F. Jay Haynes

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FRANK JAY HAYNES
Fargo, North Dakota - Yellowstone Nat'l Park - St. Paul, Minnesota

Two portraits of Frank Jay Haynes.

A member of the second generation of photographers of western American landscape and railroads, Frank Jay Haynes (1853-1921) is often grouped with those who came to the West much earlier. Stylistically and technically, however, as well as in terms of his approach to his subject, he is closer in outlook to the 20th century than to the 19th. His lasting claim to fame lies in his almost 2,400 stereoviews of the northwest and the single-image photographs made from halves of views. The coverage ranged from St. Paul, Minnesota in the east through Brainerd, Red River, Bismarck, Ft. Assiniboine, the Missouri River, the Black Hills and Bad Lands, Yellowstone, on through Montana to Spokane, the Columbia River, Portland, and the Pacific at Astoria, Oregon.

Born in Saline, Michigan, Haynes worked in 1874 in Ann Arbor and Wisconsin, and in 1875 at the "Temple of Photography" of a "Dr." William Lockwood. He opened his own studio the following year in Moorhead, Minnesota, and in 1879 when it became clear that Fargo would be the major area city, he shifted his main studio there while maintaining a branch in Moorhead. He had a knack for studio portraiture and this part of his business was successful right from the start. At the height of his career he had two "operators" in his Fargo establishment doing nothing but making portraits.

He was fortunate in striking a deal with the Northern Pacific Railroad to be their "Official Photographer." It’s not entirely clear what this entailed, but it appears to have been completely symbiotic. Haynes mentioned at one time that he received "an annual emolument" from the railroad which probably gave him a sound financial foundation. In return, he certainly thoroughly covered the railroad's facilities such as bridges, yards, rolling stock, and company buildings and they used his images liberally in their advertising brochures. Haynes traveled through Oregon and Washington for the Northern Pacific and Yellowstone in the 1882-1883 taking a large number of views. He covered special events such as the tour of President Chester A. Arthur in 1883, and the formal completion of the railroad in the same year. He probably also had a similar deal with the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and issued a large group of images of the scenery along their western route.

Beginning in the early 1880s, Haynes worked in Yellowstone National Park, where after 1884 he was its official, though self-employed, photographer. He obtained a license to operate a photographic concession in Yellowstone at Mammoth Hot Springs. Haynes opened The Log Cabin Studio which served Yellowstone for many years selling photos to visiting tourists. He operated a railroad car gallery called Haynes Studio from 1885-1905. He moved his studio to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1889 and traveled throughout the West and Alaska earning the reputation as one of the West's finest early photographers.

In 1891 the Puget Sound & Alaska Steamship Co. commissioned Haynes to photograph the sea journey from Tacoma, Washington, to Glacier Bay, Alaska. These views are extremely rare. Haynes retired in 1916; his son Jack Ellis Haynes, also a photographer, eventually continued the family business.

1000 Series - Fargo, D.T. - Yellow Mount

This series appears to be Haynes' oldest Yellowstone set. Titles are shown in a black title stripe on the lower right side of the view. Numbering is from #1000 – 1111. Issued 1882-1883.

1038. CASTLE GEYSER FORMATION - UPPER BASIN.

A close-up view of the formation on Castle Geyser. The Haynes yellow mounts labeled "Fargo, D.T." are his earliest stereoviews of Yellowstone.

1000 Series - Fargo, D.T. - Brown Mount

The brown version of the Fargo D.T. series are quite a bit more scarce than their Yellow Mount counterparts. These also have the black title stripes. Due to the scarcity of these views, they were likely a high-end subset of the Yellow Mount set above. This set has an elaborate and detailed reverse, with many lines of text describing Yellowstone and the Northern Pacific Railroad.

1277 ABOVE THE BRIDGE AT GROTTO POOL.

The bridge shown here was located on Cascade Creek just above Crystal Falls near present day Canyon Village.

