Auction: Muybridge-Panorama of San Francisco

[Michael Wong]

Panorama of San Francisco from California St. Hill. San Francisco: Morse Gallery, 1877. 11-panel albumen print view, 85 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches, mounted on linen and accordion-folded into 4to folder.

MUYBRIDGE'S 360-DEGREE "PATRICIAN'S" VIEW OF SAN FRANCISCO, taken from the central tower of Central Pacific Railroad magnate Mark Hopkins's unfinished Nob Hill home at the corner of California and Mason streets. Muybridge captured the view over a period of several hours, as evidenced by the shifting shadow. The photographic panorama is a remarkable technical achievement as it took numerous calculations to correctly orient each exposure in order to assemble a continuous image. This example with the clock in the fifth panel at a quarter to two.

The auction is through Bonhams on 2nd December, and the lot details can be found here.