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William Henry Jackson Photochroms

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 9 Sep 2015

Biographical History

William Henry Jackson (1843-1942) was an American painter, photographer and explorer. Although he ran a portrait studio for a time, he was more interested in the natural landscape, and became known for his photographs of the American West. His photographs were the first ever published of the Yellowstone area, and contributed to its recognition as a national park. [Adapted from J. Paul Getty Museum's page on Jackson.]

The Photochrom process, a type of chromolithography developed in Switzerland, was a labor-intensive method of turning black-and-white photographs in to color prints, notable for their depth and richness. It was licensed in America by the Detroit Photographic Company in the 1890s, of which company Jackson became a partner.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The William Henry Jackson Photochroms consists of eighty-eight Photochroms (chromolithographs) taken by American landscape photographer William Henry Jackson. Many are of areas in Colorado, including Cheyenne Mountain and Mount Manitou; others are of California, New Mexico, the Niagara Falls/Thousand Islands area, and Mexico.

The inventory below was provided by the donor, and for the most part reproduces information appearing on the item itself. Information in square brackets was added by Special Collections Research Center staff during processing. "Birth of a Century" plate numbers refer to The Birth of a Century: Early Color Photographs of America, a collection of Jackson's images published in 1999 by I. B. Tauris & Company. Images are listed in the inventory by topic, but are arranged in the box first by size and within that by image number.

Arrangement of the Collection

Although listed in the inventory by topic, the items are arranged in the box first by size and within that by image number.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Gloves must be work when working with the photographs.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

A copy of The Birth of a Century: Early Color Photographs of America, a collection of Jackson's images published in 1999 by I. B. Tauris & Company, is available in general collections; please refer to Libraries Search to locate this item.

Subject Headings

Persons

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942.

Subjects

Landscape photography -- West (U.S.)
Outdoor photography.
Photographers -- 19th century -- United States.

Places

California -- Pictorial works.
Colorado -- Pictorial works.
Mexico -- Pictorial works.
New Mexico -- Pictorial works.
West (U.S.) -- Pictorial works.

Genres and Forms

Photochroms.
Photographs.

Occupations

Photographer.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

William Henry Jackson Photochroms,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Caroline M. Baillon, 2015.

Table of Contents

Photographs

Inventory