This is a work in progress to compile as comprehensive as possible a listing numbers and titles of individual Underwood & Underwood publishers stereographs of Arizona. Each listing will include a brief biographical overview, in addition to the checklist of stereoviews complied to date.

Underwood & Underwood Publishers
Despite the gradual decline in stereograph sales by most photographers in the early 1880s, several entrepreneurs in different parts of the country simultaneously established companies to market and distribute stereographs. Elmer and Ben Underwood chose Ottawa, Kansas as the place for their operation, beginning about 1882. Initially they incorporated the sales techniques originally developed by B.W. Kilburn. 

Their business model was to obtain and offer views which were not readily available from other local sources. The brothers contracted with other photographers and publishers for distribution rights west of the Mississippi, including the Littleton View Company and Albert Bierstadt for his views of Niagara Falls. They were so successful that two years later they expanded to nationwide distribution. 

In 1887, they opened additional offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Liverpool, England. Along with stereographs, they were one of the largest producers of stereoscopes. As their business continued to expand, the Underwood brothers moved their headquarters. In 1891 they moved their operations from Kansas to New York City. 

About 1900, Underwood & Underwood hired their own photographers and employed freelancers, enlarging their offerings by producing their own original images.

Unfortunately, like most of the publishers, individual photographers were rarely identified and often negatives were acquired and incorporated into their catalogs without attribution as to source. It is not known which photographers made the Arizona views marketed by Underwood & Underwood. 

That year the company began marketing groups of photographs of a common subject, packaged in paper-covered cardboard cases styled to look like books, which became known as “boxed sets.” Though sets of stereographs had been offered since the early days of stereo photography, such as the London Stereoscopic Company series “Scenes in Our Village,” most sets were offered in paper folders or in cardboard boxes. Examples include Carleton Watkins sets of Yosemite from the 1860s, regional views by Joseph L. Bates of Boston, images of Yellowstone by F. J. Haynes, and sets of the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Occasionally wooden boxes were used, such as those produced by the Stereoscopic Department of A. J. Fisher of New York City.

The Underwood boxed sets varied in size from small sets of 18 views to 100-card sets. Individual views were often included is several different boxed sets as appropriate. 
Underwood & Underwood introduced the supplemental guidebook and the use of maps showing the location of the camera to orient the viewer. The mapping process indicating the position of the camera and field of view was patented in 1900. Though the company produced quite a number of Arizona views, however the only sets of Arizona identified to date are the 18- and 36-card sets of the Grand Canyon. Both soft and hardbound accompanying guidebooks were copyrighted in 1904 and included maps of the canyon showing the various camera positions. 

One of the primary effects that the Underwood brothers had on the market was the refinement of distribution, using door-to-door sales to augment mail order and direct sales. They created a marketing machine that selected candidates, trained them, provided appearance and behavior guidelines, and specific sales techniques. The salesmen blanketed small communities, visiting each home and leveraging sales to provide peer pressure for neighbors to make purchases. Each territory was revisited periodically, as often as two or three times a year to generate additional sales. 

The Underwoods also refined their production facilities to keep pace with their expanding sales. During the first phase of consolidation in the late 1890s, they bought the photographic printing facilities of J. F. Jarvis and Albert Bierstadt to augment their own. By 1901, Underwood & Underwood was producing 25,000 stereographs a day. Annually, they produced 6,500,000 stereographs, over 300,000 stereoscopes, and were the largest distributer in the United States. 

Though Underwood & Underwood continued to expand its operations, opening branches in Hamburg, London, Paris, Rome, St. Petersburg, and Tokyo, its door-to-door model was only used in the U.S. and Canada.

The company was also successful in opening another new market, education. The Underwoods were among the first to sell boxed sets to schools and libraries. To make the views more “educational” they started adding captions to the reverse of the views, in addition to the descriptive books sold with the boxed sets. 

The Underwoods expanded their stereo business through the first decade of the 20th century. They added commercial photography and established a photographic news service to feed the explosive demand for photographs. Though their stereoscopic activity continued into the teens, commercial and news photography became their primary emphasis.

The Underwood & Underwood stereoscopic negatives were eventually sold to the Keystone View Company, which incorporated them into their ever-expanding catalog. 

