34

William Edward Dassonville

1879-1957

San Francisco from the Water. Circa 1925.

Silver print on Charcoal Black paper
With Dassonville's signature in pencil on recto.
The image 7 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (19.1 x 23.5 cm.), the sheet 9 3/4 x 11 in. (24.8 x 27.9 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    A Country Called California: The Collection of Stephen White
  • Literature:
    Paul Hertzmann and Susan Herzig, with an essay by Peter Palmquist, Dassonville: William E Dassonville, California Photographer, 1879- 1957 (Carl Mautz Publishing, 1999)
  • Notes:
    In the early 1920s, prompted by the war-time shortage of platinum, the photographer William Dassonville began experimenting with making his own photographic paper. By 1924, he was selling his Dassonville Charcoal Black silver bromide paper commercially. The warm-toned paper, which was nearly translucent and had a rough surface texture, was well-suited to the Pictorial work of the day. Ansel Adams used it extensively in his early career, before opting for cooler-toned paper with a glossier finish. The work offered here exemplifies Dassonville's Pictorialist approach, with a Modernist twist.
  • Condition: For condition reports, email Deborah Rogal at [email protected]

    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

    Condition reports and additional images are provided as a courtesy and should be used by you to aid in the formation of your own opinion regarding condition. All material is sold subject to Swann's standard Terms and Conditions of Sale as published in our catalogues and posted on our website, and include the following terms: (1) all property is sold "as-is"; and (2) works cannot be returned on the basis of condition.

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February 12, 2026 12:00 PM EST
New York, NY, US

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