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Up for sale is an incredibly rare, intact family photograph album and scrapbook documenting the prominent pioneering Gottschalk and Matthay families of Los Angeles, California. This archive offers a fascinating, multi-layered look into early Southern California civic life, historic regional photography, and late 19th-century firefighting history.
Multiple cabinet cards in this collection feature the highly desirable, original blue backstamp: "F. L. MATTHAY, PHOTO, LOS ANGELES."Ferdinand L. Matthay was a documented early Los Angeles photographer. Included in this album is a preserved newspaper feature from the Los Angeles Express celebrating the 65th wedding anniversary of his grandparents, Ferdinand Gottschalk (former Missouri State Senator and Iron Mountain railroad executive) and Marie Gill Gottschalk, who arrived in Los Angeles in 1881. This newspaper clipping directly links the photographer to the subjects, proving this album was meticulously curated by Matthay himself to preserve his family’s historic California legacy.
For firefighting enthusiasts, this album contains exceptional, sharp cabinet cards capturing the early days of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) outside an early station house:Horse-Drawn Steam Fire Pumper Engine: Features a beautiful, clear view of the vertical boiler, heavy ironwork, and engineering crew.Hose / Chemical Wagon: Captures the driver and station crew mounted on a classic early apparatus frame with station doors open behind them.Station Chief Buggy: Shows an officer and driver in a single-horse light buggy, used to rush to fire scenes ahead of heavy engines.
Beyond the firefighting pieces, the album captures early California leisure culture, including:Vintage Pier & Swimwear Photo: A fantastic group shot of family members posing in full-body Victorian wool swimsuits on the wet sand directly in front of an early Southern California ocean pier.Victorian Picnics & Homesteads: Images of large multi-generational gatherings dressed in late-19th-century formal attire enjoying outdoor picnics, as well as exterior shots of early pioneer structures and a decorated Victorian family residence with a wrap-around porch.
Please view photos for the condition. They have tape on the backs where some are connected.
