Lot 28V
EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE (1830-1904) Panorama of San Francisco from California St. Hill. An 11-part panorama, consisting of 10 original albumen prints and one facsimilie silver print, each panel 7 1/4x8 inches (18.4x20.3 cm.), and one 7 1/4x6 inches (18.4x15.2 cm.), overall size 7 1/4x86 inches (18.4x218.4 cm.), on the original cloth-backed mount, the 6th panel with Muybridge's printed credit, the publisher's credit, title, copyright, and date, on mount recto; bound accordion style in gold-stamped cloth boards, with the gilt-lettered credit and title. 1877; the last panel printed circa 1920s
Estimate $12,000 - 18,000
Ex-Collection James D. Horan.
The images that constitute this panorama represent one of the most precise visual records of pre-earthquake San Francisco still in existence. Originally published by Morse's Gallery, these images also spawned the photographer's interest in progressive motion and sequential imaging, laying the groundwork for the stop motion photographs that Muybridge would produce later in his career.
According to the publication Eadweard Muybridge: the Stanford Years 1872-1882, Muybridge set his camera on the roof of the residence that Mark Hopkins was building at the corner of California and Mason Streets in January 1877 to record the city. The resulting sweeping view, from 381 feet and encompassing 50 miles in length and 15 miles in width, constituted the most complete view of the city that had ever been made.
The photographs are striking in their detail and scope, depicting a booming San Francisco and the lives of its quarter of a million residents. Spiraling cathedrals speckle the landscape between the lovely architectural townhouses that have now become associated with the city. Such remarkable details as signage and laundry hanging on the rooftops of buildings in the distance are present throughout. Dirt roads and construction are obvious in many of the panels, showing the expansion of the city along with boats in the distance revealing San Francisco's busy ports. When compared to panoramas produced after the earthquake the destruction to this bustling landscape is simply extraordinary.
