Cronau, Rudolf "Das Goldene Thor bei San-Francisco. Californien." [The Golden Gate near San Francisco]

Rudolf Cronau.   "Das Goldene Thor bei San-Francisco. Californien." [The Golden Gate near San Francisco] From Von Wunderland zu Wunderland.  Landschafts und Lebensbilder aus den Staaten und Territorien der Union. 

Leipzig: T.O. Weigel, 1886-87.  Washington copyright 1885 by Dr. O.V. Deuster.  Ca. 7 x 11.  Collotype by Rommler & Jonas, Dresden.  Print mounted onto decorative title board as issued.

A rare and fascinating set of German prints of the United States.  In all, this series contains fifty views of the United States from New York to San Francisco, with the majority of the prints depicting life and the natural wonders of the American West.  The Europeans were fascinated with the American frontier due to the differences in the physical topography, social life, and native populations, not to mention their substantial financial investments in land there. 

In 1881, Rudolf Cronau (1855-1939) was sent to the United States as a special correspondent for the German newspaper Die Gartenlaube.  His assignment was to produce a series of articles documenting American landscapes, cities, Native Americans, and life on the frontier.   Cronau traveled all about of the country, writing his articles and producing pen & ink drawings.  These images showed cities, imposing landscapes, scenes of life in the west, cowboys in their heyday, and portraits of Native Americas, including the first life portrait of Sitting Bull.  The drawings, which exhibit the skill Cronau gained through his training at the Düsseldorf Academy, were based on Cronau’s first hand observations.  These images are the equal in fascination to those of his contemporaries Frederick Remington and Charles M. Russell, but unlike them, the newspaperman did not overly romanticize his subjects, but showed then with an authentic truthfulness.  Upon his return to Germany in 1886, Cronau published, in two parts, a portfolio of collotypes based on his best drawings.  These prints provide one of the most accurate and interesting pictures of America, especially the West, in the late nineteenth century.

Other Views of the US by Cronau:

Das Washington-Monument in Baltimore. Maryland. [The Washington Monument in Baltimore]

Auf dem Greenwood-Cemetery in Brooklyn. Long Island. New-York. [Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn]

Ein Landhaus in Sud-Californien. [A Country House in Southern California]

Aus altspanischer Zeit. Motiv aus einer Missionkirche in Sud-Californien. [From the old Spanish period, motif from a Mission in Southern California]

An der Kuste von Florida. [On the Coast of Florida]

Sumpflandschaft in Louisiana. [Swampland in Louisiana]

Strassenleben in New-York (Blick von Park-Place nach der Post-Office und dem Tribune-Building). [Residential Street in New York]

Die Falle des Niagara (Von der canadischen aus geschen.) [Niagara Falls]

Blockhaus im Urwalde. Oregon. [Cabin in the Forest]

Mount Hood und die Stromengen des Columbia.  Oregon-Washington Territorium. [Mount Hood and the Narrows of the Columbia River. Oregon-Washington]

General Georg Washington's Ruhestatte auf Mount Vernon. [George Washington's Tomb at Mount Vernon]

Motiv aus dem Chineseviertel in San Francisco. [Chinese Quarter in San Francisco]

Partie aus Salt-Lake-City. Utah. [Partial view of Salt Lake City (Mormon Temple under construction)]