Snapshots of the Past

[Portsmouth Square, San Francisco, California] – Vintage Wall Art

[Portsmouth Square, San Francisco, California], [before June 22, 1851]. — historic photograph
[Portsmouth Square, San Francisco, California], [before June 22, 1851].. Historic photograph from the Daguerreotypes & Early Photography collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of [Portsmouth Square, San Francisco, California]. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

[Portsmouth Square, San Francisco, California]

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Few daguerreotypes survive of early San Francisco, and this plate shows Portsmouth Square, the town's main plaza, with storefronts whose signs name a restaurant, a job printing office, a wholesale druggist, and the *Alta California*, one of the city's first newspapers. The picture was made before the Great Fire of June 22, 1851, which destroyed much of the mid-century town, so it records a street life that was soon lost. Its rarity and the legible shop names make it a useful document of the Gold Rush-era city, when San Francisco was growing from a small settlement into a major port in a matter of months.

Created / published[before June 22, 1851].
Medium1 photograph : half-plate daguerreotype.
GenreDaguerreotypes 1850-1860.Cityscape photographs 1850-1860.
NotesCase: delicate roses, variant. Signs in image include: California Restaurant, Book and Job Printing, Louisiana, Sociedad, Drugs & Medicines Wholesale & Retail, Henry Johnson & Co, Alta California, Bella & Union, A. Holmes. Transfer; Manuscript Division; 1999; (DLC/PP-1999:042.2). Forms part of: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress). Forms part of: Papers of the David D. Porter family, 1799-1899 (Library of Congress).
SubjectsStreets--1850-1860.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,096 × 3,307 px · prints to 14 × 11 in at 300 dpi
Reference90_Portsmouth_Square_San_F_1851

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