COLLECTION OF 27 STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD AND ADJACENT AREAS TAKEN FOR THE C. P. R. R. BY ALFRED A. HART FROM 1864 TO 1869

Twenty-seven of the 364 photographs Hart made for the C. P. R. R. who used them to promote the progress of construction and raise capital from investors. Hart was fired by the railroad after construction was completed. It appears that, in addition to the 32 stereo negatives Hart sold to the railroad in January 1866, they retained control of the remainder of his negatives as well, and authorized others to print some or all of them, including Thomas Houseworth & Co. and Carleton E. Watkins, none of whom credited Hart as the photographer. "By 1870 Carleton E. Watkins was at work publishing most of the Hart C. P. R. R. negatives, with Hart's original numbers and nearly identical titles, but without credit to Hart. Watkins mounted the prints from the Hart negatives on cards identified as 'Watkins' Pacific Railroad,' 'Central Pacific Railroad,' 'Watkins' Pacific Coast,' and after 1876 'Watkins' New Series, Central and Union Pacific R. R's.' This latter group also included photographs of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads actually taken by Watkins. Watkins and C. P. Huntington (Vice President of the Central Pacific) were friends . This may have influenced the transfer of the use of the negatives, although Watkins was already recognized as one of the best and most visible photographers in the West and had previously done work for the C. P. R. R. in 1869" (Kibbey, p. 69). The cards present here are: (1) BLOOMER CUT, 800 FEET LONG, LOOKING EAST. No. 9 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," [22 &] 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (2) HYDRAULIC MINING, AT GOLD RUN, PLACER COUNTY. No. 61 [Kibbey 61a] ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," [22 &] 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (3) GIANT'S GAP, AMERICAN RIVER, 2500 FEET PERPENDICULAR. 72 MILES FROM SACRAMENTO. No 76. ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (4) GREEN BLUFFS, 1,500 FEET ABOVE THE AMERICAN RIVER. 71 MILES FROM SACRAMENTO. No. 78 (("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," [22 &] 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (5) LITTLE BLUE CAÑON, 74 MILES FROM SACRAMENTO. No. 81 (Watkins' New Series," 427 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1879); (6) DONNER LAKE, 110 MILES FROM SACRAMENTO, EASTERN SUMMITS 25 MILES DISTANCE [sic]. No. 127 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (7) DONNER LAKE, WITH CRESTED PEAK AND MT. LINCOLN IN DISTANCE. No. 129 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," [22 &] 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (8) CAPE HORN, FROM RAVINE BELOW. No. 151 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (9) ECHO POINT AND RATTLESNAKE MOUNTAINS, NEAR CRYSTAL LAKE. No. 173 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (10) CRYSTAL LAKE AND RAILROAD, FROM BLACK BUTTE. No. 177 ("Central Pacific Railroad" series, C. E. Watkins, 429 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1869-1871); (11) SUMMITS OF THE SIERRAS, 8000 TO 10,000 FEET ALTITUDE. No. 187 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (12) SUMMIT OF CASTLE PEAK, 10,000 FEET ALTITUDE. No. 189 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (13) SUMMIT OF CASTLE PEAK, FROM THE NORTH-WEST. No. 190 ("Central Pacific Railroad" series, C. E. Watkins, 429 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1869-1871); (14) SUMMIT TUNNEL. No. 197. (Early mount, no publisher credited, title handwritten on verso of mount, circa 1860s); (15) EMIGRANT GAP RIDGE, 84 MILES, OLD MAN MOUNTAIN, RED MOUNTAIN, CASTLE PEAK IN DISTANCE. No. 214 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (16) TUNNEL NO. 3, ABOVE CISCO. No. 218 ("Watkins' Pacific Railroad," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (17) SCENE ON THE TRUCKEE RIVER, NEAR DONNER LAKE. No. 220 ("Watkins' Pacific Coast," 22 & 26 Montgomery Street, n.d., circa 1871-1875); (18) INTERIOR OF BRIDGE OVER FIRST CROSSING OF TRUCKEE RIVER. No. 226 (".…