Whitney, Calvin Eastman (1851-1891) (2 of 2)
/Yosemite Art Gallery’s Portrait Photograph of Calvin Eastman Whitney
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
Photographer: Isaiah West Taber (1830-1912) and Thomas Henry Boyd, Yosemite Art Gallery. In 1874, after working in San Francisco at the studio of Bradley & Rulofson, Isaiah West Tabor purchased Carleton Watkin’s Yosemite Art Gallery located at 26 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. At this location he partnered with Thomas Henry Boyd for a short period, and by the end of the decade Taber opened his own studio at 8 Montgomery Street in San Francisco.
Studio Location: 26 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California
THE SITTER:
Name: Calvin Eastman Whitney
Description: In this portrait, taken in October 1876, Calvin Eastman Whitney is twenty-five years old. He had recently graduated from Harvard, returned to California, and established himself in San Francisco as a partner in his father’s merchandising business. Calvin peers into the distance exuding an air of youthful confidence. His hair is parted on his right and carefully oiled and combed. He sports meticulously groomed mutton chops and a mustache. He is dressed in businessman’s attire: a jacket with fashionably large, piped lapels, a matching vest, and a white shirt with a wide bow tie.
Biographical Note: Calvin Eastman Whitney was born in Maine and traveled to California as a child with his father Albion Whitney. His mother and siblings joined them, and the family established their household in Petaluma. Due to Albion’s rapid success as a Bay Area merchant, the Whitney family soon became wealthy and prominent. Calvin attended Edward L. Lippitt’s school on D Street in Petaluma and, after graduating from Harvard, returned to California. In 1875 he began working as a partner in his father’s merchandise business in San Francisco. Calvin also became a partner of the Brigham Whitney Company, a wholesale dealer in dairy produce located at 320 Front Street in San Francisco. In 1885 a “Certificate of Special Partnership” published in the Petaluma Weekly Argus proclaimed Calvin had gone into business with his younger brother, Arthur L. Whitney, as “general merchandise, commissions, shipping, and forwarding merchants.”
Calvin died in 1891 at the age of 40 from a tragic accident. While attempting to remove debris from the roof of his newly constructed San Francisco home located at 2010 Washington Street, he fell through a skylight to the basement and died instantly. Calvin was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.
Family Affiliation: Calvin Eastman Whitney was the oldest child of the prominent Petaluma pioneers, Senator Albion Paris Whitney (1825-1884) and Susan Eastman Durgin Whitney (1832-1917). His siblings included: Cleora Melissa Whitney Hewlett (1854-1930), Nancy Jane Whitney Morrow (1855-1938), Arthur Leslie Whitney (1858-1914), Leona Merrill Whitney (1864-1866), Marcella Whitney Wheaton (1866-1915), Albion Harvey Whitney (1870-1907), and Clara Whitney Spear (1873-1954). In 1883 Calvin married Fannie Boruck, the first daughter of the California journalist Marcus D. Boruck. Calvin and Fannie had three children.
Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier, June 15, 1916, p. 2. The Petaluma Courier, Oct. 17, 1883, p. 3; Dec. 2, 1891, p. 5. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, Dec. 4, 1891, p. 3. Petaluma Weekly Argus, Nov. 19, 1875, p. 3; Dec. 18, 1875, p. 1; Oct. 20, 1883, p. 3; Dec. 12, 1885, p.2.
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: cabinet card, approximately 10.75 x 16.5 cm
Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: On the bottom right edge is handwritten in pencil in cursive, “Mr. X”.
Description, back: Handwritten in cursive at the top of this card is, “Compliments of C. E. Whitney Oct 1876”. Below this is the imprint of the Yosemite Art Gallery, located at 26 Montgomery Street in San Francisco and operated by Isaiah West Taber (1830-1912) and Thomas Henry Boyd.
Date: October 1876
Condition: This cabinet card is soiled throughout.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1981-835-30
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