stereographs – Page 2

“Gardens surrounding the Indian Pueblo of Zuni, in which are raised a variety of vegetables, such as peppers, onions, garlic, etc.,” c. 1873, by Timothy H. O’Sullivan, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The Zuni people of western New Mexico have long built a form of kitchen garden (now) called “waffle gardens.”

Each square plot is about 2′ to 8′ wide with bermed sides of unamended soil. The design efficiently captures and holds rainwater and retards evaporation. The Zuni traditionally filled their gardens with corn, beans, and squash.

Timothy H. O’Sullivan, who took the picture above, photographed events of the Civil War as an employee of Alexander Gardner.

From 1871 to 1874, he traveled the southwestern United States as part of a survey of the land west of the 100th meridian. Later, he worked in Washington, D.C., as an official photographer for the U.S. Geological Survey. He died of tuberculosis at age 42.

“Zuni gardens,” c. 1927, by Edward Curtis, via Library of Congress.

Edward Curtis, a Seattle photographer, took over 40,000 images of life in 80 native American tribes. The photo above was one of 2,000 he published, from 1907 to 1930, in the 20-volume The North American Indian.

While looking through the online catalogue of the Library of Congress for photos of gardens and landscapes, I keep coming across pictures by the American Colony of Jerusalem.

19021v — Golden Gate and east wall of Jerusalem seen through group of century plants [agave], c. 1900-1920, by the American Colony, via Library of Congress.

The American Colony was a Christian utopian society established in Jerusalem in 1881 by Americans Anna and Horatio Spafford. Its whole story is very interesting, but long, so you can read about it here and here and here.

Around 1898, a member of the colony, Elijah Meyers, began photographing places and events around the region and eventually formed a photography service that earned income for the group. He was later joined in the endeavor by Lewis Larsson and G. Eric Matson, among others. When the colony dissolved in the early 1930s, Matson and his wife took over the studio and its archives and renamed it the Matson Photo Service.

10206v — Wild flowers of Palestine. Flowers, c. 1898-1946.

Matson moved to California in 1946. He began donating negatives and contact sheets to the Library of Congress in the 1960s.

Among the over 20,000 images in the Matson Collection are about 200 photos of “wild flowers of Palestine.” In 1907, the Colony had published The Plants of the Bible and, in 1912, The Jerusalem Catalogue of Palestine Plants. The group also sold photographs and stereographs from its Jerusalem store and contributed pictures to National Geographic articles.

02428v — Wood-mallow (Malva sylvestris L.), c. 1900-1920.

The photos that I’ve chosen are best seen in a larger size, so please click on the first thumbnail below to scroll though them. The plant names come from the images’ original labels.