1855, Selfe moved with his family to Sydney, Australia, where he apprenticed with the firm P. N. Russell & Co. He worked with James Dunlop and Mort's Dock and Engineering Co. in the 1860s and 1870s, and later started his own private practice in 1876. Selfe became known as a versatile engineer well-versed in the design of steamboats, docks, bridges, mills, waterworks, and pumping stations, as well as in refrigeration engineering, hydraulics, oil and gas storage, and railway infrastructure. He was also an education reformer who fought rigorously for the establishment of an independent system of technical education to prepare workers for industrial jobs.
In 1884 and 1885, Selfe undertook a two-year exploration of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Europe, during which he visited seventy cities and inspected engineering works, notable bridges, and architecture. Following his return to Australia in 1886, Selfe campaigned for various infrastructural improvements in Sydney based on what he saw during his travels. His proposals included a city railway loop linking Sydney's outlying suburbs to the harbour, the redevelopment of the Rocks area, and a harbour bridge to the North Shore. Selfe submitted an early design proposal for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, though his steel cantilever design was not ultimately used. He also designed his own house ("Amesbury"), located in the Ashfield suburb of Sydney, after the large houses he saw in San Francisco, California.
- Acquisition:
Purchase, 2017 (AM 2018-6).
- Appraisal
No materials were separated during 2017 processing.
- Processing Information
Due to the poor condition of the album's original binding, Ted Stanley, Paper Conservator, removed the album pages from their binding, and then cleaned, mended, and individually sleeved each page in July 2017.
This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in August 2017. Finding aid written by Kelly Bolding in August 2017, with assistance from Julia English '19.
- Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
360 Photographs of American Scenery Collected by Norman Selfe on the Spots Represented in 1884; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/nc580q71r
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes P-000090 to P-000092
- Subject Terms:
- Architecture, American. -- 19th century -- photographs
Logging -- United States. -- 19th century -- photographs
Railroads -- United States. -- 19th century -- photographs
Sawmills -- United States. -- 19th century -- photographs
Steamboats -- United States. -- 19th century -- photographs - Genre Terms:
- Albumen prints. -- 19th century
Photograph albums -- 19th century
Photographs -- 19th century. - Names:
- Fiske, George (1835-1918)
Jackson, William Henry (1843-1942)
Taber, I. W. (Isaiah West) (1830-1912)
Valentine, George D. (George Dobson) (1852-1890) - Places:
- California. -- 19th century -- photographs
Canada. -- 19th century -- photographs
Chicago (Ill.). -- 19th century -- photographs
Colorado. -- 19th century -- photographs
Hawaii. -- 19th century -- photographs
Massachusetts. -- 19th century -- photographs
Nevada. -- 19th century -- photographs
New Hampshire. -- 19th century -- photographs
New York (State). -- 19th century -- photographs
New Zealand. -- 19th century -- photographs
Oregon. -- 19th century -- photographs
Saint Louis (Mo.). -- 19th century -- photographs
Utah. -- 19th century -- photographs
Washington (D.C.). -- 19th century -- photographs
Washington (State). -- 19th century -- photographs
