This is a scene on the Yangchow River in the Kiangsu Province of China. The patchwork sail on the boat, floating on sparkling waters, give a bucolic impression, quite at odds with the realities of the time. This was just after World War II, and much of the area was gripped in devastating famine.

The photographer for his image was Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985). Rothstein became known first for his photographs for the Farm Security Administration prior to the War, during the Great Depression. After the war, he traveled to China, and took several documentary images of the famine, as well as scenic views, such as this. He died in New Rochelle, New York in 1985.

Here is a photochrom image from right around 1900 of the majestic Yosemite Valley. This was the first really practical color photo technology, it produced images so real as to almost seem surreal. Here the rocks look hard, the water wet and the tiny opening in the canopy in the middle of the valley looks invitingly fresh, one can almost smell the pine forests and wild grasses.

This public domain photograph is by William Henry Jackson, one of the few historic photographers almost everybody is familiar with. We posted another image by Jackson earlier: Mule in Havana another beautiful photochrom. As we said there, so much has been written about W H Jackson there is little left for us to add, his work speaks for itself.

Here we have a wonderful image of a tearful-looking Sioux toddler, with a man crouched down beside him, as two women stand by, next to a child in a wicker baby-carriage who is peaking out at the toddler. The photographer has identified this as a Sioux village near Rushville Nebraska. If the women’s clothes weren’t enough to convince us this is a post-1900 photo, then the fact the Sioux are living in canvas tents, rather than teepees, should give us a clue.

This image, which is in the public domain because the copyright has expired, was copyrighted in May 1908, and probably taken shortly before that. The women’s heavy coats and the lack of vegetation, but no snow, suggests early Spring, probably March of that year. The photograph was printed as a real-photo postcard. The photographer is identified as S D Butcher & Son. That is Solomon Devore Butcher, whom we profiled under his image of Broken Bow Hardware. But that image credit didn’t mention the son. Solomon and his wife Lillie had two children, one son and one daughter. The son was Lynn J, born March 1883 in Nebraska. Lynn is listed in the 1900 census with his parents, in 1910 as a photographer with a wife and seven-month old son, and in 1920 as a salesman.

The Terai (”moist land”) is an area of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It was a popular area for hunting tigers and other wildlife when India was under British Rule. Here we see a fine Indian Elephant with a howdash on its back. The fellow standing in front with the helmet on is His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, later King George V of England.

This public domain image was taken in 1875 or 1876 and is attributed to Samuel Bourne (1834-1912), probably the most famous name in photography in India for the 19th century. But Bourne only spent seven years in India, 1863-70 — so either the date is wrong, or it was not Bourne who took this image. He did found a photographic gallery while in India, Bourne and Shepherd, that still operates in Calcutta to this day. Charles Shepherd may have taken this picture, as the Prince of Wales was too important to be left to one of his assistants.

San Francisco at the height of the California Gold Rush. Looks to be a very settled place, but the archivists tell us this was taken 1851 or 1852, very near the start of the growth boom. Four great fires in 1850 and 1851 had devastated the city, but in at least two cases, the fire was stopped when it reached one of the few large brick buildings then standing. This lead to the extensive use of brick for re-building after the September 1851 fire.

We see the port nearly choked with ships — many of them had no crew with which to depart, the incoming crews having jumped ship to try their luck in the gold mines, or at the gaming tables. Gambling was one of the main businesses of the city, and many a fortune won in the mines was lost in the gambling rooms. The big winners were the owners of these gambling establishments, who could well afford to re-build each time fire swept away their businesses.

The photographer who took this image has not been identified. There were several daguerrians working in San Francisco by 1850-52, among them Henry W Bradley, William D Chappel, Peter G Clark, Stephen Goodfellow, James W Johnston, Julia Shannon, Isaiah W Taber, and several others. Many more probably passed through on their travels around California, and could well have paused long enough to take an image or two.