(from Arizona Stereographs 1865-1930 by Jeremy Rowe, 2014)

If you have additional information about the Underwood & Underwood publishing company, examples of stereographs that are not on this list, or variant titles for any of the numbers or captions I would appreciate hearing from you. Ideally, I would like to obtain either a Xerox copy or scan for my files as well.
Thanks in advance for your time and assistance.

Please feel free to use this information but please credit this source and reproduce only with full credit information.
Thank you.

Jeremy Rowe
jrowe@vintagephoto.com

©Jeremy Rowe 2017


PUBLISHER: UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD

MOUNT COLOR: gray

1903. Typical desert home of the Navajo Indians, Arizona

6072. Bridge at Canyon Diablo, Arizona

A Wonder to the primitive inhabitants - Santa Fe Train crossing Canon Diablo, Arizona.

6073. From Red to San Francisco Mountain - a woody wilderness in Arizona.

6074. Blown Asunder by volcanic energies - Red Mountain, an extinct volcano northwestern Arizona. 1903.

6075. Labyrinthine ways through the lava ash formation, RedMountain Crater, Arizona 1903

6077. Among the Buttes, Red Canon trail, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903.

6078. Fathoming the depth of a vanished sea - Grand Canyon of Arizona from Hance's Cove 1903

6079. Descending into Grand View Trail by a short, steep mining path, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903.

6080. Dendritic Stalagmites in a Limestone Cave, Grand Canon of Arizona.

6081. Angel's Gateway and Newberry Terrace from Cottonwood Spring, Grand Canon of Arizona 1903

6082. Beside the Colorado-looking up to Zoroaster Tower from Pipe Creek, Grand Canon of Arizona 1903       

6083. Down the Granite Gorge of the Colorado (1200 ft. deep) from Pyrites Point, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903.

6084. Prospecting for Gold, Indian Gardens, Grand Canon of Arizona  1903

6085. Rounding Cape Horn on the Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canon of Arizona 1903

6086. Thos.  Moran, America's great scenic artist, sketching at Bright Angel Cove, Arizona.

6087. "Over all broods a solemn silence," sunset at O'neil's Point, Grand Canyon of Arizona.

6089. On the brink, one mile above the River - Grand Canyon of Arizona - from Rowe's Point 1903

6099. Up the Colorado River from Pyrites Point to Zoroaster Tower,  Grand Canon of Arizona 1903

6105. Where a mis-step means destruction - looking from the head of Grand View Trail, Grand Canon of Arizona 1903

6113. Young mountaineers - a dangerous playground, Grand Canon of Arizona 1903

6114. In the Limestone, halfway down Grand View Trail,  Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903.

6139. Overview of Clifton, Arizona showing copper mines and town in distance

6140. Freight train on bridge to Morenci Copper mine

6140. (alt)Climbing the last loop, on the Mountain Railway to Morenci Copper Mine, Arizona

