Group of nineteen (19) albumen stereoviews, circa 1860s–1880s. Published by prominent American and international firms including Kilburn Brothers (Littleton, N.H.), E. & H. T. Anthony (New York / Views in "El Ecuador" series by Camillus Farrand), J. Serdinko (Mexican Views), and others currently unknown. Views include:

1. 308. Street — Monterey. Series, “Mexican Views." J. Serdinko, publisher. 

Street scene showing horse-drawn carts and figures outside stucco and masonry buildings. 

2. 5169. Water Carrier / Guanajuato. W.H. Jackson & Co., photographer. 

Shot from a plaza centered on a man carrying a large jug of water on his back. 

3. Scene of men in civilian clothes, some carrying long arms, walking in front of commercial buildings that tout selling items for men, women and children. 

4. Ibarra, the Capital of Imbabura, the most northerly Province of Ecuador. Series, “Views in ‘El Ecuador’ (The Equator),” no. 1242. Camillus Farrand, photographer. E. & H.T. Anthony, publisher. Copyright imprint to mount verso. 

Eight people — a mix of men, women and children — stand atop a hill with their backs to Ibarra’s cityscape. 

5. Street scene showing a large group of civilians at a street intersection, with some sitting and others perusing items for sale. 

6. Wide shot of a street in Mexico City, featuring civilians walking, on horseback and in carriages. The business “Cantina La Mascota” can be seen behind a trolley car. 

7. Image of a man riding a donkey with two younger donkeys towing behind him. 

8. No. 1887. The Old Churchyard, Orizaba, Mexico. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

Four young girls lean against dilapidated church structures. 

9. No. 1065. Street View, City of Mexico. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

A street scene in Mexico City, where two men can be seen in the lower left standing next to a lamppost. 

10. 1101. Battlefield of Molino del Rey, Mexico. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

Structures stand looming where the Battle of Molino del Rey was fought, one of the bloodiest engagements in the Mexican-American War. 

11. 1060. Canal Market, City of Mexico. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

Boats are lined up against the wall of a canal, where merchants can sell their goods to those on land. 

12. No. 1114. Indian Homes, Mexico. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

People stand in front of thatched homes in rural Mexico. 

13. 1075. A Mexican Home. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

A family stands in front of an adobe home. 

14. No. 1083. Aztec Calendar Stone, Mexico. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

A close-up shot of the Aztec Sun Stone, with the Indigenous group’s sun deity in the center. 

15. Indian Water-Carriers of Quito, and their mode of carrying and pouring out the water. Series, “Views in ‘El Ecuador’ (The Equator),” no. 1240. Camillus Farrand, photographer. E. & H.T. Anthony, publisher. Copyright imprint to mount verso. 

Two people with large water jugs on their backs, one caught mid-pour into a jug resting on the floor. 

16. No. 1153. Mexican Mill. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

A group of men and children stand on a rural road in front of a mill in Molino. 

17. 1204. Home of the Peon, Mexico. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

A thatched-roof dwelling used by agricultural laborers. 

18. [1174. Indian Church at Cholula, Mexico. Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873.] Modern pencil notation to mount verso identifying shot and its creator. 

Two young girls stand before an imposing church, featuring a large bell tower. 

19. 1085. Tree of Noche Triste, Mexico. (Where Cortez hid on the night of his defeat.) Kilburn Brothers, photographer and publisher, 1873. Imprint to mount verso. 

A small church and large tree stand side by side. This was allegedly where Hernán Cortés hid during La Noche Triste, the pivotal battle where Cortés and his conquistadors were expelled from Tenochtitlan by the Aztecs on 30 June 1520. 

William Henry Jackson (1843-1942) was one of the most prolific photographers of the 19th century West. After serving in the Union Army, he worked in studios spanning from Vermont to Nebraska, Wyoming to Colorado. While in Colorado, he began to take photographs for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in 1881, during which he took images in Mexico, likely when this stereoview was captured. Jackson moved around some more before ending up in New York City, where he spent the last few years of his life painting murals for the Works Progress Administration. 

The Kilburn Brothers consisted of Benjamin (1827-1909) and Edward (1830-1884). The New Hampshire duo first began producing stereoviews around 1865, quickly becoming the world's most extensive manufacturer of stereoscopic views. Even though they operated as the Kilburn Brothers, scholars attribute any stereoview made before 1876 as solely Benjamin's work. It is unclear what took Benjamin (and perhaps Edward) to Mexico in the early 1870s; nevertheless, their trip resulted in incredible images Americans would most likely never see otherwise. 

[Mexico, Ecuador, Quito, Ibarra, Mexico City, Cholula, Puebla, Viga Canal, Aztec Calendar Stone, Piedra del Sol, Indigenous Peoples, Water Carriers, Spanish Colonial Architecture, Latin America, 19th Century Travel] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Stereoviews, Stereographs, Albumen Prints, Kilburn Brothers, E. & H. T. Anthony, Camillus Farrand, Travel Photography]

Generally good to very good condition overall, with sharp definition and solid mounts. Several cards exhibit typical peripheral handling wear, light surface soiling, faint foxing, or corner softening consistent with age.