Snapshots of the Past

Mirror Lake Yo Semite Valley – Vintage Wall Art

Mirror Lake Yo Semite Valley, 1870 — historic photograph
Mirror Lake Yo Semite Valley, 1870. Historic photograph from the Vintage Stereoviews 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

This historic photograph of Mirror Lake Yo Semite Valley brings a moment of history to your wall. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Mirror Lake Yo Semite Valley

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Mirror Lake sits at the foot of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley, and this stereograph captures it as a still, reflective pool that doubled the granite cliffs above it. The card belongs to a numbered series of Yosemite views issued in 1870 by William I. Marshall, a Boston-trained photographer and publisher who sold stereo cards to a broad public eager to see the valley's scenery without travelling there. Viewed through a stereoscope, the two nearly identical images fuse into a single three-dimensional scene, a popular parlor experience of the period. The valley had been set aside by Congress in 1864 as a protected area, which helped make it a favorite subject for photographers of the time.

Created / published1870
Medium1 photographic print on stereo card : stereograph albumen.
Notes660 U.S. Copyright Office. Title from item. No. 1130. Part of series: California - Views in the Yo Semite Valley. · Marshall William I. (William Isaac) 1840-1906 publisher.
SubjectsYosemite Valley (Calif.)--1870.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,828 × 2,490 px · prints to 16 × 8 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-STV-269310

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