6144. Inclines to the copper mines, Metcalf, Arizona

6145. Loading Surface ore, Metcalf, Arizona

6147. In the mountain's heart - running out copper ore, Wilson Mine, Metcalf, Arizona

6150. A fallen Monarch of an unknown age, Petrified Forest, Arizona

6155. Moving a heard, Sierra Bonita, the oldest ranch in Arizona - where 30,000 cattle range

6156. Among the 30,000 cattle at Sierra Bonita ranch - roping  a yearling, Arizona

6158. Cowboys examining yearling's brand to settle a dispute, Sierra Bonita Ranch, Arizona, Sierra Bonita ranch

6162. A Wilderness of Sand - Miles from human habitations, Painted Desert of Arizona

6163. Climbing "Jacob's Ladder," on Bright Angel Trail - looking from top of ladder ­ Grand Canon, Ariz. 1906.

6167. At Breakfast (three Navajo Indians at their Hogan) 1902

6181. The Kachina Dance to the rain- gods - Hopi Indians at Shonghopavi, Arizona

6186. South to picturesque Wolpi, a mesa village of Hopi Indians, Arizona.

6187. At breakfast-typical desert home of Navajo Indians 1903

6188. Blanket Weaving - a Hopi Indian at work,  Wolpi, Arizona

8160. Battleship Iowa and Sentinel Point, N. W. from El Tovar, Grand Canyon of Arizona

8163. Climbing "Jacob's Ladder" in Bright Angel Trail - looking from top of ladder, Grand Canyon of Arizona

8165. Looking back to the rim, from Indian Gardens - Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1906

8168. A thousand feet below the rim - looking from Red Canyon Trail up the Grand Canyon of Arizona

8169. The awful Gorge of the Colorado River, from the river trail, N. Moran's point, Grand Canyon of Arizona

8170. Looking from Grand View Point into the world's greatest gorge -  Grand Canyon of Arizona

8171, A sea of mountains - from Bissel's Point,  Grand Canyon of Arizona

8181. The Kachina dance to the Rain Gods - Hopi Indians, Shonghopavi, Arizona

8962. A wonder to the primitive inhabitants - Santa Fe train crossing Canon Diablo, Arizona. 1902

8964. Fathoming depths of a vanishing river- Grand Canon from Hance Cove, Arizona.

9481. Hotel El Tovar, Grand Canyon of Arizona

9482. The Ladies sitting room in the hospitable Hotel El Tovar, Grand Canyon of Arizona

9483. Quaint Handiwork of Indians of the Southwest, Hopi House, Grand Canyon of Arizona

9484. Inside  a Hopi House furnished with Indian Rugs, pottery and baskets, Grand Canyon of Arizona Underwood 90502

9485. Artistic creations of Indian Weavers and potters in a Hopi House, Grand Canyon of Arizona Underwood 90475

9486. Inside the Hopi Indian house - artistic handiwork of natives, Grand Canyon of Arizona  Underwood 90501

9487. Navajo Hogans (Indian Huts) of timber and adobe, near Grand Canyon, Az.  Underwood 90500

11405. Moki Indians posed next to strange homes beside Dance Rock, Wolpi, Arizona

13976. Giant Cacti on the desert near Tempe 244598  

13990. Overlooking the fertile Salt River Valley from the edge of the desert near Phoenix. Underwood 244597

14100. Huge gyrator where copper ore is crushed before going to leaching plant, Ajo, Ariz.

14102. Tanks in which pulverized copper ore is concentrated by a flotation process, Ariz. Underwood 245935

14103. Drawing up lead starting sheets to which copper standing sheets are attached, Ajo, Ariz. Underwood 245795

14429. Threshing wheat, Arizona. Underwood 245968

14431. Harvesting wheat showing near view of reaper, Yuma, Valley, Ariz.

8A fallen Monarch of an unknown age, Petrified Forest, Arizona

Agatized Ruins of a great Primeval Forest, near Adamana, Arizona 1903

America's Sahara, the Haunted resort - an ocean of drifting sands, Az. 1903.

Among the 30,000 Cattle of Sierra Bonita Ranch - Lassoing a yearling, Arizona. 1903.

8An eroded Sentinel - Survivor of the primeval Flood, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903.

Angel's Gateway and Newberry Terrace from across the Colorado River, Grand Canon of Arizona 1903

Approaching an ancient dwelling in the cliff, Bonito canyon, AZ. 1903.

At breakfast - typical desert home of the Navajo Indians, Navajo Reservation, Arizona. 1903.

"Battleship Iowa" from Bright Angel Trail, grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

Beside the Colorado - Looking up to Zoroaster Tower from Pipe Creek, Grand Canyon of the Colorado, 1903.

Blanket Weaving - a Hopi Indian at work, Wolpi, Arizona, 1903.

Blown Asunder by Volcanic energies - Red Mountain, an extinct Volcano, Northwestern Arizona 1903

The Campfire Chorus - Near the Grand Canyon of Arizona. 1903

Camping  among the cedars, Head of Grand View Trail, Grand Canyon of Arizona

The castles from Head of Hance's Cave, Grand Canyon of Arizona.

A cattle Round-up in Arizona - "cutting out" the cows and calves. 1901.

Chief of the religious Snake Dance at Wolpi - the mysterious Cliff Dwellers, AZ. USA.  1901

Chief of the Kachina Dance at the Moki (Cliff Dwellers) Village of Schomovi, AZ . 1901

Climbing the loop, on the Mountain Railway to Morenci Copper Mines, Arizona 1903

Colorado River at Cremation Point from Billell (?)'s Pt., Grand Canyon

Copper mine Ridge from the Plateau, Grand View Trail, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

Cowboys examining a yearling's brand to settle a dispute, Sierra Bonita Ranch, Arizona.1903.

In the Crater Heart of Red Mountain, Coconino County, Arizona. 1903.

A crevice in the lava beds near Sunset Mountains, AZ. 1903.

The Cross-cut Sandstone Layer (380 ft. deep), Bright Angel Trail, grand Canon of Arizona. 1903.

