Item #6036 [Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf]. Victor H. Metcalf, compilers family.
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].
[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].

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Metcalf, Victor H. and family, compilers.

[Two photo albums documenting the personal and professional life of California politician and official Victor Metcalf].

San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., Mount Vernon, Va., Fort Myer, Va., Yosemite National Park, and many other locales, 1870s–1910s. 2 oblong 4to photo albums: 11” x 15”, black leather covers. 853 photographs (approx. 3” x 2” to 9.5” x 9”) mounted on black paper, 6 postcards; 10” x 13.5”, black leather covers, 97 photos (approx. 5.5” x 4” to 7” x 9”) mounted on black paper, 7 blank leaves. The majority of images captioned and dated. [with] an assortment of ephemeral items, from Hamilton College (5), Yale (53), Yale Law (45), University of the State of New York (1), fraternities (30), miscellaneous (8).

An important photo archive consisting of two substantive albums owned by California politician Victor H. Metcalf who served as Theodore Roosevelt’s Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and then as Secretary of the Navy, with content relating to Roosevelt’s wife Edith and son Quentin Roosevelt, Orville Wright’s world-record breaking and first public flight, California politics, the California scene, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, Yosemite National Park, and much more.

Born in Utica, New York, Victor Metcalf (1853–1936) entered Yale as an undergraduate in 1872, leaving in his junior year to attend the Yale Law School, from which he graduated in 1876. He practiced law briefly in Utica before moving to Oakland, California in 1879. While living in California, Metcalf—a Republican—was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving between 1899–1904 on the Naval Affairs and the Ways and Means Committees. He came in contact with President Theodore Roosevelt when he introduced legislation for the reclamation of arid lands. In 1904 Roosevelt appointed Metcalf Secretary of Commerce and Labor, sending him to San Francisco in 1905 to act as a mediator between the San Francisco school board and ninety-one Japanese students refused entry to public schools—and then again to San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake and fire to survey the damage. In Dec. 1906, Metcalf was appointed Secretary of the Navy and was in charge of the “Great White Fleet” world cruise in 1908. In Nov. 1908, he resigned due to poor health. He returned to Oakland and began practicing law again after a brief stint in banking.

Comprising over eight hundred photographs, these albums provide rich documentation of Metcalf’s personal and professional life.

Photos of particular interest include:

- Seven images of Orville Wright’s first public flight, at Fort Myer, Virginia, 3 Sept. 1908. The 500 spectators in attendance included Metcalf as Secretary of the Navy as well as President Theodore Roosevelt’s son Quentin (1897–1918). At the time these photos were taken, the Wrights had finally secured a U.S. Army contract for an airplane and this flight was intended to demonstrate that the plane met the Army’s specifications. The Wright military plane sailed over and around the parade ground at Fort Myer for fifty-seven minutes and thirty-one seconds—exceeding by more than twenty-six minutes the record set the previous Monday by Delagrange near Paris. The headline of the newspapers on 9 Sept. 1908 provided by United Press read, “Wright Breaks World Flying Records Today at Fort Myer, Va.” Two shots included here show a group of individuals gathered around Wright’s airplane before takeoff (both picturing Metcalf); three images show the plane in-flight; one shows a group watching the flight (including Metcalf and Secretary of War Luke E. Wright); and one shows the plane immediately after the flight.

- Four candid photos of Edith Roosevelt and her son Quentin at Mrs. Roosevelt’s picnic on the Potomac Canal for the launch of the Dolphin near Great Falls, Virginia, on 20 May 1905. Quentin Roosevelt was the youngest son of Teddy Roosevelt. During WWI Quentin joined the U.S. Army Air Service and served as a pilot. On 14 July 1918 he was killed in aerial combat over France, and to this day remains the only child of a U.S. President to die in combat. Although evidently not present in the photos taken at Fort Myer, it is known that Quentin was among the spectators, and it is not hard to imagine that this event made a lasting impression on him.

- Yosemite excursion including Governor George C. Pardee (1857–1941) and images of Christian Jorgensen’s studio in Yosemite National Park, June 1903. Living and working in Yosemite between 1900–1917, Jorgensen (1860–1935) was a Norwegian-born American landscape painter best known for his paintings of Yosemite Valley and the California Missions.

