Panorama Mariposa Grove Yosemite Howard Clinton Tibbitts, circa 1890

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Panorama Mariposa Grove Yosemite Howard Clinton Tibbitts, circa 1890

About the Item

Large and extremely rare panoramic vintage photograph titled "Mariposa Big Tree Grove, Yosemite, California." The Southern Pacific Railroad commissioned Howard Clinton Tibbitts, circa 1890 to take this and a companion photograph creating a 360 degree view of the Mariposa Grove as a presentation gift for a New Hampshire family that supplied the railroad with lumber. This photograph was shot in early spring while there was still snow on the ground which gives a great visual depth. The figure standing in front of his cabin is the first guardian of the Mariposa Grove, Galen Clark. Clark was the first person to map and measure the giant Sequoia and live in the grove. Born in New Hampshire in 1814, Clark developed a passion for Yosemite when he first visited the area in 1855 as part of a 17-member pioneer tourist party. After suffering a lung hemorrhage and quitting his job as a packer at the Mariposa Ditch Company, he decided to either find a cure or end his days in the mountain air. Settling at the meadow-lands of Wawona in 1857, Clark built a log cabin near a river ford and trail that provided access to both the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees and Yosemite Valley. The road from "Wawona" an Indian word believed to mean "big trees" was considered the most scenic since it included the famed view of old Inspiration Point. Clark's rest stop, soon known as Clark's Station, furnished visitors with meals, shelter, and a place to graze their horses. There, Clark engaged his guests on a variety of topics from fauna and flora to American Indian history and geology. Within five years, Clark ascended to a critical role in the development of what would eventually become Yosemite National Park. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Act of Congress transferring Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to the State of California as a grant reserved from settlement. Terms of the act required that the "State shall accept the Grant upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort and recreation; [and] shall be inalienable for all time." The grant was locally administered by a guardian representing an eight-man board of commissioners. Their first choice for the new position was Galen Clark. Throughout the next 24 years, commissioners came and went but the popular and effective Clark was retained as guardian. Clark never lost his reputation for hospitality and generosity to weary travelers. "He kindly furnished us with flour and a little sugar and tea, and my companion, who complained of the be-numbing poverty of a strictly vegetarian diet, gladly accepted Mr. Clark's offer of a piece of bear that had just been killed," wrote John Muir in The Yosemite. Muir met Clark at his Wawona ranch during the legendary botanist's first visit to Yosemite. Over the years, the two out-doorsmen made many wilderness sojourns together in which Clark scrambled through thick chaparral brush in the easiest way. On one 1872 trip, Clark helped set stakes in an ice field on the slopes of Mount Maclure as part of Muir's glacial research. Deemed the best mountaineer that Muir ever met, Clark sought few comforts when outdoors. He was even rather careless about selecting a bed for the night. "He would lie down anywhere on any ground, rough or smooth, without taking pains even to remove cobbles or sharp-angled rocks protruding through the grass or gravel," Muir wrote. Clark accompanied Ralph Waldo Emerson, along with Muir, during the poet's 1871 visit to the Mariposa Grove. Clark proudly pointed out a lower branch on the Grizzly Giant that was 6 feet, 7 inches in diameter "as big as the base of any tree trunk Emerson might see in New England." Emerson was given permission to name a sequoia, which he called the Samoset Tree, after the first American Indian to contact the Pilgrims. Another sequoia was named after Clark. Reportedly, it was the first Big Tree seen by him when he entered the Mariposa Grove in 1855. The above biography of Galen Clark is courtesy of the National Park Service. In 1880, changes in state politics temporarily ended Clark's guardianship. A new state constitution brought in a new board of commissioners who promptly replaced him with James Hutchings. After nine tumultuous years and three guardian failures, 75-year-old Clark was reappointed to his old post in 1889. Finally, in 1897, conceding that a younger man was needed for the job, he "retired," however, even in retirement Clark kept busy in Yosemite working as a tourist camp manager and guide. On March 24, 1910, a few days before his 96th birthday, Clark died at his daughter's home in Oakland, California. Decades earlier he had chosen his final resting place not far from Yosemite Falls. He dug his own grave, planted seedling sequoias from the Mariposa Grove sequoias and selected a granite marker. Today, visitors can stand at Galen Clark's grave-site in the Valley Cemetery and marvel at the growth of those sequoias amidst the expanse of his conservation efforts. The companion piece to this photograph was auctioned at Sotheby's lot 23 April 28, 1999 bringing around $29,000. The print measures H. 16" L. 108". The photograph has been washed and archivally conserved two areas of damage have been repaired. The photograph is in its original frame with a barrier sheet protecting it on the reverse and a resin separator placed around the perimeter to keep the glass from touching the surface. Three small dents along lower edge of frame.

Creator:
Howard Clinton Tibbitts (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 120 in (304.8 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Style:
American Classical (Of the Period)
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1890
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. The photograph has been washed and archivally conserved two areas of damage have been repaired. The photograph is in its original frame with a barrier sheet protecting it on the reverse and a resin separator to raise glass.
Seller Location:
Camden, ME
Reference Number:
Seller: App 1601stDibs: U1201308984180