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William Babcock photograph album collection, approximately 1894-1896

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Babcock, William, 1851-1918
Title
William Babcock photograph album collection
Dates
approximately 1894-1896 (inclusive)
Quantity
176 photographic prints in 2 albums (2 boxes) ; Sizes vary
Collection Number
PH0180
Summary
Photographs of trips to India and Europe
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

William Babcock (1851-1918) was a prominent businessman and well known in the financial circles in San Francisco, California. He was president of the Security Savings Bank, as well as a director in several other concerns. He also owned real estate, including his home in San Rafael, California. His estate in San Rafael was built for him and his first wife Helena Bedington. Sadly, Helena, as well as their children, all died before 1895. In addition to his business acumen, William Babcock was widely known as a philanthropist. He was a member of the Pacific Union, Bohemian, University, Olympic and Francisca clubs of San Francisco, and the University Club of New York. His name can be found on Social Registers of both New York and San Francisco of the time. He was an active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael. Babcock was keenly interest horticulture. He often searched for interesting specimens to add to his home and greenhouse, some of which he found during his many trips abroad with his 2nd wife, Julia May.

He met his second wife, the widow Mrs. Julia May Bech (Beck) (1865-1954), while traveling abroad. It is said that they met and married on the same trip. Other articles indicate that they married in New London Connecticut on July 20, 1895. They spent the following winter of 1895 and 1896, abroad. It is believed that the photo album Wanderings 1895-1896 is a chronicle of this trip, which may have been their honeymoon.

Julia May Babcock moved with her new husband, William, to his 50 acre Estate, called Edgehill, after their marriage. She is credited with taking his large, but simple original home and turning it into the Queen Anne showcase that has recently been restored to its original grandeur by the Dominican University of California. On the estate were many beloved dachshunds, bloodline horses and greenhouses. While William sought out new specimens for his greenhouse on his trips abroad, Julia brought back antiques, art, and glassware to fill the home. Many of her priceless artifacts are now at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum.

Like William, Julia became a prominent figure in San Rafael. She was an active member of the Catholic Church, contributing to the St. Vincent’s School for Boys as well as to St. Raphael’s Church and Dominican College. She was interested in politics, actively campaigned, and was a Democrat. She also enjoyed reading and frequented the San Francisco Public Library. Both William and Julia enjoyed music and were often known to attend the symphony.

Perhaps, however, Julia May Babcock will be most remembered for her final act of philanthropy. Julia inherited her husband’s entire fortune upon his death. Before her death, she worked with advisors to set up and fund the William Babcock Memorial Foundation, explicitly for helping people of Marin County with the cost of health care.

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Historical Background

The elite class began taking Grand Tours in the late 16th century. Young aristocrats would tour through cities in Europe, such as Paris, Venice and Rome to enhance their classical education. They would return with souvenirs and a greater understanding of art and architecture. In the beginning these tours were taken by males accompanied by a companion. Later, women also traveled, with female companions, on Grand Tours. Because these trips were costly, and would last months or sometimes years, only the privileged class would participate. As time passed, these Grand Tours grew in scope to include the Holy Land and other exotic places.

In the mid 19th century, the advent of the railroad made leisure travel more accessible to the middle class. During the same time period, Thomas Cook established tourism, creating tours similar to the Grand Tour affordable to many more people.

Also in the mid 19th century, photography had grown into a new and exciting career opportunity. Advancements in photographic processing created the ability to make prints from glass negatives, which, in turn, allowed for the actual development of prints to be a more mobile process. Because of these evolutionary techniques, photographers such as Samuel Bourne, whose photos can be seen in this collection, traveled to exotic locals producing memorable photographs. To help support the photographer’s travels and to promote their business, they sold their photographic prints to the new group of travelers. These same travelers would then create albums of their travels; a souvenir of their “Grand Tour.” Once home, the travelers would display their albums, which both elicited conversation, and stood as a testament to their wealth.

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Content Description

These two photograph albums, which probably belonged to San Francisco businessman William Babcock, journal two different “Grand Tours”, one to Europe and India, and one to just India. The albums contain commercial photographs of places of interest in Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Egypt, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), England, and India. At least thirteen different photographers, or photographic companies, are represented in this collection including Bosetti, Photoglob, ND Phot, Scowen & Co., Bourne & Shepherd (aslo known as Bourne or B&S), Skeen and Co., Schroeder & Co., and J.V.(James Valentine). Some of the many places of interest include The Rock of Gibralter, Lake Como, The Alps, The Champs-Elysees, The Grand Canal in Venice, The Nuremburg Castle, The Szechenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest, The Prague Castle, Monte Carlo Casino, The Suez Canal, The Acharya Jagadish Chandr Base Indian Botanic Garden, elephants in Ceylon, Darjeeling tea plantations, The Amber Fort Palace and Westminster Abbey.

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Other Descriptive Information

The majority of the photographs in these albums are commercial, stock photographs taken by a variety of photographers. For several photos, a specific date is known. All other dates are based on the date of the compilation of the photograph album, rather than the actual date the photograph was taken.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Processing Note

Processed by Josh Sundermeyer, 2016; Jean Hannah, 2017.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Grand tours (Education)
  • Railroads--India--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Babcock, William, 1851-1918--Archives

Geographical Names

  • Alps--Photographs
  • Gibraltar--Photographs
  • India--Photographs
  • Italy--Photographs
  • Kolkata (India)--Photographs
  • Liverpool (England)--Photographs
  • London (England)--Photographs
  • Mumbai (India)--Photographs
  • Nice (France)--Photographs
  • Sri Lanka--Photographs
  • Suez (Egypt)--Photographs

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Bourne & Shepherd, (photographer)
    • Editions Photoglob, Schroeder & Cie, (photographer)
    • F. Skeen & Co., (photographer)
    • Scowen & Co., (photographer)


2008 (Last modified: 7/12/2024)

CC0

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