[New Mexico]. [Photography]

Tucumcari, N.M. Aug. 1913. [caption title]

[Gallup, N.M. P. Clinton Bortell, 1913]. Panoramic photograph, approximately 10 x 48.25 inches. Minor dust soiling and patches of light staining. Two short, closed tears at lower edge, not affecting image. About very good. Item #6311

An attractive panoramic image of the town of Tucumcari in eastern New Mexico, taken by professional photographer Pearl Clinton Bortell in 1913. Bortell operated a studio in Gallup, on the other side of the state, during the 1910s, and was mostly known for his photographic postcards of regional Native Americans, their villages, and activities. This view looks southeast, with a large nest of railroad lines in the foreground and Tucumcari Mountain in the background, with the scattered buildings and unpaved roads of the small town occupying the midrange. Tucumcari was established as a Rock Island Railroad construction camp known as "Ragtown" in 1901, and only became a permanent settlement with its current moniker in 1908. The town quickly became an important railroad junction and transfer point for Rock Island Railroad and Southern Pacific trains to Los Angeles, from which it derived all of its modest prosperity. A good, wide-angle image of this formerly significant transit hub in an otherwise rather desolate area of the country.

Price: $750.00