The Jefferson Land Slide
Artist
David W. Butterfield
(American, 1844 - 1933)
Date1885
MediumAlbumen print
DimensionsOverall: 17 1/2 x 22 1/4 inches (44.45 x 56.52 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.528
InscribedImprinted on mount: "The Jefferson Landslide / July 10, 1885. / Reached only by way of the Boston and Lowell and Whitefield and Jefferson R.R.s.;" photo copyrighted July 21, 1885.
On View
Not on viewCollections
Terms
In this rare example of New England mammoth-plate work, David Butterfield captured the Jefferson landslide shortly after it obliterated a home, a barn, cattle and crops. The landslide occurred on July 10, 1885, when a massive quantity of soil and rock slid two miles, from the peak of Cherry Mountain into the valley below, after a torrential rainstorm. Located inside the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, excursion trips were subsequently organized for tourists to view the damage. In an early form of spot-news reportage, Butterfield registered this photograph for copyright only eleven days after the event occurred.
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David W. Butterfield
ca. 1875
2005.27.4128
