1870’s T. C. ROCHE PHOTOGRAPHER'S CABIN, YOSEMITE, E. H. ANTHONY STEREOVIEW

Description: Original circa 1870-1873 stereoview photo. The stereoview shows T. C. Roche sitting on the top of his photo studio cabin in Yosemite Valley, California. An unidentified assistant stands in front of the cabin. On the front of the cabin is a painted sign with the wording: “Hotel Of Photo Roche”. To the left of the cabin sitting on a hand made wooden stand is what appears to be a camera or camera equipment box. The camera (or camera equipment box) has the stenciled wording on the top: “T. C. Roche Glass No. 4”. This wording is upside down in the photo. The view which is marked on the left & right borders is from the “Glories of the Yosemite Valley” series & was issued by “E. & H. T. Anthony & Co., N. Y.” The view has the number & title at the bottom right border: “7425. Artists’ Quarters. Little Yosemite Valley.” At the bottom of the photo just to the right of center there is an “E. A.” circular blindstamp for the E. Anthony Company. This photo would have been taken by T. C. Roche when he worked for the E. & H. T. Anthony Company. While working for the Anthony Company Roche traveled across the country taking photos of the Central Pacific, Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, & also Yosemite Valley, California. The sepia stereoview photo is mounted on a rich reddish orange rounded corner mount that is flat as issued. The mount measures 6 15/16 inches long by 3 7/16 inches from top to bottom. The front is in excellent condition showing only very slight use around the edges. The back has the complete original label mentioning other views in the series. This view is not mentioned on the label. The back has a small brown stain at the bottom edge & light soiling & light wear. There is an original penciled “20” at the bottom right corner. Probably being the original price of issue of 20 cents. The color of the mount is bright & rich & shows absolutely no fading. The photo has superb deep rich contrast. The photo is of optimum quality & richness & it is unlikely that a finer example of the photo could exist as to clarity, tone, & contrast. While working for E. Anthony during the Civil War T. C. Roche took some of the war’s most famous photos. However, Roche was not given much credit for his photos at that time. Today some historians consider Roche to be in the top four list of Civil War photographers including Matthew Brady, Alexander Gardner, T. C. Roche, and A. J. Russell. It is interesting to note that A. J. Russell during the Civil War, like Roche, did not receive much credit for his photos. Many of A. J. Russell's photos have often been mis-attributed to Brady. A. J. Russell, the Civil War photographer, remembers a meeting with the photographer T. C. Roche during the Civil War. The narrative of that meeting was published in Anthony’s Photographic Bulletin in 1882. The narrative is one of very few written stories about photographers out in the field during the Civil War. The A. J. Russell narrative is as follows: "I cannot but relate a little incident among the thousands that transpired. It was at City Point, just before the move on Petersburg. Mr. Roche (now with Anthony & Co.) entered my headquarters, and said, "Cap., I am in for repairs and want to get things ready for the grand move, for the army is sure to move tonight or tomorrow night. The negatives on hand I wish to send North with some letters, prepare my glass and chemicals; in fact, get everything ready for the grand move, for this is the final one, and the Rebellion is broken, or we go home and commence over again. This prophecy proved to be correct, for in this great final move Lee was captured and the Confederacy collapsed. I sat up with Mr. Roche until the 'wee sma' hours;" he had everything in A No. 1 order for the morrow. We sat smoking and talking of adventures, etc., etc., and among others of Dutch Gap Canal, and of the pictures taken there under difficulties a few days before, of which a friend of mine had been an eye-witness. The enemy were bombarding the works from Howlett's Point, throwing immense shells every few minutes, tearing up the ground and raising a small earthquake every time one of them exploded. He had taken a number of views and had but one more to make to finish up the most interesting points, and this one was to be from the most exposed position. He was within a few rods of the place when down come with the roar of a whirlwind a ten-inch shell, which exploded, throwing the dirt in all directions; but nothing daunted, and shaking the dust from his head and camera he quickly moved to the spot, and placing it over the pit made by the explosion, exposed his plate as coolly as if there was no danger, and as if working in a country barn-yard. The work finished he quickly folded his tripod and returned to cover. I asked him if he was scared. "Scared?" he said. "Two shots never fell in the same place." At this moment the heavy boom of cannons were heard in the direction of Petersburg. Roche jumped to his feet, and rushing to the door, said, "Cap., the ball has opened; I must be off," calling to his assistant. In the next quarter of an hour two horses were harnessed, everything snugly packed, and shaking my hand with a "we will meet tomorrow at the front," said "good bye," and the wagon rattled off into the darkness of midnight towards that doomed city above which was such another display of pyrotechnics as few photos have ever witnessed-shells flying in all directions, leaving their trails of fire and fading away only to be replaced by others. This was not all. The whole world seemed alive; every road was teeming and the call to arms seemed to find a response from every foot of the ground; the rumbling of artillery, the clatter of cavalry, the tramp of infantry, the shrieking of locomotives, calling men to their posts, plainly told that the time had come-that the destiny of a nation hung in the balance. In the morning Petersburg was ours. I found Mr. Roche on the ramparts with scores of negatives taken where the fight had been the thickest and where the harvest of death had indeed been gathered-pictures that will in truth teach coming generations that war is a terrible reality. A few minutes later I saw his van flying towards the war-stricken city, and in the wake of a fleeing enemy. Many were the records he preserved that day that will last while history endures, to relate the eventful story of a victory sorely won." A.J. Russell The first modern suction cup patents were issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office during the 1860s. T. C. Roche was awarded U. S. Patent No. 52,748 in 1866 for a "Photographic Developer Dipping Stick"; the patent discloses a primitive suction cup means for handling photographic plates during developing procedures. In 1883 a book written by T. C. Roche titled “How To Make Photographs” was published by E. & H. T. Anthony. Please examine the photos closely & purchase based on your own judgement as to condition & value. This item is inventory #6640. Shipping is free only to addresses within the U.S. and available only to addresses within the U.S.

Price: 2000 USD

Location: Lampeter, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-09-11T23:30:55.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD