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Description

Set of Iconic photographs of Yellowstone Park by the park's official photographer. Each photograph bears Haynes's printed label on verso of mount.

Though untitled, the views are all classic scenes of Yellowstone National Park:

  • Rapids, Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River.
  • Minerva Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming. The terraced formations and distinctive white mineral deposits are characteristic of the Mammoth Hot Springs area, which was formed by geothermal activity depositing travertine from hot water flowing over limestone
  • Castle and Bee Hive Geysers.
  • Golden Gate Canyon (still showing failing wooden bridge, before the concrete viaduct built circa 1901).
  • Rocky landscape along a river with forested surroundings, possibly Firehole River or Yellowstone River Canyon.
  • Iconic view of steep cliffs, rugged rock formations, and dramatic canyon landscape, characteristic of the The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Haynes often photographed this area, capturing its grandeur and the unique geological formations that make it one of the most famous sites in the park. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is known for its extravagant rock formations, carved over millennia by volcanic activity and erosion.

F. Jay Haynes (1853–1921) was a prolific 19th-century photographer whose extensive travels across the American West contributing to the visual record of the region's landscapes and culture at a time of transition and expansion, particularly through his early images of Yellowstone National Park. Appointed as the official photographer for the Northern Pacific Railroad, Haynes captured the dramatic scenery along the railroad’s routes, promoting western expansion and tourism. To facilitate his work, he equipped a specially designed railroad car, the "Haynes Palace Studio," as a mobile darkroom and studio, enabling him to more effectively document remote and rugged areas. His work forms part of the broader role of photography in the American West as a tool of exploration, documentation, and promotion in the late 19th century, particularly in how it dovetailed with the public's fascination with the West, contributing to the popularization of the Great Northwest as both an untamed wilderness and a newly accessible destination, particularly the National Parks.

Condition Description
6 original photographs, each on thick card mount. Each print measuring approximately 8 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches, on card mounts of uniform size: 13 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches. Printed label attached to verso of each mount: "Photographed and Published by F. Jay Haynes, St. Paul, Minn., Selby Ave. corn. Virginia." Excellent tonality.