Staff Favorites
Palace of the Governors Archive Employees Talk About Their Favorite Images
“This picture from Japan was chosen because it shows the depth of the collection at the Archives—not only do we collect images that tell the history of this region, we collect images that tell the history of photography. This hand-colored albumen print is one of a fairly large collection of images from the Middle East. Early photographers took the grand tour to various countries and brought images back to sell to armchair travelers and to those who could not afford to travel the world. For many people who could not afford to travel outside the U.S., the Southwest was as exotic as Egypt or Japan.”
On a side note, Redding points out that the Archives also tells the stories, and so, collects images, of the countries whose flags have flown over the Palace of the Governors: Spain, Mexico, and, during the Civil War, the flags of the Confederacy and the Union. “We would love to find a photo of the Palace with the Confederate flag flying over it.”
“Each image is interesting both aesthetically and historically,” says Mary Anne Redding, curator of the Museum’s photo archives. “This picture of the Harvey Cars at Lamy was taken in the 1920s or 30s and shows the importance of tourism to Northern New Mexico. The Fred Harvey Company ran the La Fonda Hotel and designed tourists’ entire experience. Harvey cars came with a driver and one or more of the Harvey Girls (all employees in full dress) would meet the tourists at the train station in Lamy and bring them in to Santa Fe to check into the hotel. Then tours would be arranged to take people out to the pueblos so they could see Native life and architecture and of course purchase pottery and jewelry from the Pueblo peoples.”
“The train at the station here in Santa Fe talks about two things: When the railroad originally bypassed Santa Fe, the city fathers had to come up with creative ways to market Santa Fe. One way: They built an 18-mile spur line to bring people in via rail so they wouldn’t have to ride in a wagon or a touring car. Trains, or the lack thereof, have always been critical to the economy of Santa Fe and all of New Mexico. So each photo tells a story by itself and, being part of the larger archives, collectively the images tell larger stories, which is part of what makes being a curator so rewarding.”