The Dance Rock of the Hopi's - Revered by the Indians, Wolpi, AZ.

Dance Rock, Wolpi, Arizona, where the Cliff Dwellers perform their strange religious rites with rattlesnakes, U.S. A. 1901.

Descending Grand View Trail - Grand Canyon of Arizona. 1903

The Detroit Copper Company's Concentrator in the Copper Hills of Morenci, Arizona  1903

Down the Granite Gorge of the Colorado (1200 feet deep) from Petritese Point, Grand Canyon of Arizona. 1903

Drilling Copper Ore one Mile underground - the Wilson Mine, Metcalf, Arizona . 1903.

Drilling Copper Ore one Mile underground - the Wilson Mine, Metcalf, Arizona . 1903. (alt)

Entrance to the Crater of the long extinct volcanoes of Red Mountain, AZ. 1903.

An Eroded Sentinel - Survivor of the primitive Flood,  Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

"Eternity Leap" - 4000 feet straight down - Colorado River,Grand Canon, Arizona, U.S.A. 1901

Evening on the Desert - Navajo Indian Reservation, AZ. 1903.

A Fallen Monarch of an unknown age, Petrified Forest, Arizona. 1903

From O'Neil's Point to Newberry Terrace and Vishnu Temple, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

From Red to San Francisco Mountain - a woody wilderness in sun-kissed Arizona. 1903

From Red to San Francisco Mountain - a woody wilderness in sun-kissed Arizona. 1903 (alt)

Gazing into a Yawning Chasm 5000 feet deep, Moran's Point, grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

Gigantic Red Sandstone Terrace, Looking south from the lower plateau, Grand Canon of Arizona 1903        

Grand Canyon from the head of Grand View Trail, tourists on ledge at top left

Home duties of the Hopi Man - a scene at the Indian Village of Oraibi, Arizona. 1903

Homes of a Vanished Race - Cliff Dwellings in Walnut Canon, Arizona. 1903

Hopi girls weaving baskets, Village of Shipaulovi on reservation, Arizona, 1903

Hopi Indian Girls grinding corn - a home scene at Shanghopavi, Az. 1903.

Hopi Indian woman's occupation, Baby nursing and basket weaving.

Hopi squaw coiling clay into pottery, Oraibi, Arizona

The Hopi Indian Rain Dancers, whose Masks are Held Sacred, Shonghopavi, Arizona. 1903

Inclines to the copper mines, Metcalf, Arizona 1902.

Indian Pictographs, undeciphered Writing of antiquity, near Adamana, Arizona. 1903

Indian Trading Post , Canon Diablo, Navajo Reservation, Arizona 03

Jesters and Sacred "Rain-bringers" (Kachinas), Hopi Indian Village of Oraibi, Arizona.

The Kachina Dance to the rain god, Hopi Indian Village, Shonghopavi, Arizona 1903.

Laberynthine ways through the Lava ash formations, Red Mountain Crater, Arizona. 1903.

In the Limestone, halfway down Grand View Trail, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

Loading Surface Ore, Metcalf Copper Mines, Arizona. 1903

A long-buried chapter in the tale of the Ages, Petrified Forest, AZ. 1903.

Looking down upon Ayer's Peak, a mountain 6,000 feet high, Grand Canon of Arizona          1903

Man on horse at sentinel point, Grand Canyon seen beyond 1901

Man posed with horse and mules along trail into Grand Canyon, 1901

The Metropolis of the Hopis - Oraibi, Arizona. 1903

A Mighty Sentinel in a Trackless Waste - Zoroaster Tower, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

A miner's little daughter photographing the President - President McKinley and his little friends of Arizona. 1901.

Miners inside Wilson Mine, Metcalf, Arizona

A Moki (Cliff Dweller) young lady's early morning toilet, Wolpi, Arizona, U.S. A.  1901

Moki children in festival dress - among the cliff dwellers, AZ. USA.

Moki Cliff Dwellers showing woman braiding another's hair, Wolpi, Arizona, 1901

A Moki Mother and her Babe - Tewa, Arizona, U.S.A.

Mountains of Copper Ore, King Canon, near Metcalf, Arizona 1903

Moving a Heard, Sierra Bonita, the oldest Ranch in Arizona - where 30,000 Cattle range. 1903

Nature's barriers conquered by human genius - Railway over Canon Diablo, Arizona. 1903.

