Descriptive Summary
UUS_P0002
Gisbert Bossard/Max Florence photograph collection
1908-1912
Bossard, Gisbert Ludolf, 1890-1975
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives
Photograph Collections
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-3000
Phone: 435 797-8248
Fax: 435 797-2880
Email: scweb@usu.edu
2 boxes
1.25 linear ft.
The Gisbert Bossard/Max Florence Collection
consists of about 60 glass lantern slides and 56 black and white images used by Max Florence for a series of
lectures he delivered in New York City in 1911. Included in the images are rare
interiors of the Salt Lake Mormon Temple taken by Gisbert Ludolf Gerhart Bossard.
Bossard was a Swiss convert to Mormonism who fell out with the church in 1911 and took these
pictures as a form of revenge. He gave the images to Max Florence who tried
to sell them in New York City. Florence was not able to find a buyer and after the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) published the book "The House of the
Lord," with better quality interiors of the temple in 1912, the issue became moot.
The other views consist of Salt Lake City, Utah politicians and boosters such as
Florence and Samuel Newhouse, and views of a streetcar in front of several buildings.
Some of these images were taken by Charles Ellis Johnson. Box 2 also includes a typed letter from Bossard to
Florence, dated September 1913, in which the author details elements of his plan to recover some money despite
the introduction of the book "The House of the Lord," which Bossard readily admits ruined the value of his photos.
Material in English.
Processed in 2001 and 2014
Donated to Special Collections by Gordon Van Fleet in 1991.
Restrictions
No restrictions on use except: not available through interlibrary loan.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Gisbert Bossard/Max Florence photograph collection must be obtained from the
Special Collections Photograph Curator
and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Initial Citation: P0002; Gisbert Bossard/Max Florence
photograph collection; Photograph Collections; Utah State University Special
Collections and Archives, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University.
Following Citations: P0002, USUSC.
Biographical Note
Max Florence was born in 1865 to Russian-Jewish parents in Latvia. He moved to
America when he was nineteen and made his way West. Eventually he ended up in Salt
Lake City where he owned several motion picture theaters and the Florence Film
Exchange. He apparently sold these businesses in 1911 or 1912. After 1911 he ran a
restaurant, owned an express truck, and marketed alcohol during prohibition. After
serving a sentence in prison for conspiracy to transport contraband liquor, he moved
to Farmington, Utah. He died of cancer in 1932. Gordon Van Fleet purchased the
Florence home after a fire in 1944 and discovered the hidden slides. Mr. Van Fleet
donated the images to Special Collections in 1991.
The Gisbert Bossard/Max Florence Collection consists of about 60 glass lantern slides
and 56 black and white images used by Max Florence for a series of lectures he delivered in New York City in 1911.
Included in the slides are rare interiors of the Salt Lake Mormon Temple by Gisbert
Ludolf Gerhart Bossard. Bossard was a Swiss convert to Mormonism who fell out with
the church and took these pictures as a form of revenge in 1911. He gave the images
to Max Florence who tried to sell them in New York City. Florence was not able to
find a buyer and after the LDS Church published "The House of the Lord," with better
quality interiors of the temple in 1912, the issue became moot. The other views
consist of American Presidents, a woman behind bars with the caption "The White
Slave" across it, Salt Lake politicians and boosters such as Florence and Samuel
Newhouse, views of a streetcar in front of several buildings including the Elite
Theatre and the Tribune building, portraits of LDS Church leaders, the Florence Film
Exchange, the Elite Theatre, and the Luna Theatre. Some of these images were taken
by Charles Ellis Johnson. Box 2 also includes a typed letter from Bossard to
Florence, dated September 1913, in which the author details elements of his plan to recover some money despite
the introduction of the book "The House of the Lord," which Bossard readily admits ruined the value of his photos.
Arranged in numeric sequence according to box and item.
Gordon Van Fleet purchased a home previously owned by Max Florence after a fire in
1944 and discovered the hidden slides. Mr. Van Fleet donated the images to Special
Collections in 1991.
The description listed next to each image is transcribed directly from the
information written on the envelope containing each lantern slide. The physical
condition of the slides is generally good, although some have small cracks. The black and white images exhibit no
descriptions except on two of the images, which are in Bossard's cursive script and written, presumably, in his native language.
These descriptions are not recreated here; instead, the locations within the temple depicted in the photos are included.
Mormonism
Railroads
Electric railroads -- Utah -- Salt Lake City -- Cars.
Images
Architecture
Mormon temples -- Utah -- Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake Temple -- Pictorial works.
Bossard, Gisbert Ludolf, 1890-1975
Bossard, Gisbert Ludolf, 1890-1975
Mormon temples -- Utah -- Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake Temple -- Pictorial works.
Bossard, Gisbert Ludolf, 1890-1975
Newhouse, Samuel I. -- Portraits.
Newhouse, Florence -- Portraits.
Salt Lake City (Utah) -- Photographs.
