San Francisco California. Site of the Proposed Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 1915, Celebrating the Completion of the Panama Canal [w/ 25 ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS] [GEORGE C. PERKINS' COPY]
San Francisco: H.C. Tibbitts/ Panama-Pacific International Exposition Co., [ca. 1910]. First edition. Hardcover. Oblong quarto. 12 x 8". Unpaginated. 3 pages of text + 25 photographic plates. Dark brown pebbled leather boards, with gilt lettering on the front cover, gilt tooling along the edges of the front and back cover. Period floral endpapers.
This photographic work takes the form of a proposal for the city of San Francisco to host the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, celebrating the impending completion of the Panama Canal. The work was compiled by the Panama-Pacific International Exposition Co. Initial text praises the ongoing reconstruction and recovery effort of the city in the wake of the 1906 Earthquake, and details the amenities offered by the city to tourists. The text is finely printed including a decorative woodblock initial printed in black and red. The following 25 plates of original b/w silver-gelatin photographs by photographer Howard Clinton Tibbitts (1863-1937), highlight not only the beauty of the city of San Francisco, but also showcase the grandeur of the state of California, and all that it would have to offer prospective visitors to the Exposition. There are also a few images of other locations of natural beauty in the Western United States, that would also appeal to tourists. Each photograph measures 8x6" on the plate, is printed on heavy stock mat photo paper and contains captions.
Images included here are: San Francisco business district (including the Mills Building and the Merchant Exchange), Post Street (SF), Lotta's Fountain (SF), St. Francis Hotel (SF), Hotel Fairmont San Francisco, Montgomery Street near Post (SF), Post and Market Street (SF), Spreckels Temple of Music at Golden Gate Park (SF), theatre district (SF), the banking district (SF, including the Bank of California, and the Alaska Commercial building), Chinatown (SF), park at Union Square (SF), construction of a YMCA (SF), Sutter street near Grant (SF), Powell and Geary St. (SF), SF Bay, Mount Tamalpais, (with the Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway in the foreground), Bridal Veil Meadows in Yosemite, Wawona Tree of the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite, Mount Shasta, Lake Tahoe, Mission San Miguel, Yellowstone Falls, The Grand Canyon, The Capitol Building in Sacramento.
Binding with some rubbing and light chipping to extremities, including the head and tail of the spine. Interior with some minor to light sporadic staining, mostly confined to the margins of the pages and plates. All images clean and vibrant, save for one plate which contains more extensive foxing, including some on the photograph itself. Binding in good+, interior in very good condition overall. Quite scarce. Binding protected in modern mylar. g+ to vg. Item #53538
Howard Clinton Tibbitts (1863-1937) was a San Francisco based American photographer. Over a 40 year period, beginning in 1892, Tibbits produced notable work documenting the American West, Canada and Mexico, while working for the Southern Pacific Railroad. His work shows the natural landscapes, cities, towns, and industry which helped promote the grandeur, beauty and innovations of the Western United States.
It is unclear how many copies of this work were produced, or if it was ever sold to the public. Known copies are bound in presentational bindings, with the recipients name on the front cover. Many of the recipients were notable American politicians, including copies given to congressmen such as Henry C. Loudenslager, Walter I. Smith, and Ben Johnson. Our specific copy is especially significant and relevant, as it was given to George C. Perkins (1839-1923), who at the time was serving as the United States Senator for California, and had previously served as the 14th Governor of California, from 1880 to 1883.
Price: $3,500.00