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The Jim Crain Collection: Texas, California & the Old West

Fri, Nov 20, 2026 09:00AM EST
  2026-11-20 09:00:00 2026-11-20 09:00:00 America/New_York Fleischer's Auctions Fleischer's Auctions : The Jim Crain Collection: Texas, California & the Old West https://bid.fleischersauctions.com/auctions/fleischers-auctions/the-jim-crain-collection-texas-california-the-old-west-23552
The lifetime collection of author and photo historian, Jim Crain (1939-2025). The catalog is exclusively devoted to antique photography with an emphasis on the Old West, California, Texas, and Native Americana from 1840-1900.
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Lot 682

[YOSEMITE] Early Yosemite Tourism & Landscape Stereoviews

Estimate: $250 - $500
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $10
$100 $25
$300 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$50,000 $5,000

Exceptional lot of eight (8) albumen stereoviews featuring scenes from Yosemite. Views include: 

 

1.) Yo Semite Valley, from 3,000 ft. outdoor albumen stereoview. California: J.J. Reilly, n.d. Publisher's imprint and series printed to mount recto. Stamp initial "B" to mount verso. 

High-angle cliff-edge panorama looking down the expansive glacial chasm toward El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall.

 

2.) Senital Rock outdoor albumen stereoview. California: J.J. Reilly, n.d. Publisher's imprint and series printed to mount recto. 

Landscape view showing the sharp spire of Sentinel Rock towering above the timbered valley floor, with Hutchings’ cottage visible along the banks of the Merced River.

 

3.) Yo Semite Valley, from 2,500 ft. outdoor albumen stereoview. California: J.J. Reilly, n.d. Publisher's imprint and series printed to mount recto. Stamp initial "B" to mount verso. 

Sweeping elevated vista capturing the sheer vertical granite faces and meandering river below.

 

4.) North and South Domes and Cloud Effect outdoor albumen stereoview. California: J.J. Reilly, n.d. Publisher's imprint and series printed to mount recto. Stamp to verso reads "C.Beach/ Books & Stationary." 

Crisp alpine reflection landscape looking across the placid waters toward Half Dome and surrounding canyon walls.

 

5.) Snow's Hotel outdoor albumen stereoview. California: J.J. Reilly &J.P. Spoonsee, n.d. Publisher's imprint and series printed to mount recto

Group portrait of tourists, wranglers, and horses gathered outside a hewn-timber cabin framed by towering granite crags.

 

6.) Cloud's Rest and Thunder Clouds outdoor albumen stereoview. California: J.J. Reilly, n.d. Publisher's imprint and series printed to mount recto.

Dramatic perspective from a rocky trail terrace capturing resting sightseers gazing toward Clouds Rest and Half Dome under heavy skies.

 

7.) Hutching Hotel Yosemite Valley outdoor albumen stereoview. California: J.J. Reilly, n.d. Publisher's imprint and series printed to mount recto. Period ink list of names to mount verso. 

Superb historical gathering showing a large excursion party of ladies and gentlemen assembled on the front porch and steps of Hutchings' rustic wood-frame hotel.

 

8.) G.C. Smith's Great Register outdoor albumen stereoview. California: J.J. Reilly, n.d. Publisher's imprint and series printed to mount recto.

Unusual rustic documentary study showing Reilly’s outdoor register desk and shelter nestled against a rough-hewn log building, complete with canopy and guest ledger.

 

John James "J.J." Reilly (1838 - 1894) was one of Yosemite's most prolific and enduring resident landscape photographers. Setting up a dark tent and mobile studio in the Valley around 1870, Reilly documented both the majestic geological features of the Sierra Nevada and the colorful social scene surrounding James Mason Hutchings’ pioneering hotel enterprise. The inscribed June 1870 Hutchings' Hotel view represents an exceptional document of early California wilderness tourism.

 

[Stereoview, Stereocard, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, J.J. Reilly, John J. Reilly, Hutchings' Hotel, James Hutchings, Mirror Lake, Sentinel Rock, Clouds Rest, El Capitan, Guest Register, Early Tourism, Excursionists, Stockton, Western Americana, 19th Century Photography]

Very good condition overall. The albumen prints exhibit warm tones, strong contrast, and sharp detail, showing minor age-toning, faint scattered foxing, and light handling wear along the margins. Mounts remain flat, rigid, and structurally sound. 

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Jim Crain Collection.