When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway — Historical Photographic & Publicity Archive
An unusual collection of historical Santa Fe Railway photographic and promotional material, preserved with its original March 16, 1971, corporate correspondence and mailing envelope.
The collection was sent by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Public Relations Department in Chicago to Michael L. Autorino of Studio Forty-Five Films, Montclair, New Jersey, following his request for historical material for a proposed film concerning the steam era of American railroading.
The accompanying letter, signed by Santa Fe Public Relations Manager Bill Burk, specifically refers to the enclosed historical photographs and posters, providing valuable documentary provenance for the collection.
Important note regarding photographic age: These are later photographic reproductions of much earlier historical images, rather than original nineteenth-century photographic prints. They are believed to be vintage archival copy prints produced around or before 1971 and supplied through the Santa Fe Railway\'s Public Relations Department.
The collection includes:
1. First Santa Fe Train into Woodward, Oklahoma
Santa Fe archival photograph No. 51-28, showing an early steam locomotive and passenger train surrounded by a large gathering of people.
The original railway caption identifies the scene as the first Santa Fe train entering Woodward, Oklahoma, when the railroad was known as the Pecos Valley and Northeastern.
2. Wells Fargo Express — Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory
Santa Fe archival photograph No. 1-107, depicting a heavily loaded Wells Fargo & Co. Express wagon and a group of employees outside a railroad depot.
The historical inscription identifies the scene as the first trainload of express freight received at Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory. Visible depot signage includes \"Ticket Office\" and \"Waiting Room.\"
An appealing early Western transportation scene documenting railroad commerce and express freight operations in territorial Oklahoma.
3. Knowles Bridge Camp — Johnson Canyon, Arizona
Santa Fe archival photograph No. 1-127, depicting a historical Western camp with men, horses, wagons, and temporary structures in a wooded landscape.
Identified by the railway\'s original archival caption as Knowles Bridge Camp at Johnson Canyon, Arizona.
4. Nebraska Pioneer Sod House — Sylvester Rawding Family
Santa Fe archival photograph No. 1-23, captioned \"Sod house on the Western Plains.\"
The historical image has been identified as the Sylvester Rawding family homestead in Custer County, Nebraska, photographed in 1886 by pioneer photographer Solomon D. Butcher.
The remarkable scene shows a family posed outside their sod house, with horses and a cow appearing to stand on the roof.
5. \"Ho! For the New Kansas\" — Historical Railroad Land Advertisement
An impressive reproduction of a nineteenth-century Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad land promotion, advertising farms and homesteads along the Cottonwood and Arkansas valleys of southwestern Kansas.
The original advertising text dates to approximately the mid-1870s and promotes agricultural settlement, favorable climate, stock raising, and land purchase terms.
The advertisement names A. S. Johnson, Acting Land Commissioner, Topeka, Kansas, and references the anticipated completion of the railway to Pueblo, Colorado, by November 1, 1875.
An interesting example of the railroad\'s role in encouraging settlement and development of the American West.
6. Original Santa Fe Railway Letter — March 16, 1971
Original letter on official Santa Fe Railway Public Relations Department stationery, addressed to Michael L. Autorino of Studio Forty-Five Films in Montclair, New Jersey.
Signed by Bill Burk, Manager of Public Relations, the letter explains that the railway was supplying historical photographs and posters for possible use in a film about steam-era railroading.
The letter also mentions the railway\'s extensive collection of historical materials.
7. Original Santa Fe Railway Mailing Envelope
Original large mailing envelope with Santa Fe Railway Public Relations Department return address, illustrated Santa Fe mailing label, First Class designation, postage-meter marking, and the recipient\'s Montclair, New Jersey address.
The envelope bears the handwritten identification \"Santa Fe Info.\"
Historical Significance & Provenance
This collection combines early railroad history, Wells Fargo express transportation, Oklahoma Territory commerce, Arizona railroad camps, Nebraska pioneer settlement, and Kansas railroad land promotion.
The historical subjects date primarily to the nineteenth century. The physical photographic prints are believed to be later archival reproductions distributed by the Santa Fe Railway around 1971, rather than original nineteenth-century photographic prints.
The original signed correspondence and addressed mailing envelope provide documented corporate provenance and have remained associated with the collection.
All seven components are included together as one historical archive.
An appealing group for collectors of Santa Fe Railway memorabilia, railroad photography, Western Americana, Wells Fargo history, Oklahoma Territory, and historical railroad ephemera.
Please review all photographs for condition, identification labels, and contents.
