Guide to the Donald Orth geological survey photograph collection, 1869-1876

Donald Orth geological survey photograph C0233

Historical note

These photographs came from the United States Geological Society. A majority of the photographs were taken by William Henry Jackson and are of the West, especially of what would become Yellowstone National Park. There is a photograph of Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden who hired William Henry Jackson to accompany him and others on Hayden's trips to document the West. Hayden was a geologist who was the head of the United States Geological and Geographic Survey of the Territories in the late 19th century. Hayden along with Jackson were integral in documenting the landscape of the West and helping establish Yellowstone National Park. There are also some photographs taken by John K. Hillers who was exploring the West, especially the Grand Canyon, with John Wesley Powell during the late 19th century. There are photographs of Fridtjof Nansen and his boat Fram which he used during his expedition to the Arctic during the late 19th century.

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Scope and Content

49 black and white copy photographs that document the exploration of the American West in the late 19th century. The photographs appear to be reprints of the originals made in 1869-1874 except for the photographs of Niagara Falls and Washington D.C. that appear to be original. The collection is organized alphabetically mainly by state with three exceptions: Niagara Falls, Portraits and Unknown.

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Arrangement

The collection is organized alphabetically mainly by state with three exceptions: Niagara Falls, Portraits and Unknown.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

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Related Material

Special Collections Research Center also holds many other photograph collections.

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Index Terms

Persons:

Geographical Names:

Document Types:

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation note

Donald Orth Geological Survey Photograph Collection, Collection #C0233, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Donald Orth to Special Collections Research Center on June 10, 2013.

Processing Information

Processing and EAD markup completed in November 2013 by Kerry Mitchell.

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Contents List