EMPEROR NORTON :: Photographs
There appear to be only 17 extant different photographs (or stereographs) of Emperor Norton — one from c.1851, during his time as a successful businessman in San Francisco; the others, from various times during his reign as Emperor.
The photographs and stereographs rarely are collected all in one place. Here they are, in the best chronological order we’ve been able to determine so far.
Click on each photo for a larger version.
Scroll down for descriptions. Scroll further for a couple of disputed photos; details about these are appreciated.
Row 1 (l to r)
(a) Joshua Abraham Norton, c.1851. Photographer unknown. This is believed to be Joshua’s official member photo for the first San Francisco Committee of Vigilance (1851). Collection of The Society of California Pioneers.
(b) Emperor Norton, c.1859–60. Photographer unknown. The only photograph of him as Emperor sans epaulettes, suggesting that it is the earliest of the Emperor Norton photos. Probably taken between late September 1859 and late May 1860. To learn more, see our October 2020 article. Collection of the Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley.
(c)-(d) Emperor Norton, probably 1867, by Bradley & Rulofson studio. Probably from the same sitting. For our analysis of the date of these two photographs, see our March 2024 article.
(c) Collection of the Wells Fargo Museum.
(d) Carte de visite, 4” x 2½”. Collection of the California State Library.
Row 2 (l to r)
(a)-(d) Emperor Norton, early March 1869. Two photographs by Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904), taken in front of the fourth Mechanics' Pavilion, at the northwest corner of Stockton and Geary Streets, San Francisco, during a “velocipedestrian training school” that was held at Pavilion starting in early February 1869. Note the scrap of paper, bottom right, inscribed with the word "Helios." This was the name of Muybridge's studio. A front-page item in the Daily Alta California of 8 March 1869 reported that the photos were taken “a few days ago” (full page here).
(a) A stereograph of one of the photographs. Collection of the Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley (part of the Lone Mountain College Collection of Stereographs by Eadweard Muybridge, 1867-1880).
(b) A sepia-toned version of a second photograph taken from a slightly different perspective. Collection of the Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley (part of the Lone Mountain College Collection of Stereographs by Eadweard Muybridge, 1867-1880).
(c) A black-and-white version of (b). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries (part of the Eadweard Muybridge photograph collection, 1868-1929).
(d) A cropping of (b), possibly from a postcard, mounted in one of two scrapbooks (titled "Album of San Francisco") of images collected by Hamilton Henry Dobbin (1856-1930). The caption below the photo ("Emperor Norton in carriage of State 1869") is by Dobbin. Collection of the California State Library.
Row 3 (l-r)
(a) Emperor Norton, between spring 1871 and spring 1872. From carte de visite by Tuttle & Johnson studio, 523 Kearny Street, "Heliographic Artists." To learn more, see our June 2017 article. Collection of the California Historical Society.
(b) Emperor Norton, early 1870s. This undated, uncredited photo appears in the book by Misha Berson, The San Francisco Stage: From Golden Spike to Great Earthquake, 1869-1906 (San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum, 1992). The photo is sourced as being in the collection of the Museum, which now is called the Museum of Performing Arts & Design. Note that the Emperor is wearing the same hat, with the same feather adornment, here as in the Muybridge photographs in Row 2.
(c)-(d) Emperor Norton, c.1874, by Thomas Houseworth & Co. studio, probably the same sitting.
(c) Cabinet card, 5¾” x 3 ⅞” , source unknown. Image © 2016 Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp. A cropped view in the collection of the California Historical Society is here.
(d) Source unknown.
Row 4 (l to r)
(a)-(b) Emperor Norton, c. 1875, by Bradley & Rulofson studio. Apparently from the same sitting.
(a) Collection of the Oakland Museum of California.
(b) Collection of the Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley.
(c) Emperor Norton, mid 1870s. From cabinet card by Thomas Houseworth & Co. studio, 12 Montgomery Street. Large blue-tint logo on the reverse: "Houseworth Souvenir Photographs." Collection of the California Historical Society.
(d) Emperor Norton, mid 1870s, possibly by Thomas Houseworth & Co. studio. Image courtesy of Wolfgang Sell of the National Stereoscopic Association.
Row 5 (l to r)
(a)-(b) Emperor Norton, mid to late 1870s, by Bradley & Rulofson studio. To learn more, see our May 2021 article.
(a) Published with Fred R. Marckhoff’s article, “Norton I of California,” in Calcoin News, vol. 15, no. 3, summer 1961.
(b) Differently cropped but darker-toned version of the same photo. Collection of the Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley.
(c) Emperor Norton, cabinet card published between late May and mid June 1879, by Imperial Gallery, 724½ Market Street, San Francisco. Apparently two photographs taken simultaneously with differently positioned cameras. Photos possibly taken by gallery owner Hector William Vaughan (c.1827–c.1878). Signature and seal on the reverse: "Norton I. Emperor U.S. & Protector of Mexico. 19th Day of June 1879" [image]. To learn more, see our October 2015 article. Collection of the California Historical Society.
(d) Emperor Norton, c. 1878, by Bradley & Rulofson studio, 429 Montgomery Street. Collection of the California Historical Society.
Row 6
Emperor Norton, c. 1878, by Bradley & Rulofson studio, 429 Montgomery Street. Probably from the same sitting as Row 5 (d). Collection of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
The following two photographs are persistent outliers. It's been suggested that one, or both, of the photos may be of Emperor Norton. But, the available evidence suggests that both are “false positives.”
Left: Photograph listed on eBay around 2000. Listing identified the photo as "a circa 1850s-60s...picture of Joshua A Norton" and quoted a notation on the back identifying the subject as Emperor Norton. Source: EmperorNorton.net.
Right: Photograph by Jacob Shew (1826-1879). Collection of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University. Previously, the Beinecke Library titled this carte de visite “[Photograph of Emperor Norton [?]]” — apparently based on the erroneous inscription “Emp Norton” pencilled on the verso. But…
Based on The Emperor Norton Trust’s analysis detailed our December 2016 article here, the Beinecke in April 2023 removed the “Emperor Norton” title and changed both its metadata and its catalog description for the card to disassociate the card from Emperor Norton or Joshua Abraham Norton.
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