Content/DescriptionBird's-eye view from the roof of the Union Hotel in Portsmouth Square, with the harbor and docked ships in the background. This image is sometimes referred to as the "Sea of masts" view, and once thought to be the earliest surviving photograph of the city of San Francisco. It has been noted that the store ship Niantic is visible toward the right, which would indicate a date prior to the fire of May, 1851; possible from late 1850. This plate is the right half of a two-plate panorama, the other half of which is lost and not thought to have survived the earthquake and fire of 1906. The full view does exist in copy photographs. (For example, see copies in the Roy. D. Graves Collection at the Bancroft Library (BANC PIC 1905.17500 v.1:18-:19), with digital reproductions available online. For another copy of both halves, see BANC PIC 1905.16242:194a-b-- PIC)
Title
[San Francisco, east from Kearny and Clay Streets, with masts of sailing ships in the harbor.]
Published
between 1850 and May 1851
Full Collection Name
Cased photographs and related images from The Bancroft Library pictorial collections, circa 1845-circa 1870
Other Identifiers
BANC PIC 1905.16242:106--CASE
Type
Image
Extent
1 photograph : daguerreotype ; whole plate, visible image 15 x 20 cm.
Archive
The Bancroft Library
Note
This view and other daguerreian panoramas of San Francisco are reproduced and discussed in the San Francisco Maritime Museum's "Sea Letter", vol. 2 nos. 2 and 3 (October 1964).
<physfacet label="Image Package Note">Original component parts: plate, mat, cover glass. Mat: octagonal.</physfacet>;;;<physfacet label="Container or Case Note">Type: half case. Material: leather over wood. Dimensions: 27 x 21.8 cm. Notes: label -157 (from prior owner). Daguerreotype removed from case and housed separately.</physfacet>;;;<physfacet label="Marks, Inscriptions and Accompanying Material">Blind stamped on plate: [LL] flower symbol; [UL] 40.</physfacet>;;;
Usage Statement
Researchers may make free and open use of the UC Berkeley Library’s digitized public domain materials. However, some materials in our online collections may be protected by U.S. copyright law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use (Title 17, U.S.C. § 107) requires permission from the copyright owners. The use or reproduction of some materials may also be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights, or trademark law. Responsibility for determining rights status and permissibility of any use or reproduction rests exclusively with the researcher. To learn more or make inquiries, please see our permissions policies (https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies).