- Theodore Roosevelt parade in Oakland, CA, 14 May 1903, picturing Roosevelt in front of the Metcalf home, 1263 Harrison St., 14 May 1903. Taken during President Theodore Roosevelt's visit to San Francisco 12–14 May 1903 as part of his 1903 presidential tour of the West.

- Visit to Mount Vernon, Virginia with the Duke d’Abruzzi, including other foreign dignitaries (the Italian Ambassador des Planches, Vicomte de Martel, the French Naval Attache, et al.) and various International ship captains, there for the Jamestown Exposition, 21 May 1907. The Duke d’Abruzzi (1873–1933) was an Italian mountaineer and explorer, known for his Arctic explorations and mountaineering expeditions, particularly to Mount Saint Elias (Alaska–Yukon) and K2 (Pakistan–China). He also served as an Italian admiral during WWI.

- Cruise on the Presidential yacht U.S.S. Mayflower, which visited Naval Stations at Key West, Havana, Guantanamo, Nassau, Palm Beach, etc. Aboard were Secretary of the Navy, Truman H. Newberry, Admiral Washington Lee Capps and Capt. Charles E. Vreeland, 13 Feb. to 7 March 1907.

- The Republican Alliance of Oakland for Governor Henry Harrison Markham (1840–1923), before the torchlight parade, 1890. On 4 Nov. 1890, Markham was elected governor and on 8 Jan. 1891 was sworn into office.

- “San Francisco, April 18 1906. 1st day of the fire following Earthquake. On the edge of Chinatown, looking East.”

- Native Americans at Yosemite including the basketmaker Mary, June 1903.

Representative contents of album 1:

-Metcalf posing for his portrait by Oakland painter Richard Partington, the finished portrait, and the portrait hanging in the Navy Department in Washington D.C., July 1923.

- A party of California worthies in front of the Sentinel Hotel, Yosemite, Jan. 1924.

- A camp in the Adirondacks in 1874/75.

- Scenes of UC Berkeley in the 1870s.

- Miss Field’s Seminary, 423 Hobart Street, Oakland, 1874.

- Blithedale, Marin county, Fourth of July 1893.

- Metcalf and friends on Mt. Lowe excursion, 1895.

- Interior Bank of California, 1860s.

- Scenes near Sunol, Southern Alameda County, California, 1897.

- Nellie Chabot (for whom the telescope at Chabot Observatory is named) in 1897.

- Hettie Henshaw, daughter of Oakland pioneer Hiram Tubbs, 1896.

- Hunting scenes with sons Victor and Howard, 1896, 1897.

- Fabiola Flower Fete Oakland, May 1895 with decorated carriages.

-“The Roost,” Metcalf’s summer home, near Sunol, Summer 1896.

- The Metcalf family home on Harrison Street, Oakland, 1896.

- Cotter, Arkansas, hometown of William J. Metcalf, father of Victor, 1924.

- “Rustic” scenes of family and friends at “the Roost,” 1897.

- Women embroidering at Hettie Henshaw’s summer house, 1897.

- A strange photo of Alice Grimes in nightdress and wrapper pouring something down the sink, 1898.

- Oakland Attorney A. A. Moore’s house at Mission Hills (Mission Peak), Southern Alameda County, 1898.

- A. A. Moore dressed in a kimono, June 1898.

- McIver’s Coachman, an African-American man playing a guitar. C. C. McIver was a wealthy vintner, owner of an estate in Mission San Jose, in Southern Ameda County, July 1898.

- Del Rio, Stanislaus County and fruit vendors at Lafayette, both on the SP. Route, November 1899: A. A. Moore was legal counsel for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

- Boys in blackface with homemade “instruments,” Howard Metcalf, Harold Metcalf and Donald English, July 1900.

- Harold Metcalf dancing Sailors’ Hornpipe, 1900.

- Washington D.C., Annapolis and Utica NY, 1901.

- Victor (son) & Joe Kendall at the Roost, banjo and violin, 1901. Mare Island Navy Yard, May 16, 1901. Metcalf was on the House Naval Committee.

- Yellowstone Park scenery and fishing, July 1902.

