JW Bledsoe, California Photographer

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

Author: Charles Delwiche (page 2 of 3)

Eva Pursell Cabin, Lake Arrowhead.

Pursell Cabin.

Eva Pursell’s Cabin, Lake Arrowhead.

Eva Pursell’s cabin, Lake Arrowhead, CA. Year unknown. Shake siding, stone chimney, corrugated metal roof, timber porch, and a scrap wood fence. A mounted deer’s head, hammock, and a vase with flowers are visible on the front porch.  Horse manure in foreground, with what appear to be automobile tire tracks visible as well.

Photographer unknown. Eva was J.W. Bledsoe’s sister-in-law. It is likely the photo was taken by him, and he certainly knew the location.

Views of Independence, CA

Exterior view of the Nathan Rhine Store, Independence, CA. Ca. 1886/1887.

Exterior view of the Nathan Rhine Store, Independence, CA. Ca. 1886/1887.

View of a dirt street in Independence, CA, ca 1886/1887. The Nathan Rhine Store is to the right.

View of a dirt street in Independence, CA, ca 1886/1887. The Nathan Rhine Store is to the right.

Two views of Independence, CA, dating from when Bledsoe had a studio in Traver, CA. These are from the collection of the California Historical Society at USC. The Nathan Rhine store is to the right in the lower image. The notes in the USC database suggest that Nathan Rhine himself is in the upper image. I’m betting on the guy with his hands on his hips.

Images by J. W. Bledsoe.

LA Aqueduct Cascades, 1913

Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascade Opening Ceremony, Nov. 5, 1913

Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascade Opening Ceremony, Nov. 5, 1913

Panoramic photo of the opening ceremony (November 5, 1913) for the Los Angeles Aqueduct, held at the Cascades. This is where the modern Interstate 5 crosses Balboa Blvd, around here: Google Map Location

Photograph taken by J.W. Bledsoe. Label on lower left corner reads “Cascades L.A.A. Nov. 5 1913 (c) 1913 by Bledsoe Photo Co.”

Part of the collection of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, this image was stitched together from four photographs of a print.

Photographs of J.W. Bledsoe

J.W. Bledsoe ca. 1890

J.W. Bledsoe ca. 1890

Photograph of J.W. Bledsoe

Photograph of J.W. Bledsoe ca. 1940

Most of the photographs presented here are by J. W. Bledsoe or are inspired by his work, but here are a couple where he is on the other end of the camera.

Construction of Los Angeles Aqueduct, ca. 1915

View of construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, ca. 1910-1920.

View of construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, ca. 1910-1920.

This is part of the collection of the Los Angeles Department of Water and  Power, which has the single largest collection of Bledsoe’s work that I have seen. Their collection is now held by the California Historical Society, and is archived, curated, and conserved by the University of Southern California library. It shows the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The original images were on 6×8 glass plates, but these are rarely handled, and most images (including this one) have been scanned from internegatives or prints and have lost image quality along the way.

This is the library’s description of the image: Photograph of a view of construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, showing a wooden track, ca.1910-1920. A large, riveted pipe, supported by concrete blocks, runs from the left foreground to the hill that sits at the center background. A wooden track runs along the ground, parallel to the pipe. In the center of the image, two men lean on a cart that rests on the track. A metal apparatus with cables extending from the top, apparently used to hoist beams, sits to the right of the track. Hills are visible in the distance.

Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe

From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15799coll65/id/3551/rec/6

Mission San Juan Capistrano 1915

Mission San Juan Capistrano, ca. 1915. Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe, from an 8x10 glass plate. scan637

Mission San Juan Capistrano, ca. 1915.

Mission San Juan Capistrano, ca. 1915. This is the very famous mission, founded by Juniper Serra (now a Catholic Saint). The mission is now a popular tourist destination, and has been extensively restored.

Bear in mind that this photograph was taken decades before the Zone System was formally described (Ansel Adams was 13 years old at the time). I wonder if Bledsoe had an Actinograph?

Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe

Image courtesy Jim Smart at CSUSB, from an 8×10 glass plate.

Mule Team Pulling Haywagon

Mule Team

Mule Team in the San Fernando Valley. Year Unknown.

Mule teams pulling hay wagons in the San Fernando Valley.

Year unknown.

Photograph by J. W. Bledsoe

Image courtesy Jim Smart at CSUSB, from an 8×10 glass plate negative.

Victory Boulevard 1915

Victory Boulevard, 1915.

Victory Boulevard, 1915.

Victory Boulevard, 1915. This is now in the heart of greater Los Angeles.

Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe

Image courtesy Jim Smart at CSUSB, from an 8×10 glass plate.

Downtown Los Angeles, March 10 1927

Los Angeles skyline, showing City Hall. March 10, 1927. Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe.

Los Angeles skyline, showing City Hall.
March 10, 1927. Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe.

Downtown Los Angeles, showing City Hall under construction, March 10, 1927.  View Northeast up South Hill Street, from around W 15th St. The Casa Loma Hotel is now called Casa Loma Apartments (hotel sign is still visible), and sits on the corner of W 14th St and S. Hill St. Google Maps

Photograph by J.W .Bledsoe.

Image courtesy Jim Smart at CSUSB, from an 8×10 negative.

William Mulholland ca. 1908-1913

Portrait of William Mulholland with a surveyor's scope on a tripod.

Portrait of William Mulholland with a surveyor’s scope on a tripod.

This is probably J.W. Bledsoe’s most famous photograph: it shows William Mulholland, the driving force behind the Los Angeles Aqueduct, ca. 1908-1913. It has been widely reproduced in histories of the Aqueduct. I have a print in my personal collection that has been signed by a descendant of Mulholland’s.

Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe

From the collection of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power/California Historical Society

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