Rare 1880's Carleton Watkins Albumen Photo, Downtown Portland, Oregon. Multnomah

Rare 1880's Carleton Watkins Albumen Photo, Downtown Portland, Oregon. The ornate stone building in the center of this image is Portland High School, located on the southwest corner of 14th and Morrison Streets.

Born in upstate New York in 1829, Watkins was drawn to California by the gold rush, arriving in 1851. Beginning as an aide in a San Francisco portrait studio, he didn't start taking pictures on his own till 1861. Especially interested in landscape photography, he created the "Mammoth Camera", which used large glass plates to produce incredibly detailed photographs. This leading-edge technology placed him ahead of his contemporaries, and when combined with his eye for composition made him famous for his 1860s views of Yosemite and other natural wonders. Never a good businessman, Watkins was forced to sell his negatives, which were then published without credit by I.

Beginning again with his "New Series", he had modest success, but remained poor, and he and his family lived for a while in an abandoned boxcar. Then in 1906 the San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed his studio and remaining negatives. In 1910 Watkins was committed to the Napa State Hospital for the Insane, where he died six years later. Photo measures, 5"×7-5/8", 6"x9" in total. Please look closely at photos for condition.

It's not on the actual item. Also, look at the numerous other photos I have available. Real photo postcards and large format photographs. Black and white, sepia, and hand tinted.

Please feel free to ask if you have questions.

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