Rarely Seen Version of Familiar Photo Reveals Clearer Picture of Emperor Norton
Several years ago, I paid my first visit to the North Baker Research Library at the California Historical Society to view the Society’s collection of photographs of Emperor Norton.
I was required to put on rubber gloves before going through the photos. But, I was quickly surprised to see that the artifacts themselves, including original, sometimes one-of-a-kind cabinet cards and cartes de visite from the Emperor’s lifetime, were stashed — sometimes in separate envelopes, sometimes not — as a fistful of undifferentiated items in an unsealed manila folder.
The unfortunate reality is that, even when the institutions or, as the case may be, private collectors who hold the photographs of Emperor Norton that were were produced in the 1860s and ‘70s — even when these owners and stewards have exercised the minimum due diligence of storing the photos in climate-controlled rooms away from light, these 140- to 160-year-old artifacts have not benefited from the best practices of historical preservation. As a result, time has taken more of a toll on the photos than it should have done.
Another factor: Many of the most commonly seen versions of the extant photographs of the Emperor are the ones that appeared in a book, Forgotten Characters of Old San Francisco, published in 1964 by The Ward Ritchie Press.
The book features a gallery of photographs of Emperor Norton, with a variety of contributing institutions represented across the individual photo credits. It’s reasonable to guess that some of the source photographs were original from the Emperor’s day. It’s possible that some of the photos may be reproduced from later reprints.
What seems clear is that, at some point, most of the photographs of Emperor Norton that appeared in this book were produced — or reproduced — with a too-hot contrast level that may have highlighted certain details at the expense of others.
For example. Here is our scan of a Bradley & Rulofson photograph of the Emperor that appears in the Ward Ritchie book. Credited in the book as being from the collection of the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, it’s the ubiquitous version of this photo.
Emperor Norton, mid to late 1870s, by Bradley & Rulofson studio. Collection of the Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley.
Certainly, the dark tone of the photograph adds to the mood. But, notice that Emperor Norton’s eyes practically disappear into their own sockets and that his mouth is totally obscured by his beard. One is left to guess at what the actual shape of the Emperor’s mouth and lips might even be.
So, it was a treat yesterday to, shall we say, “focus anew” on the following rarely seen version of the same photograph.
Emperor Norton, mid to late 1870s, by Bradley & Rulofson studio. This version of the photograph appears in Fred R. Marckhoff, “Norton I of California,” Calcoin News, vol. 15, no. 3, summer 1961, p.90. (Click on the photo to open in a new window, and click again to enlarge.) Source: Newman Numismatic Portal.
Cover of Calcoin News, vol. 15, no. 3, Summer 1961, showing the lead story, “Norton I of California.”
This version of the photograph appears in a 1961 article by Fred R. Marckhoff that was published in Calcoin News, the quarterly journal of the California State Numismatic Association — numismatics being the study of coins and currency.
The article is something of a classic amongst those in the numismatics world who follow and collect Emperor Norton’s promissory notes; Marckhoff was the first to codify the many different types and variations of notes issued by The Imperial Government if Norton I.
But, the 60-year-old article — and the photograph of the Emperor that accompanies it — is tucked away in a digital numismatics archive that few who are not aficionados of historical currency and coins would find reason to visit.
And, look at that photograph! It’s brighter and so much more balanced than the version that appeared three years later in the Ward Ritchie book. One can see the ratio of salt to pepper in the Emperor’s beard; the expression in his eyes; and, yes, the look and shape of his mouth. (Be sure to click on the photo to open it in a new window, then click again to enlarge to its full 1,742 x 2,230 glory!)
Marckhoff credited the photo as having been “published through courtesy of Ralph Mitchell.” By 1961, Ralph A. Mitchell (1903–1991) was something of a graybeard in numismatic circles, having served as an officer of national and state numismatics orgs from the 1930s to 1950s. He went on to co-author a number of books in numismatics that became standard reference texts for historians and collectors.
Maybe the Norton photograph was in Mitchell’s collection?
It’s a revelation.
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A quick postscript…
In 1879, Addie Ballou painted the only portrait of Emperor Norton that he is known to have sat for himself. Ballou’s account of the experience is included in the Ward Ritchie book.
The portrait has a certain folk art quality and is a little two-dimensional. I often have wondered: Did the Emperor’s mouth really look like this?
In light of Ralph Mitchell’s photograph, the answer, it seems, is Yes.
Painting, 1879, by Addie Ballou (1838–1916). This is the only portrait for which Emperor Norton is known to have sat personally. Source: Society of California Pioneers
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