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Mary M. Marks photograph collection., 1890-1910

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Marks, Mary M.
Title
Mary M. Marks photograph collection.
Dates
1890-1910 (inclusive)
Quantity
11 Boxes, (7.5 linear feet)
Collection Number
UUS_P0597
Summary
The Mary M. Marks photograph collection consists of approximately 301 glass plate negatives (with modern paper prints) and 24 prints without negatives. The images are from the Oro Grande Placer Mine and the Gold Pan Mining Company on the Blue and Snake Rivers in Colorado and include mining pits, dredges, flumes, ditches, and surveying/engineering parties. Other images are of railroad depots and homes in Summit County Colorado (Breckenridge and Dillon). Also included are images of Mary, her friends Allice Miller and Kate Schwalback, and her husband John. Rounding out the collection are two oversize boxes with negatives of maps of Colorado, and mining engineering plans.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Mary M. Marks (also called Lennie or Lena) was an amatuer photographer who married John H Marks in 1894, a mining and civil engineer. Mary followed her husband on various mining projects in Colorado. She was born in Wisconsin to German parents in 1862. There is no evidence that she was a professional photographer beyond these images of the Oro Grande and Gold Pan mining companies. She did not appear to have any children. Mary and John were living in Denver Colorado in 1941.

John Marks (born in 1859 in Oregon) worked as a mining, civil, and railroad engineer mostly in Colorado, but also in New Mexico, Nevada, and Wyoming from the 1890s to the 1940s. In addition to his work on the Oro Grande and Gold Pan, he was also involved with the Red Mountain Gold and Silver Mining Company, the Hagerman Development Company, the Gallegos and Bueyeros Reservoirs in New Mexico, the Fortune Placer Mines, and the Pioneer Irrigation Company of Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. He began his career as a US Deputy Mineral Surveyor in Aspen, Colorado.

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Historical Note

The Oro Grande Placer Mining Company started in the Blue River Valley of Colorado on 2000 acres of riverbed and gravel. The Gold Pan Mining Company was located in Breckenridge Colorado and operated from 1902-1904. Dredge mining was meant to be the method for excavation. However, the mine was not as profitable as originally expected. Mary Marks was the company photographer and John H Marks was the mining engineer. The pit for this mine took two years to build, and operated for a little over two years. For both companies, the lack of water, which was needed to mine the gold, during winter as well as a lack of gold to pay for operations eventually led to the closing of both mines. There were, however, some innovative hydraulic features which were later acquired by the Summit County Power Company.

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Content Description

The Mary M. Marks photograph collection consists of approximately 301 glass plate negatives (with modern paper prints) and 24 prints without negatives. The images are from the Oro Grande Placer Mine and the Gold Pan Mining Company and include mining pits, dredges, flumes, and various other mining operations. Other images are of railroad depots and homes in Summit County Colorado (Breckenridge and Dillon), as well as the Snake River. Also included are photographs of Mary Marks's friends especially Allice Miller, Kate Schwalbach, and Mary's husband John H Marks. Also part of the ecollection are two oversize boxes with maps and engineering plans for different mines and portions of Colorado. Some of her photographs were used in mining prospectus publications. She documented the mining, prospecting, and machinery, but also focused on artistic and aesthetic elements of the photography and included men and women in her photographs of the Colorado mining. In her photography, Mary Marks climbed to the top of observation platforms, and down into the mining pits. Some photographs were taken with a 4x5 view camera while others were taken with a larger frame. From what is known, Marks did not label the negatives themselves, but would label their envelopes and coverings.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Mary M Marks photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

Initial Citation: USU_P0597; Mary M Marks photograph collection; Photograph Collections Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.

Following Citations:USU_P0597, USUSCA.

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Administrative Information

Processing Note

Processed in November of 2015

Acquisition Information

purchased from Back of Beyond Books 2015

Custodial History

The collection was acquired from Back of Beyond Books who acquired it from a colorado dealer who purchased it from the estate of Francis Rizzari who was a well known Colorado photograph collector and local historian. Rizzari purchased them directly from John Marks who identified his wife Mary as the photographer. Sources: Brian Levine, Mt. Gothic Tomes and Reliquary; Maureen Nicholls, Gold Pan Mining Company, 1994.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Mine railroads--Colorado--Photographs.
  • Mines and Minteral Resources--Photographs.
  • Railroads--Colorado--Photographs.

Finding aid/Register created by Risha Price
2015

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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