Inventory of the Timothy H. O'Sullivan Photographs, 1868-1873

During his brief career, Timothy H. O'Sullivan made many compelling photographs, and in doing so established himself as one of the most important figures in early American photography. This collection includes thirty-five gold-toned albumen prints, resulting from glass plate negatives O'Sullivan made as he photographed the American west for the King and Wheeler surveys between 1868 and 1873. The geological and geographical features of Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming are the subjects most heavily represented in this collection. The collection also contains four photographs of mining operations and two photographs of the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico. The collection is arranged into two series: the King Expeditions Series and the Wheeler Expeditions Series. Both series are arranged chronologically.

Clarence King's Expedition officially bore the title: "The Geological Exploration of the 40th Parallel." King planned to explore a hundred-mile wide swath from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains across the Great Basin to the Rocky Mountains, eastern Colorado to the California line. This collection includes nine photographs from King's expeditions in 1868 (1), 1869 (6), and 1872 (2).

In 1871, George Montague Wheeler, topographical engineer, took charge of "The Survey of the Territory of the United States West of the 100th Meridian." The field work conducted for this survey involved fourteen trips during 1871-1879. The primary object of the survey was to complete topographical mapping of the country, much of it largely unexplored, but the scope of the work eventually extended to include exhaustive investigation of geological, zoological, and ethnological matters. Publication of the definitive Report upon United States Geographical Surveys West of the One-Hundredth Meridian took place between 1875 and 1889. O'Sullivan made photographs on several of these expeditions. This series includes 26 photographs, from the expeditions of 1871 (18) 1873 (8).

More so than other western expeditionary photographers, Timothy O'Sullivan explored alternative strategies of photographic composition. O'Sullivan created unique compositions through the conscious ordering and visual presentation of bold forms, which emphasized the abstract qualities of the landscape. Several photographs in this collection reveal the formal qualities of O'Sullivan's photographs. These images contrast with the great volume of more picturesque landscapes made by other western expeditionary photographers, although O'Sullivan did make a number of photographs that emphasized natural beauty over form. O'Sullivan was also interested in recording evidence of human interaction with the environment. For example THO.P17 juxtaposes the passing of geological time with evidence of recent human explorations. A photograph also contained in this collection, and of intrinsic interest, THO.P15, reveals visible brush strokes providing evidence of the technique used to coat glass plate negatives.

Chronology List

• O'Sullivan, Timothy H., 1840-1882.
• King, Clarence, 1842-1901.
• Wheeler, George M. (George Montague), 1842-1905.
• Geographical Survey (U.S.)
• Documentary photography.
• Photographers.
• Landscape photography--West (U.S.)
• Southwest, New--Pictorial works.
• Southwest, New--Discovery and exploration.
• West (U.S.)--Pictorial works.
• West (U.S.)--Discovery and exploration.
• Photographs.
• Albumen prints.

• William Bell Photographs, 1872

[Identification of item], Timothy H. O'Sullivan Photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

The Timothy H. O'Sullivan Photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1972.

These and other photographs by western expeditionary photographers were purchased from Lowdermilk's bookstore in Washington, D.C. prior to its liquidation.

This collection was previously processed by Bill Erwin in 1982. Erwin conducted a great deal of research used to identify photographs made by western expeditionary photographers. Every effort was made to retain both the organization and informational aspects of his work except when they conflicted with more modern practices.

Information folders contain copies of earlier catalog records and bibliographic information for related sources including sources in which these photographs have been published.

Additional folders contain photocopies of photographs annotated by the National Archives, and reference prints made from copy negatives held in this collection.

Quotation marks were used to indicate information taken directly from the photographs.

When photographs were identified as O'Sullivan's by comparison with negatives held at the National Archives the relevant negative number has been provided.

Processed by Chris Black, November 24, 2004

Encoded by Chris Black, Michael Shumate

Completed September 2006

Accession is described in this finding aid.

Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.