- Members (in aprons) of the Rabbit Club, Philadelphia, all-male eating and social club, including Congressmen Fred H. Gillett of Massachusetts, Edward De Veaux Morrell of Pennsylvania, David B. Henderson of Iowa (Speaker of the House), and Metcalf, Third District California, 31 May 1902.

- Gertrude Gould in Japanese and ltalian costumes, July 1903.

- Howard in women’s bathing attire, Aug. 1903.

- Exterior and interior of Metcalf home, 1263 Harrison St., 1903.

- Ellis island and Annapolis, 1904, 1905.

- San Quentin, 1905.

- Washington D.C. and James River, Virginia, 1905.

- Canadian Pacific Railroad journey, July 1905.

- Portland Exposition interior showing painting of Metcalf as Secretary of Commerce & Labor, 1905.

- San Francisco Earthquake and fire on the edge of Chinatown, looking East, 18 Apr. 1906.

- Writer Albert G. Robinson (1855–1932), Washington, D.C.

- Fouts Springs, Colusa County scenery, hunting and fishing, 1906.

- House party at the Biltmore, including Minister Von Swinderen of the Netherlands and Miss Maud Pauncefote, daughter of Lord Pauncefote, May 1907.

- The Great White Fleet in San Francisco, including parade on Van Ness Avenue, 6 May 1908.

- Metcalf, as Sacretary of the Navy, reviewing the Fleet, 8 May 1908.

- Fleet parade on Broadway, Oakland, 9 May 1908.

- New house at 245 Perkins St., Oakland, Jan. 1910.

- The “Piranhurst” Estate (Nellie Chabot Bothin) and Tea Garden in Montecito, Feb. 1911.

- The “Mira Vista” Estate (Florence Henshaw, daughter of William G., the owner), Montecito, Sept. 1911. Eden Valley Ranch (W. G. Henshaw), Mendocino, May 1912.

- Chinese cook “Jim” and Siamese cats, Mira Vista, Aug. 1913.

- Banquet at the Hotel Oakland for Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, with Victor Metcalf presiding as President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1915.

Representative contents of album 2

- U.S.S. Dolphin, Gunboat for the Secretary of the Navy, 1906.

- Emily Corinne Nicholson, future wife of Victor Howard Metcalf, 1868–79.

- Metcalf home, 1263 Harrison Street, Oakland, 1898–1900.

- “The Roost” Metcalf cottage, near Sunol, Southern Alameda County, July 1900.

- Metcalf with Yale freshman winning crew Collegiate Regatta, Springfield, 1873.

- Metcalf at various ages.

- Crew, Russell’s Military Academy, New Haven.

- Metcalf at Mare Island, Naval Committee of the House of Representatives, 1901/02.

- Metcalf as Secretary of Commerce & Labor, 1 July 1904–17 Dec. 1906.

- President Theodore Roosevelt and Cabinet, including Victor H. Metcalf, 1906.

- Metcalf as Secretary of the Navy, December 17, 1906 to December 1.

- E. Corrine Metcalf at her graduation from Fields Seminary, Oakland, May 1879.

- E.C. Metcalf wedding photographs, April 11, 1882.

- E.C. Metcalf in gown for Roosevelt inaugural Ball, 1905.

Miscellaneous photos: various Oakland and Piedmont Social Register, Blue Book, and Country Club types. Metcalf family members, wife Emily Corinne, daughter Corinne, and sons Victor and Howard; water sports and recreation at Willow Lake, Southern Alameda County; young women in “Classical” costume.

Ephemera: most from Metcalf’s time at Yale (both the College and the Law School), dating 1872–76. The material falls into several different categories: Yale College, Yale Law School, the Yale Club of the Pacific Coast and various fraternities, including Delta Kappa Epsilon, of which Metcalf was a member. Yale material includes items related to Metcalf himself as well as invitations, tickets, announcements, etc. A small collection of ephemera relates to Metcalf’s time at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York and to the Utica Free Academy. Also included is a small group of miscellaneous items, not relating directly to Metcalf.

REFERENCES: Orville Wright Biography (1871–1948) at biography.com; Orville Wright Breaks World Flying Records at wrightstories.com; Victor H. Metcalf (1906–1908) at millercenter.org

CONDITION: Photos generally quite good and clean.

Item #6036

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