Sunlight Sketches in Missouri and Arkansas. Being Photographs of Kansas City and Along the Line of Kansas City, Pittsburgh, & Gulf R.R.
Kansas City, Mo. June, 1895. Title leaf, plus twenty-four leaves of cardstock illustrated with forty-nine sepia-toned photographs of varying sizes, each captioned in manuscript below the image. Cardstock leaves hinged on cloth. Oblong folio. Contemporary crimson three-quarter leather and matching textured cloth, "Photographs" stamped in gilt on front cover. Moderate soiling, rubbing, and edge wear to boards, spine ends chipped, corners worn. Top edge of title page soiled, corners toned. Uneven scattered foxing throughout. Very good. Item #3862
A seemingly unique collection of images in Missouri and Arkansas along the Kansas City, Pittsburgh & Gulf Railroad, taken by the company's official photographer, E.J. Davison. The Kansas City, Pittsburgh & Gulf Railroad began in the 1890s and ran from Kansas City, south through Missouri, Arkansas, far-western Louisiana, and terminated at Port Arthur, Texas. The images included in the present work constitute a wide range of scenes along the KC, P & G railway lines, and in Kansas City, especially Fairmount Park, which constitutes almost half of the total number of pictures. There are also images along the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railroad (an early type of commuter railroad), the Union Terminal Railway, and at a few locations in Arkansas, mainly Siloam Springs. The photos are identified by their captions, as follows:
1) "Grand Central Station, Second and Wyandotte Sts."
2) "General Yards, Grand Central Depot."
3) "Independence, Mo." [an image of the train depot there]
4) "Fairmount Park. Cafe and Auditorium."
5) "Independence, Mo. Public Square."
6) "Fairmount Park. The Cafe."
7) "Fairmount Park. The Station."
8) "Fairmount Park. The Rustic Bridge."
9) "Fairmount Park. A point of land in the lake."
10) "Fairmount Park. Cascade Glen."
11) "Fairmount Park. The Crystal Maze."
12) "Fairmount Park. The Spring."
13) "Fairmount Park. On the lawn."
14) "Fairmount Park. Cafe and private dining hall."
15) "Fairmount Park. Boat practice."
16) "Fairmount Park. Living on the lawn."
17) "Fairmount Park. A corner of the lake."
18) "Fairmount Park. Inlet of the lake."
19) "Fairmount Park. Fountain and diving tower."
20) "Fairmount Park. 'MIKADO.' Summer Opera."
21) "Fairmount Park. Early blossom."
22) "In the glen."
23) "Fairmount Park. 'OLIVETTE.' Summer Opera."
24) "A group of elevators. KC Suburban Belt Ry."
25) "Kansas City Distilling Co. Monarch Vinegar Works."
26) "Second & Main Sts. KC Sub Belt Ry." [showing a building housing the Earl Fruit Company and the Merchants Fruit & Produce Auction Co.]
27) "Paper mill. KC Sub Belt RR."
28) [Uncaptioned photograph taken from the railroad and picturing the malt house and empire elevator of the Ferdinand Heim Brewing Company]
29) "Cracker and Candy Mfy. Second and Main Streets" [the building of the American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company]
30) "Fourth Street Viaduct. The U. Ter. Ry." [Union Terminal Railway]
31) "Packing house along the river and the Union Terminal Ry."
32) "Ohio Ave. Bridge across the Kaw River. The U. Ter. Ry."
33) "Geo. Fowler, Son & Co. Packing houses. The U. Ter. Ry."
34) "Armour Packing Co. The U. Ter. Ry."
35) "Riverside Iron Works. The U. Ter. Ry."
36) [Uncaptioned photograph featuring the Indian Ridge Milling Company along the railroad]
37) [Uncaptioned photograph depicting a river bridge along the Union Terminal railway]
38) "Some pens of cattle. K.C. Stock Yards. The U. Ter. Ry."
39) "Schwartschild and Sulzberger - packing house. The U. Ter. Ry."
40) "Western Mfy. Co. The 'Air Line.'"
41) "Kansas City Consolidated Smelting and Refining Co. The U. Ter. Ry."
42) "Kansas City Car & Foundry Co. The U. Ter. Ry."
43) "'Where the Woodbine Twineth.' K.C., P. & G. R.R." [an old abandoned house along the line, and presumably the first of the remaining images which feature Arkansas]
44) "Sulphur Springs, Ark. In the park. K.C., P. & G. R.R."
45) "Corn on the K.C., P. & G. R.R."
46) "THE NARROWS. K.C., P. & G. R.R."
47) "Siloam Springs. K.C., P. & G. R.R."
48) "Siloam Springs, Ark. Reflections. K.C., P. & G. R.R."
49) "Siloam Springs, Ark. Box spring. K.C., P. & G. R.R." [an abandoned stone house in rural Arkansas]
E.J. Davison is a rather obscure Kansas City-area photographer active at the end of the 19th century and the early-20th century. According to a small collection of his work at the University of Kansas, Davison produced cabinet card photographs and board-mounted images (as here) featuring Kansas City floods and the annual picnics of the Kansas City Passenger Agents (another railroad-related subject). Newspaper records are also sparse for Davison; the most relevant newspaper account, from the Kansas City Star in 1912, reports an exhibit of photographs organized by Davison at the Fine Arts Institute. He also delivered a lecture at that event entitled, "Early History of Photography," followed by an explanation of color photography, illustrated by lantern slides, also delivered by Davison. The present work was likely designed by Davison as a promotional for the railroad, or himself, or perhaps as one of an intended edition of Davison's work which was ultimately not produced. OCLC is silent on this title.
Price: $7,500.00