The Sierra Nevada Through the Lens of 19th-Century Photography: “Before the West Was Tamed”
Before roads, railways, and mass tourism transformed the American West, its landscapes existed in near-mythic isolation-vast, untamed, and largely unknown beyond a small circle of explorers, surveyors, and early photographers. This collection presents rare original photographs made in the late 19th century, capturing the Sierra Nevada and surrounding Western regions at the moment they first entered the nation's visual consciousness.
Created during the formative years of American photography, these images document Yosemite's towering sequoias, the alpine stillness of Lake Tahoe, the thunder of Western waterfalls, and the immense geological drama of the Grand Canyon-long before conservation, infrastructure, or modern settlement reshaped the land. Photographers such as John R. Putnam did more than record scenery; they revealed scale, solitude, and sublime power, helping define how America came to see its own wilderness.
These images played a quiet yet crucial role in shaping early American conservation ideals. By revealing the grandeur and fragility of the wilderness to the public, 19th-century landscape photography helped inspire the preservation movements that would later give rise to National Parks and protected lands. Today, these photographs endure not only as artistic achievements, but as rare witnesses to a pivotal moment-when the American West stood on the threshold between discovery and preservation.
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At the Edge of the Sierra: Lake Tahoe Before Modern America, c.1888
Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
John R. Putnam
At the Edge of the Sierra: Lake Tahoe Before Modern America, c.1888, 1888This serene and finely composed late-19th-century photograph presents an early view of Lake Tahoe, captured circa 1888 by American photographer John R. Putnam. The image depicts the lake’s pristine alpine shoreline, framed by towering conifer forests and rugged, snow-patched mountain peaks—an unspoiled vision of the Sierra Nevada before modern development reshaped the region.
Putnam’s composition balances still water in the foreground with rising granite slopes and distant summits, creating a quiet yet monumental scene. Snow lingering along the shoreline and across the mountain faces suggests a high-altitude environment and seasonal transition, lending the photograph a timeless, contemplative quality. The calm surface of the lake reflects the surrounding landscape, emphasizing Tahoe’s reputation even in the 19th century as a place of extraordinary natural clarity and beauty.
This work is an original black-and-white silver gelatin photograph, mounted on period cardstock. The verso bears the printed marks of Al Greene & Associates, well-known publishers of fine photographic murals and exhibition images, along with handwritten notations indicating the photograph was taken by Putnam in 1888 and cataloged with period negative and production numbers. These markings firmly support the photograph’s authenticity, date, and professional provenance.
During this period, images of Lake Tahoe were instrumental in introducing the American public to the alpine landscapes of the West. Photographs such as this helped establish Tahoe as a destination of national significance and contributed to the broader cultural appreciation of wilderness that fueled early conservation ideals.
Details
Title: Lake Tahoe, California
Photographer: John R. Putnam
Date: c. 1888
Medium: Silver gelatin photograph
Mount: Original period mount with Al Greene & Associates imprint
Location: Lake Tahoe, California
Provenance: From a historic American photographic collection
A rare and atmospheric survival from the golden age of Western landscape photography, this photograph is an exceptional acquisition for collectors of Lake Tahoe history, Sierra Nevada imagery, early American photography, and 19th-century Western landscapes.
A quiet, powerful record of Lake Tahoe as it appeared at the dawn of America’s conservation era.
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Fallen Monarch, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, c.1896
Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
John R. Putnam
Fallen Monarch, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, c.1896, 1896Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
7 3/8 x 9 1/4 in
18.8 x 23.6 cm -
At the Edge of the Unknown: The Grand Canyon, c.1885
Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
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Where the Sierra Roared: Nevada Falls, Yosemite, c.1889
Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
John R. Putnam
Nevada Falls, Yosemite National Park, 1889Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
9 1/8 x 7 3/8 in
23.1 x 18.8 cm -
Encountering Nevada Falls: Yosemite Before Preservation, c.1889
Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
John R. Putnam
Nevada Falls, Yosemite National Park, c.1889, 1889Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
9 1/8 x 7 3/8 in
23.2 x 18.7 cm -
Historic Multnomah Falls Columbia River Gorge , Oregon
Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
John R. Putnam
Historic Multnomah Falls Columbia River Gorge , Oregon , 1889Original Mounted Silver Gelatin Photograph by John R. Putnam
9 x 7 1/4 in
22.9 x 18.5 cm
