Call Number:

C1573

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 3 boxes
• 6.25 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1870-1884 (inclusive)

Creator:

Selfe, Norman (1839-1911)

Form:

Albumen prints -- 19th century., Photograph albums -- 19th century, and Photographs -- 19th century.

Abstract:

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 his 1884 tour to inspect engineering and architectural works abroad. The photographs document street architecture in San Francisco, California; redwood logging ventures in Humboldt County, California; as well as locations in the Oregon, Washington, and Utah Territories; the states of Colorado, Nevada, Missouri, Illinois, New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts; federal buildings in Washington, D.C.; and cities and natural features in Canada, including British Columbia, Montreal, Toronto, Niagara Falls, and the St. Lawrence River. Includes photographs taken by William Henry Jackson (1843-1942), George Dobson Valentine (1852-1890), George Fiske (1835-1918), I. W. Taber (1830-1912), and others.

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.

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.

The original order of pages as they were bound in the album was maintained; this arrangement is largely geographical.