JW Bledsoe, California Photographer

Late 19th and Early 20th Century Photography of the California Wilderness

Author: Charles Delwiche (page 1 of 3)

Monumental Bledsoe Photo Sold by Auction House

Mountain panorama with rocks in the foreground

A very large High Sierra panorama by Bledsoe. Date and location undetermined.

A monumental photo by J.W. Bledsoe went on sale in 2018 at Swann Galleries in New York. It is a somewhat characteristic High Sierra panorama, taken from a peak that is as yet undetermined. At 10 feet long, it is the largest panorama by Bledsoe I have seen documented.

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullcatalogue.asp?salelot=2489++++++56+&refno=747686

Francisquito Canyon Generator House

The San Francisquito Canyon dam underwent one of the worst dam collapses in US history. JW Bledsoe photographed the dam during construction, and also photographed the infrastructure. This is one of the generator houses from the project, photographed about 1926. The dam collapsed in March, 1928, and the resulting flood killed around 400 people, including a cousin of Bledsoe’s. I visited the site in 2005, and took photos of one of the two remaining generator houses (a third was entirely swept away by the flood, with only the foundations remaining). This generator house includes a museum for the LA Dept. of Water and Power, and is decorated with large (10×12 foot) prints of Bledsoe’s photos. I also happen to be a big fan of Pelton water wheels, which is an obsession that dates back to a college physics exam.

 Generator house in San Francisquito Canyon, LA County, before the dam collapse.

San Francisquito Canyon Generator House 2005. It is still there after nearly 100 years.

Bledsoe Prints in Francisquito Generator House, 2005

Pelton Water Wheels in Francisquito Canyon
Photograph by Charles F. Delwiche

Worn-out Pelton Water Wheel and Francisquito Canyon Generator House, 2005

 

Relationship between snow melt in the Sierra Nevada and irrigation of cropland.

Summer Scene in the Sierras Back of Reedley, Vinyard Scene near Reedley

Summer Scene in the Sierras Back of Reedley, and Vinyard Scene near Reedley

Diptych image showing water storage in the Sierra Nevada and its role in supplying water to agriculture. Captions read: “Summer scene in the Sierras back of Reedley, showing a part of the water shed of Kings River and the storage of water in the form of snow which, gradually melting, furnishes the water for irrigating a half a million acres in the great San Joaquin Valley,” and; “Vineyard scene near Reedley, showing what the water which falls in the lofty Sierras does when it reaches the plain, transforming a desert into a garden. Photo taken near the High School Building at Reedley.”

Text on photographs reads: “Kaweah [landscape?] Sierra Nevada Range looking East from Alta Meadows. Sequoia National Park as seen July 1, 1907. Copyright J.W. Bledsoe Photo,” and “Smith Ferry Sight, Kings River, Calif., copyright ’07 J.W. Bledsoe Photo.” 

Thanks to Ken Zech I was already familiar with the Smith Ferry image, but I have not seen the Kaweah panorama before. It would be wonderful to find the original! I suspect that this diptych might have been produced for the L.A. Aqueduct project, but have no direct evidence of that.

Photographs by J. W. Bledsoe

Upper photo dated July 1, 1907, lower photo also dated to 1907, but day is not given.

Courtesy Reedley Historical Society, Reedley, California

Original diptych of Sierra and Kings River

Original diptych of Sierra and Kings River

Mountain Scene Alone

Mountain Scene Alone

 

Rachel Bledsoe at age 13

Rachel Bledsoe at age 13. Daughter of J.W. Bledsoe, born 1891. Note hatchet; she is dressed as an American Indian. Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe Ca. 1904.

Rachel Bledsoe at age 13. 

Rachel Bledsoe, Daughter of J.W. Bledsoe, at age 13. Note hatchet; she is dressed as an American Indian.

Rachel was born 1891, dating this photograph roughly to 1904.

Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe
Ca. 1904.

Bledsoe Homestead, Weedpatch CA

Bledsoe Homestead, Weedpatch CA.

Bledsoe Homestead, Weedpatch CA, ca. 1893.

The J. W. Bledsoe Homestead in Weedpatch CA (on the outskirts of Bakersfield, about 100 miles South of Traver). Note the wagon, labeled “Photographs and Views, Bledsoe & Jenkins.” The girl in the wagon is Caroline, born January 1889 in Sumner, CA (now East Bakersfield). Seated is probably Alice Pursell Bledsoe (J. W.’s wife), who looks to be pregnant.

Date unknown, ca 1893 based on Caroline’s apparent age.

Photographer unknown, but probably J. W. Bledsoe.

Bledsoe Homestead, Weedpatch, CA.

Bledsoe Homestead, Weedpatch, CA, ca. 1900.

Bledsoe family homestead a few years after the previous photo. Note cat in foreground (at base of central tree), chickens and wagon to left center.

Date unknown, but probably roughly 1900 based on the growth of the trees.

Photographer unknown, but probably J. W. Bledsoe

Mt. Whitney

Mount Whitney, California from the Inyo Mountains near Lone Pine, 1913.

Mount Whitney, California, 1913.

Mount Whitney, California, 1913.

Labeled “Mt. Whitney Elev. 14502 Ft” and “Cop’R. 1913 by Bledsoe Photo Co. L.A. CA”.

Photograph by J. W. Bledsoe

Thanks to David Weaver for the scan.

DSC_6974ed

 

DSC_6973-ed

Trees

JW Bledsoe Nr 3a

Road through a redwood grove.

Road through a redwood grove, titled: “Trees” Gods Creation, Redwood Highway, Cal., and #638.

Precise location unknown, date unknown.

Photograph by J. W. Bledsoe.

Thanks to Keith Moore.

Pacific Coast Scene

Pacific Coast Scene

Pacific coast scene, showing waves crashing onto the shoreline, with cliff and trees in the foreground. Location unknown, date unknown.

Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe

Thanks to Keith Moore.

Another Yucca

Yucca in bloom, with a man with glasses and hat to left, holding a leaf of the Yucca.

Yucca in bloom, with a man with glasses and hat to left, holding a leaf of the Yucca.

Yucca in bloom, with a man in glasses and a hat to left, holding a leaf of the Yucca. Location unknown, date unknown.

Photograph by J. W. Bledsoe.

Thanks to Keith Moore.

Homestead Cabin

BledsoePhoto

A homestead cabin in a wooded area, possibly a lumber camp. Year unknown.

Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe when located in Traver, CA, which dates the photo to roughly ~1885-1888.

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