The elaborate reverse of Haynes brown Dakota Territory mounts. These views are quite a bit more scarce than their yellow counterparts.

1000 Series - Yellowstone National Park - Tan Mount

These tan / brown mount views are probably Haynes most common Cabinet sized Yellowstone mounts. There are two styles worth noting. The more common type has the title in a black stripe in the lower right corenr of the photo. The rarer version has the title in white lettering directly over the photograph itself in the lower right corner. Numbering of these views is staggered. Starting at #1000-1111 it repeats the Yellow Mount series. Then conintues with a new group of photos #1237-1313 (some numbers are white, directly over the photo)

A third and fourth high number series begins at #1393-1396 and #1908-1938 respectively. These all have the white letter titling. These were most likely set additions that added in successive years as Haynes built up his stock of negatives. Most likely issued 1884-1887.

1283 CAMPING ON YELLOWSTONE LAKE

This is an example of the Yellowstone National Park brown mount with black title stripe. The photo is one of Haynes more famous images of his party at Yellowstone Lake.

1938 GIANT GEYSER INDICATOR

Here we see a brown mount view with the white titling over the photo. It is part of a higher numbered series than the black titles. The view is of Catfish Geyser in the Giant Geyser group at Upper Geyser Basin.

The "Yellowstone National Park" reverse. It appears on most, but not all, Haynes brown mount views.

1000 Series - Yellowstone National Park - Orange Mount

The Orange Mount sets represents the largest and most comprehensive of Haynes Cabinet sized sets. They were also the latest. Probably issued 1886-1888. A catalog from 1887 offers all Orange Mount photos. Unfortunately, it seems that Haynes chose to discontinue many numbers from his previous Tan and yellow sets and as a result much of the Orange Mount numbering IS NOT sequential. Still it is the set that encompasses the most years of Haynes visits to the park.

There are two important types of Orange Mount Haynes views. First, is the Black Title Stripe View. They are numbered from #1000-1313, non-sequential. Second is the White Title directly over the photograph. Evidence suggests that this was a second, larger printing of the Black Title Orange Mount. Their numbering is as follows: #1000–1461 has non-sequential numbering. Numbers #1789–1814 and #1911–2020 are continuous and represent new series, probably shot in 1885 and 1886 respectively. An important part of these high numbers were the addition of Haynes winter expedition views. Numbered #2005-2016 they are some of Haynes most important photographs of Yellowstone.

1056. GROTTO GEYSER AND FORMATION.

The more common orange mounts have black titling like the image shown above. This is a traditional view of the cone of Grotto Geyser at Upper Geyser Basin.

1934. HELL'S HALF ACRE FIRE HOLE RIVER.

Less common are the orange mounts with the white titling over the photo. Often hard to read, they were issued later than the black titled orange mounts. This view shows Midway Geyser Basin as seen from the top of Midway Bluff.

2005. HOTEL NORRIS IN WINTER.

The rarest of Haynes’ orange mounts are the odd shaped winter views. These images taken in the winter of 1885-86 were the first photos of the park in mid-winter. They are some of the most important images ever taken by Haynes. This view shows the third Norris Hotel in deep snow.

1000 Series - Yellowstone National Park - Green Mount

Haynes light Green Mount Set was most likely a small subset of the Orange or Tan Mount sets seen above. In 1887, Haynes did offer a 36 view subset of Yellowstone scenery, and this may have been one of the styles offered.

1940. THE SPLENDID GEYSER IN ACTION.

This Haynes green mount shows a scene of Splendid Geyser in the Daisy Group of Upper Geyser Basin.

1700 Series - Northern Pacific Views - Tan Mount

This Northern Pacific Railroad Series showcased mostly President Arthur's journey west. It featured Montana and Wyoming scenery. Included were views of the Tetons and the southern border of Yellowstone.

1773. FIRST VIEW OF THE TETONS.

One of Haynes few photos of the Tetons, this scene was captured during President Chester Arthur’s journey to Montana and Wyoming in 1883.