Photographs
Container List
1
1
Glass Slides
1908-1912
01:01:01
1
1
William Jennings Bryan
1908-1912
01:01:02
1
1
George Q. Cannon
1908-1912
01:01:03
1
1
Max Florence, captioned "Doing the Best I Can"
1908-1912
01:01:04
1
1
Max Florence, captioned "A Salt Lake Booster"
1908-1912
01:01:05
1
1
Max Florence and unidentified friend, captioned: "Two Little Boosters - Max Florence and his College Chum"
1908-1912
01:01:06
1
1
J.W. Kern
1908-1912
01:01:07
1
1
Jesse William Knight, Democratic candidate for Governor of Utah
1908-1912
01:01:08
1
1
Francis M. Lyman
1908-1912
01:01:08a
1
1
Francis M. Lyman
1908-1912
01:01:09
1
1
Samuel Newhouse
1908-1912
01:01:10
1
1
Samuel Newhouse
1908-1912
01:01:11
1
1
Samuel Newhouse, captioned: "A Real Live 'Utah Booster'"
1908-1912
01:01:12
1
1
Samuel Newhouse, captioned: "The Father of the Salt Lake Sky-Scrapers"
1908-1912
01:01:13
1
1
President Theodore Roosevelt
1908-1912
01:01:14
1
1
William Spry, Republican candidate for Governor of Utah
1908-1912
01:01:15
1
1
J.S. Sherman
1908-1912
01:01:16
1
1
R.G. Sleater, candidate for U.S. Representative of Utah
1908-1912
01:01:17
1
1
Erastus Snow
1908-1912
01:01:18
1
1
Lorenzo Snow
1908-1912
01:01:19
1
1
President William H. Taft
1908-1912
01:01:20
1
1
Margaret Zane Witcher, Republican candidate for Slate Lake County Clerk
1908-1912
01:01:21
1
1
William Jennings Bryan
1908-1912
01:01:22
1
1
Interior of the Florence Film Exchange in the rear of the Luna Theatre
1908-1912
01:01:23
1
1
Interior of the Florence Film Exchange
1908-1912
01:01:24
1
1
Interior of the Florence Film Exchange
1908-1912
01:01:25
1
1
Business office of the Florence Film Exchange
1908-1912
01:01:26
1
1
Interior of the business office of the Florence Film Exchange
1908-1912
01:01:27
1
1
Streetcar in front of the Elite Theatre captioned "The Max Florence Special Starting from the Elite Theatre"
1908-1912
01:01:28
1
1
Streetcar in front of the U.S. Post Office
1908-1912
01:01:29
1
1
Streetcar in front of the Tribune building
1908-1912
01:01:30
1
1
Streetcar in front of the Herald Office
1908-1912
01:01:31
1
1
Streetcar in front of Freed Furniture and Carpet
1908-1912
01:01:32
1
1
Streetcar and riders, top of Elite Theatre in background
1908-1912
01:01:33
1
1
The Ladies G.A.R. Military Band posed with their instruments in front of the Elite Theatre (copy negatives only)
1908-1912
01:01:34
1
1
The American Drum Corps posed with their instruments in front of the Elite Theatre
1908-1912
01:01:34a
1
1
Streetcar in front of the Brigham Young Monument, looking northwest, LDS Temple in background
1908-1912
01:01:35
1
1
Exterior of the William C. Staines Conservatory, Mormon Temple barely visible in the background
1908-1912
01:01:36
1
1
Probably the interior of Brigham Young's office in the Lion House
1908-1912
01:01:37
1
1
Probably the interior of Brigham Young's office in the Lion House
1908-1912
01:01:38
1
1
Exterior of the Bureau of Information building
1908-1912
01:01:39
1
1
View of the Mormon Temple looking northwest (photo by A.J. Clapham)
1908-1912
01:01:40
1
1
View from the roof of the Mormon Temple includes a protion of the northeastern spire in the foreground, Hotel Utah in the background
1908-1912
01:01:41
1
1
Close-up of an exterior wall of the ground floor of the Mormon Temple
1908-1912
01:01:42
1
1
Views of the Terrestrial Room of the Mormon Temple
1908-1912
01:01:43
1
1
Room with altar and witness chairs, Mormon Temple
1908-1912
01:01:44
1
1
Views of the Terrestrial Room of the Mormon Temple
1908-1912
01:01:45
1
1
Enactment of a temple ceremony, one man in temple robes and another in street clothes, unidentified room in the Mormon Temple
1908-1912
01:01:46
1
1
An illustration of a woman behind bars with the caption "The White Slave" across it
1908-1912
01:01:47
1
1
Enactment of a temple ceremony, one man in temple robes and another in street cloethes, unidentified room in the Mormon Temple
1908-1912
01:01:48
1
1
An illustration of a woman behind bars with the caption "The White Slave" across it
1908-1912
01:01:49
1
1
Introductory slide reading "Good Afternoon"
1908-1912
01:01:50
1
1
Ending slide reading "Good Night"
1908-1912
01:01:51
1
1
Slide reading "Change of Program Wednesday and Sunday"
1908-1912
01:01:52
1
1
Illustration of a train caboose with a blank space, reads "Rocky Mountain Limited" at the bottom
1908-1912
01:01:53
1
1
A forty-six star American flag
