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George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library, MS2FLKerry Mitchell
Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.
There are no access restrictions.
Donald Orth Geological Survey Photograph Collection, C0233, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Donated by Donald Orth on June 10, 2013.
Processing and EAD markup completed in November 2013 by Kerry Mitchell. Finding aid updated by Amanda Brent in April 2020.
This collection consists of photographs that originated from the United States Geological Society, with the majority taken by William Henry Jackson. Most of the photographs depict the American West, with notable photograph subjects like Yellowstone National Park and Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden, a geologist who served as the head of the United States Geological and Geographic Survey of the Territories in the late 19th century. Hayden, along with Jackson, were integral in documenting the landscape of the West and helping establish Yellowstone National Park. In addition to Jackson's photographs, there are photographs taken by John K. Hillers, who was also exploring the American West with Jhn Wesley Powell, particularly the Grand Canyon, around the same time. There are also photographs of Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian explorer and scientist, and his boat "Fram" which he used during his expedition to the Arctic in 1893.
49 black and white copy photographs that document the exploration of the American West in the late 19th century. The photographs appear to be reprints of the originals made in 1869-1874 except for the photographs of Niagara Falls and Washington, D.C. that appear to be original. The collection is arranged alphabetically by state with three exceptions: Niagara Falls, Portraits, and Unknown.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by state with three exceptions: Niagara Falls, Portraits, and Unknown.
The Special Collections Research Center also holds the Harold T. Rib aerial photograph collection and the Soil Conservation Service Prince William County aerial photograph collection.
4 photographs of both landscapes and people in the state of Arizona. These landscapes include: A Rainbow Bridge-Glen Canyon Dam Project, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, 3 males on Kaibab Plateau, and the Grand Canyon.
10 photographs of landscapes and people in the state of Colorado. These include: Castellated Rocks Monument, Men at Sultan Mountain, East Spanish Peak, Mt. Holy Cross, Royal Gorge, "Colorado", Gates of Lodore, PIkes Peak, Sandstone Monuments of Pleasant Park, and Cliff ruins at Mancos Valley.
Photograph of "Boettlers Ranch in South Montana Territory near Yellowstone River".
Photograph label on the back as "Puelbo, New Mex".
Two photographs of Niagara Falls, unsure if photographs are taken of the United States (New York) or Canada (Ontario)
Three photographs. Two of them are portraits of Fridtjof Nansen and Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden. The other is a group photograph of Endlich, Franklin Rhoda and Allen D. Wilson.
11 photographs of landscapes and people, there is no identification on these photographs to indicate who the people are or where the photograph was taken.
Two photographs of landscape and people in the state of Utah. These inculde: Salt Lake City and Uintah Mountains
Photograph of the Lincoln Memorial.
Fourteen photographs of people and landscape in the state of Wyoming. These include: The Teapot, Independence Rock, Yellowstone National Park, Great Falls of Yellowstone River, Green River Station, Crystal Falls, Old Faithful, Green River, Extinct Spring at East Fork of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake, and the Canyon of the Yellowstone.