1743. INDIAN RECEPTION FOR PRESIDENT ARTHUR.

This scene of Indians greeting the president were taken near present day Crow Agency, Montana. The trip continued from here through the Bighorn Mountains then over Togwotee Pass down to the Snake River and the Tetons and on to southern Yellowstone.

REVERSE STYLE FOR THE 1700 SERIES.

The reverse for Haynes Northern Pacific Views. It does appear on all views from this series.

4000 Series - Fargo D.T. - Northern Pacific Scenery / Yellowstone Park Scenery

Haynes shift to regular sized, tan mounts in 1889 represented a change in style of Haynes stereoviews. This "look" would remain consistent for the remainder of Haynes career. The first two printings of the 4000 series have the Fargo, D.T. studio listed. Depending on the printing, the lines "Northern Pacific Scenery" and "Yellowstone Park Scenery" may be on alternate sides.

4540 FORDING RIVER GIBBON CANYON

Haynes 4000 series with a Fargo, D.T. credit. Titles are all in capital letters. This was the earliest of the 4000 series printings. The scene is on the Gibbon River with Beryl Spring visible in the distance.

4000 Series - St. Paul, Minn. - Northern Pacific Scenery / Yellowstone Park Scenery

The St. Paul issue of Haynes 4000 series is most confusing and there are quite a few variations. Listed below are some of the types of styles that exist. Haynes continued to add new photos and title variations to these views through 1905. An 1890 catalog shows views only as high as number 4624.

TYPE 1 - Northern Pacific Scenery/Yellowstone Park Scenery, St. Paul, MN
Tan Regular Mount – #4501–4562 - (block letters – no hyphen in titles)

TYPE 2 - Yellowstone Park Scenery/Northern Pacific Scenery, St. Paul, MN
Tan Regular Mount – #4501–4562 - (block letters – no hyphen in titles)

TYPE 3 - Northern Pacific Scenery/Yellowstone Park Scenery, St. Paul, MN
Tan Regular Mount – #4501–4644 (title case – hyphen in titles)
This style had at least 3 printings with different views, titles and numbering.

TYPE 4 - Yellowstone Park Scenery/Yellowstone Park Scenery, St. Paul, MN
Tan Regular Mount – (title case – hyphen or no hyphen in titles)
This was probably a "special" small set for sale in the park.

4502 STAGES LEAVING MAMMOTH HOTEL

Probably the earliest St. Paul printing of the 4000 series. This view has titles in Caps and no hyphen. The stages are in front of the National Hotel at Mammoth.

4537-The New Crater, Norris Basin.

This view of a geyser eruption at Norris is a later printing of the 4000 series. The title is in Title Case, has a hyphen, and the numbering is consistent with the previous All-Caps printing.

4537-Emerald Pool.

This off-colored view is a different set altogether from the others. The numbering and titling of this series indicate a much smaller set. Like the others it follows a Grand Loop tour, however this group appears to only have about 70 views, as opposed to the 124 views of the larger 4000 series set.

4641-Economic Geyser.

The high number series appears to have been one of the last sets issued by Haynes. It was probably released as an add on to the 124 view set. There are roughly 20 views in this high number series. This view is of the now dormant Economic Geyser in eruption at Upper Geyser Basin.

4546 Lone Star Geyser in Action.

This photo of Lone Star Geyser is a bit different than the others of the 4000 series. It contains the credit line "Yellowstone Park Scenery" on both sides of the view. These are less common than those with the "North Pacific Scenery" credit line.

Below is an example of a view labeled "Yellowstone" that is obviously not. These types of errors were common among stereoview photographers with large inventories.

1011. SPOKANE FALLS.

Some of Haynes views were labeled Yellowstone even though they were part of larger series that included other western scenery. This view showing Spokane Falls at Spokane, Washington is clearly labeled "Yellowstone Park Scenery." It is obviously not!

F. JAY HAYNES VIEWLIST