Death Valley region photographs
Scope and Contents
The Death Valley Region Photograph Collection consists of eleven silver gelatin POP prints purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997. The collection consists of images taken in the late 1920s in the Death Valley area of Nevada and California including the ghost towns of Rhyolite, Aurora, and Calico. "Shorty" Harris, or an associate, took some of the images.
Rhyolite, Nevada was founded in 1904 after Shorty Harris and Ed Cross discovered Rhyolite Quartz at the Bullfrog mine. By 1906 the town had two railroad lines and a population of 10,000. The mines, however, did not produce as expected and by the early 1910s Rhyolite was abandoned.
Aurora, Nevada was a silver mining boom town founded in 1860. The heyday of Aurora ran throughout the 1860s (Mark Twain briefly lived there), but it slowly declined after 1870. It went through a rebirth in 1912 when a new stamp mill and cyanide plant were built at the mines. In 1917, however, the mill closed down and by the early 1920s Aurora was abandoned.
Calico, California was initially founded as a silver mining town in 1882 but by 1890 the cost of recovering the silver became prohibitive. The town, however, continued to exist until 1907 due to the production of Borax.
Dates
- 1905-1925
- Majority of material found within 1925
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Restrictions
Open to public research.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Permission to publish material from the Death Valley region photographs must be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Extent
1 box (11 photoprints) (.5 linear ft.) : gelatin silver, b&w; ; 10.5 x 15 cm. or smaller.
Abstract
The Death Valley Region Photograph Collection consists of eleven silver gelatin POP prints purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997. The collection consists of images taken in the late 1920s in the Death Valley area of Nevada and California including the ghost towns of Rhyolite, Aurora, and Calico. "Shorty" Harris, or an associate, took some of the images.
Arrangement
Organized numerical by photo number.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Amalgre Books, Bloomington, Indiana, in April of 1997.
Processing Information
Register completed by Peter Schmidt, May 1997, and revised by Daniel Davis, February 20, 2002.
- Automobiles--Pictorial works.
- Bars (Drinking establishments)--Nevada--Aurora--Pictorial works.
- Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.)--Pictorial works.
- Ghost towns--Nevada--Aurora--Pictorial works.
- Ghost towns--Nevada--Rhyolite--Pictorial works.
- Hearses (Vehicles)--Pictorial works.
- Hotels--Nevada--Aurora--Pictorial works.
- Images
- Vernacular architecture--Nevada--Aurora--Pictorial works.
- Title
- Guide to the Death Valley region photographs, 1905-1925
- Author
- Finding aid created by Peter Schmidt, May 1997, and revised by Daniel Davis, February 20, 2002.
- Date
- ©2008
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding guide is in English in Latin script.
- Sponsor
- Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
Revision Statements
- May 31, 2008: Template information was updated to reflect Utah Manuscript Association best practices.
- 2009: Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines.
Repository Details
Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)
scweb@usu.edu