JW Bledsoe, California Photographer

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

Tag: JW Bledsoe

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.

Gerrard Country Club, Dec. 4 1925

scan636 Bledsoe Gerrard County Club Dec 4 1925

Gerrard County Club, Dec 4 1925, by J.W. Bledsoe. Identities of the individuals in the photo are unknown, as is the precise location of the Gerrard Country Club. Any additional information would be welcome.

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

Yucca in Bloom

Yucca in b.loom

Yucca in Bloom

Yucca in bloom, by JW Bledsoe, year unknown, location unknown.

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