America in the 19th Century

This collection has thousands of photographs depicting the developement of American citie and towns. Photographs of street scenes, store fronts, buildings, bridges, roads, canals and railroads, together with views of people at work. These images paint a detailed picture of developing America. Most of America's important cities are represented including numerous views of Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, Washington D.C., Charleston, St. Louis, Buffalo, Kansas City, etc. Small town and city views showing their main streets are an imortant aspect of the collection.

NYC Street Arabs 1868

Of the thousand of main street views the most important is the 1851 daguerreotype of Benicia, California. It is the only known view of the town when it was the Capital of the state.