After determining that their family really had no further use for them, and that they ought to be in the hands of those who care about them, the daughter of renown photographer Ansel Adams has given extremely rare photos of the Comstock era to the Nevada Historical Society. The photographs from the 1860’s were proud possessions of the late western landscape photographer Ansel Adams.
The photographs depict the rough and tumble life in Virginia City at the height of the Comstock Lode era. The twenty-five photographs include shots of the old Wells Fargo Office in Virginia City, the former Mint in Carson City as well as a picture of former Nevada Territorial Governor James Nye. One photo is of Mark Twain acquaintence Robert Howland (local mine manager) of whom Twain mentioned more than a few times in his “news stories” in the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.
The Nevada Historical Society says it will begin displaying copies of the photographs sometime in August. They say the originals are too fragile and valuable to be put on public display. Former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha commented that the photos are a visual treasure to give lovers of Nevada history the chance to do the reading and then view the pictures to actually see what the writers were talking about.
The photos were donated to the Historical Society by the daughter of Ansel Adams, Anne Adams Helms. Her grandmother and mother to her father Ansel Adams, was raised in Carson City and eventually married her husband Charles Adams in 1896. Ansel Adams died in 1984 after a short illness at his home at Malpaso Creek, south of Carmel, California.
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