Snapshots of the Past

[Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Calif.] – Antique Wall Art

[Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Calif.], [ca. 1865] — historic photograph
[Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Calif.], [ca. 1865]. Historic photograph from the Yosemite 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

[Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Calif.] comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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[Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Calif.]

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Half Dome, the granite monolith that rises at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley, is the focus of this view, and its smooth, nearly vertical face would have been a striking subject for a camera in the 1860s. The print was made from a mammoth plate, a large-format negative that recorded fine detail across the valley's scale. Views like this helped bring Yosemite to public attention just as the 1864 federal grant set the valley aside for public use and protection. Albumen prints of this era often show soft tonal gradations, and the surface here preserves the crisp rock texture that made such landscapes so persuasive to eastern viewers.

Created / published[ca. 1865]
Medium1 photographic print : albumen.
GenreLandscape photographs 1860-1870.Mammoth plates 1860-1870.Albumen prints 1860-1870.
SubjectsMountains--California--1860-1870. Valleys--California--1860-1870. Yosemite National Park (Calif.)--1860-1870.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan9,582 × 7,558 px · prints to 32 × 25 in at 300 dpi
Referencetif09985_HalfDomeYosemiteValleyCalif

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