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George Robinson Fardon, born in Birmingham, England in 1807, arrived in San Francisco sometime around 1854, probably from New York City where he had worked as a commission merchant, a buyer and seller of goods on commission. Nothing is currently known about Fardon's photographic education and training. His first appearance relative to photographic history is in late 1854 when he occupies a vacated photographer's studio in San Francisco.
Though Fardon operated a portrait studio, he was known primarily for his views. Indeed, the Photographic and Fine Art Journal called the daguerreotypes on his studio walls "not good". His views, on the other hand, they considered "beautiful specimens of the Art.".
Fardon left San Francisco in 1858, following the gold rush to British Columbia. Here, in Victoria, he operated a studio, but again it was his views that attracted notice. The London Illustrated News reproduced a wood engraving of the city of Victoria in its January 14, 1863 issue that was based on Fardon's panorama on display at the 1862 international exposition in London.
In 1871 Fardon went to Oakland, CA. to work in partnership with William H. Bluett. His stay was brief, however, and he returned to Victoria, where he died in 1886. [Information from Eastman House.
The album consists of thirty images of San Francisco in 1856, published as a portfolio by Herre & Bauer. The San Francisco album is considered the first published compilation of photographs of any American city and the major work of Fardon's career. This is one of ten known variant copies.