1908-1912
01:01:54
1
1
The British flag
1908-1912
01:01:55
1
1
The British flag
1908-1912
01:01:56
1
1
The German flag
1908-1912
01:01:57
1
1
The German flag
1908-1912
01:01:58
1
1
The Swedish flag
1908-1912
01:01:59
1
1
The Swedish flag
1908-1912
01:01:60
1
1
The Swiss flag
1908-1912
01:01:61
1
1
The Swiss flag
1908-1912
2
1
Black and White Images
1911
02:01:01
2
1
Baptismal font, taken through railing, low, looking at oxen
1911
02:01:02
2
1
Baptismal font, view of access stairway, low
1911
02:01:03
2
1
Baptismal font, taken through railing, low, looking at oxen; back says, “Mormon Temple Series (interior) No.4”
1911
02:01:04
2
1
Baptismal font, view of access stairway, low
1911
02:01:05
2
1
Northwest corner of main assembly room
1911
02:01:06
2
1
Main assembly room, west end showing Aaronic Priesthood archway
1911
02:01:07
2
1
Main assembly room, east end showing Melchizedek Archway
1911
02:01:08
2
1
Main assembly room, east end showing Melchizedek Archway
1911
02:01:09
2
1
Basement level Creation Room, showing door leading into Garden Room
1911
02:01:10
2
1
Basement level Creation Room, showing door leading into Garden Room
1911
02:01:11
2
1
Location unknown, showing carved molding in detail
1911
02:01:12
2
1
Garden Room, very poor exposure
1911
02:01:13
2
1
From roof looking west
1911
02:01:14
2
1
From roof looking west; domed roof of Hotel Utah visible
1911
02:01:15
2
1
From roof looking west; domed roof of Hotel Utah visible
1911
02:01:16
2
1
From North Temple Street looking southeast; showing Annex (left) and Staines Conservatory (center). Temple in background
1911
02:01:17
2
1
Telestial Room, showing murals on wall
1911
02:01:18
2
1
Telestial Room, showing murals on wall; with doorway leading in
1911
02:01:19
2
1
Telestial Room, showing murals on wall; looking to back of room
1911
02:01:20
2
1
Telestial Room, showing murals on wall; with doorway to Terrestrial Room
1911
02:01:21
2
1
Garden Room, showing archway exit to Grand Staircase Hallway
1911
02:01:22
2
1
Creation Room, showing murals on wall
1911
02:01:23
2
1
Garden Room, showing archway exit to Grand Staircase Hallway
1911
02:01:24
2
1
Garden Room, showing mural in northeast corner
1911
02:01:25
2
1
Office room, showing bookcases, probably in Beehive house
1911
02:01:26
2
1
Beehive house, southeast corner room of main floor
1911
02:01:27
2
1
Third floor, Council Room looking towards east wall, showing two chairs
1911
02:01:28
2
1
Second floor, reception room south of east sealing room, looking south
1911
02:01:29
2
1
Third floor, inside council room, showing desk near circular portal window
1911
02:01:30
2
1
Close view of wall painting, poor exposure
1911
02:01:31
2
1
Entrance to Staines Conservatory
1911
02:01:32
2
1
Doomed roof of Holy of Holies, from 3rd floor
1911
02:01:33
2
1
Sheathed sword near Garden Room
1911
02:01:34
2
1
Statuary of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, from behind
1911
02:01:35
2
1
Sheathed sword near Garden Room
1911
02:01:36
2
1
Closer view of Smith statue engraving, illegible
1911
02:01:37
2
1
High council room looking south towards memorial window
1911
02:01:38
2
1
Beehive house
1911
02:01:39
2
1
Office room, showing bookcases, probably in Beehive house
1911
02:01:40
2
1
Beehive house
1911
02:01:41
2
1
First floor, Washing and anointing station
1911
02:01:42
2
1
Third floor, council room looking southeast
1911
02:01:43
2
1
Second floor, showing furniture in celestial room
1911
02:01:44
2
1
Poor exposure, location unknown
1911
02:01:45
2
1
Second floor, east sealing room
1911
02:01:46
2
1
Celestial room looking south
1911
02:01:47
2
1
Altar in Garden room
1911
02:01:48
2
1
Second floor, telestial room showing door to terrestrial room and stairway from west hall
1911
02:01:49
2
1
Exterior, entrance to Garden room
1911
02:01:50
2
1
Exterior, east face
1911
02:01:51
2
1
Skylights above underground passage to old annex
1911
02:01:52
2
1
Exterior, southwest corner of old annex
1911
02:01:53
2
1
Main street, people walking
1911
02:01:54
2
1
Front of old annex
1911
02:01:55
2
1
Unidentified young girl
1911
02:01:56
2
1
Exterior of assembly hall, front entrance, crowd moving in and out
1911
2
2
Letter from Bossard to Florence, 11 September 1913
September 1913
02:02:01
2
2
Letter from Bossard to Florence, dated 11 September 1913, detailing plans and arrangements in wake of publication of "The House of the Lord"
1913