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This photo gallery was purchased in 1874 by Benjamin Batchelder and his brother Perez Batchelder. These two brothers were some of the first photographers in the Stockton region as early as 1852.

Benjamin and Nancy Batchelder worked together in their photographic place in Stockton from 1874-1893. Lots of stereo photographs were published, and soon they had the most popular and successful gallery in Stockton.

This image shows Spooner in Yosemite Theater Studio around 1890. Spooner himself was the most distinguished photographer of the Stockton area at the time. This city is what made his photographic career.

Spooner may have been Stockton's preeminent photographer in the late 1800s, but he didn't have his first actual photography parlor until 1878. Prior to this, he had an older studio that he opened in 1870.

Covert Martin took over John Spooner's role as Stockton's principle photographer when the 1900s hit. He recorded the changing Stockton as it matured to one of California's most vibrant cities.

This was Martin's last studio. He worked in it until he retired. The two previous studios he owned burned down in fires, but he continued expanding. Later, his images were given to the University of the Pacific in 1961.

Pictures like this taken by Watkins in the 1870s helped draw attention to Yosemite. This specific picture shows the falls, a very popular subject during the late 1800s.

This was only one of Carleton Watkins' many images of Yosemite. Photos similar to these convinced people that California was a natural paradise.

This photo is one of the first images ever taken of Yosemite by Charles Leander Weed. Weed used this image, despite the fact that he as the photographer was largely forgotten, to begin the nation's attraction to the wilderness of Yosemite.

Weed continued his photography into the 1860s, focusing largely on the falls which made him famous. He did however favor Mirror Lake, using the water as a reflective surface in general in his images.