W. E. Hook photographs of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
Scope and Contents
Photographs collected by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library that document the photography of W. E. Hook, 1885-1908. The collection chiefly includes photographs of sites in Colorado, as well as some images of New Mexico and Texas. Photographs in the collection document the different presentation methods used by Hook to market his images, including cabinet photographs, as well as the variant titles he used in negatives and on photographic mounts.
Images of sites in Colorado include Cascade Canyon, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods, Leadville, Manitou Springs, Mount of the Holy Cross, North Cheyenne Canyon, Pikes Peak, Royal Gorge, South Cheyenne Canyon, Ute Pass, and Williams Canyon. An exterior group portrait of Ute Indians in Colorado includes Chief Sapiah, also known as Buckskin Charlie. Images of New Mexico consist of an overview of Santa Fe and an exterior group portrait of Tewa Indians at the Tesuque Pueblo. The collection also includes a view of the Franklin School in El Paso, Texas.
Dates
- 1885-1908
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The W. E. Hook Photographs of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired by gift and purchase. For more information see the finding aid.
Arrangement
Organized into one series: I. Photographs, 1885-1908.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
Photographs collected by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library that document the photography of W. E. Hook, 1885-1908. The collection chiefly includes photographs of sites in Colorado, as well as some images of New Mexico and Texas. Photographs in the collection document the different presentation methods used by Hook to market his images, including cabinet photographs, as well as the variant titles he used in negatives and on photographic mounts.
W. E. Hook (1833-1908)
William Edward Hook (1833-1908) was born in Litchfield, England. His family immigrated briefly to the United States in 1834, but returned to England by 1851. In 1857, he married Eleanor Jane Dore (circa 1833-1914) and they had six children.
In 1867, Hook returned to the United States without his family. Two years later he established a photography studio in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. In February 1875, two of his sons joined him in the United States: Theodore Hook (circa 1859-circa 1875) and William Edward Hook, Jr. (circa 1864-1907).
In 1877, Hook closed his photography studio in Wisconsin, and he and his surviving son, William, worked as traveling photographers from a home base in Missoula, Montana. Over the next four years, they travelled and captured images throughout Montana and Wyoming, including Yellowstone National Park, Alberta, Northwest Territory, and the Canadian Northwest Rockies. By 1881, Hook established a photography studio in Marquette, Michigan, from which he marketed his images of the American West.
In April 1885, Hook established a photography studio in Manitou Springs, Colorado. In September 1885, he filed a homestead claim on the nearby Ruxton Creek near Pikes Peak, which he named "Artist's Glen." Over the years, Hook specialized in marketing landscape views of Colorado to tourists.
In 1887, Hook traveled to England. He returned to Colorado with his wife and their daughters, Eleanor "Nellie" Hook (born circa 1858) and Alice M. Hook (born circa 1864, later Mrs. Edward M. De La Vergne); their son, William also rejoined the family. Over the years, the Hook family filed additional homestead claims around Ruxton Creek. They also operated a boarding house for tourists until 1890, when the construction and operations associated with the Manitou and Pike’s Peak Railway – a steep grade railway from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak – prompted the family to relocate to Colorado Springs. Hook then operated a photography studio in Colorado Springs until his death from heart failure.
General note
Title devised by cataloger.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
Former call number: WA Photos File
- Buckskin Charlie, Ute chief -- Pictorial works
- Cascade Canyon (El Paso County, Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Cheyenne Mountain (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Colorado -- Pictorial works
- Colorado Springs (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- El Paso (Tex.) -- Pictorial works
- Franklin School (El Paso, Tex.) -- Pictorial works
- Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs, Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Holy Cross, Mount of the (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Hook, W. E. (William Edward), 1833-1908
- Indians of North America -- Pictorial works
- Leadville (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Manitou Springs (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- New Mexico -- Pictorial works
- North Cheyenne Canyon (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Photographic prints
- Pikes Peak (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Royal Gorge (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Santa Fe (N.M.) -- Pictorial works
- South Cheyenne Canyon (Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Tesuque Pueblo (N.M.) -- Pictorial works
- Tewa Indians -- Pictorial works
- Texas -- Pictorial works
- Ute Indians -- Pictorial works
- Ute Pass (Teller County, Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Williams Canyon (El Paso County, Colo.) -- Pictorial works
- Title
- Guide to the W. E. Hook Photographs of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas
- Author
- by Matthew Daniel Mason
- Date
- 2014
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.