A night in the bed of Grapevine Creek, Grand Canon of Arizona From O'Neil's Point to Newberry Terrace and Vishnu temple, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

Picturesque Wolpi (N.) 600 feet above desert, Hopi Indian Reservation, Arizona. 1903

The Plaza, "Pueblo" of Mishonginovi, the second largest Village of the ancient Cliff Dwellers, Az. USA 1901

President McKinley ascending the mountain to he Congress Gold Mine, Phoenix, Arizona. 1901

President McKinley at the Congress Gold Mine, Phoenix, Arizona. 1901

President McKinley and party pose at Blue Tank Mountains Arizona, 1901

President McKinley and party on the Blue Tank Mountains Arizona, 1901

The Presidential Party descending the 3000 ft. shaft into the Congress Gold Mine, Phoenix, Arizona 1901

Principal Street in he Indian Village of Shonghopavi, Hopi Reservation, Arizona. 1903

The Overhanging Boulder, Midnight Canon, Arizona. 1903

The Rain Dancers (Kachinas) Leaving Oraibi, largest of the Hopi Indian Villages, Arizona. 1903

Red Canyon Trail, 2 thousand feet below the rim of the Grand Canyon      1903

On the Rim one mile above the Plateau - O'Neil's Point,  Grand Canon of Arizona 03

Roughing it in the Grand Canon of Arizona ­ the Morning Greeting, ³Camp Comfort.²1903          

Rounding  Cape Horn on the Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

Ruins of the Cliff Dwellers, in the sheer walls of Bonito Canon, Arizona. 1903

Runaway Fox (Kewanwahitwa) and his home at Oraibi, Hopi Indian Reservation, Arizona. 1903

Sacred Eagles on house-top in Shipaulvi - S. E. to Mishongnovi, Hopi Reservation, Arizona. 1903

Seething Waters of the Colorado - looking down from Pipe Creek, Grand Canon of Arizona 03

Sheep Raising, an extensive industry in Northern Arizona 03

Shooting Jack Rabbits among the Yucca Plants, Sulphur Spring Valley, Arizona 03

The sinuous Colorado, yellow as the Tiber - N. from Bissell's Point, grand Canon, Arizona. 1903

South side of Wolpi, a Moqui refuge from the Spanish Conqueror, Arizona U. S. A. 1901

The Spring Round-up, Sierra Bonita Ranch - the greatest cattle ranch in Arizona. 1903

Stairway through Cliff, North entrance to Hopi Indian Village, Mishongnovi, Arizona. 1903

A Street in the Mining Camp of Morenci, Arizona 1903

The "Strenuous" (?) Life of the Hopi Indians - an afternoon scene, Oraibi Village, Arizona. 1903

Surveying the Grand Canon of Arizona - at work on Sentinel Point 1903

"A tangled skein of Mountain Ranges"- Up grand Canon of Arizona from Moran's Cove. 1903

Terrace Home of the Hopi Indians - street scene in Oraibi, Hopi Reservation, Arizona.

Thirteen Miles from Rim to Rim - North from Sentinal Point, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

Trophies from Rocky Mountain Wilds - curios in the home of a trapper, Grand Canyon of Arizona

The tourists view - Sentinel Point and Walcott Peak from Bright Angel Hotel, Grand Canyon of Arizona

Two thousand feet below the Rim, Red Canon Trail, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903.

Typical Hopi Indian Home, Mishongnovi, Arizona 1903

Up the Colorado from Peritese Point to Zoroaster Tower, Grand Canyon of Arizona. 1903.

A Vast Incomparable Void - North from head of Red Canon Trail, Grand Canon of Arizona 1902

W. N. W. - Down the Colorado River, foot of Grand View Trail (1200 feet cut through solid granite) 1903.

Where Copper is King, Clifton, Arizona, 1903.

Where a miss-step means destruction - looking from the head of Grand View Trail, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903

A Wilderness of Sand - miles from human habitation, Painted Desert of Arizona, 1903.

A wonder to the primitive inhabitants - Santa Fe train crossing Canon Diablo, Arizona  1903

Worn by storms of countless years - a remnant of a Mesa amid desert sands. AZ. 1903.

Young Mountaineers - a dangerous Playground, Grand Canon of Arizona. 1903.

©Jeremy Rowe 2002


PUBLISHER: UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD

SERIES: GRAND CANYON (18 CARD SERIES)

DATE: 1904

1. A wonder to the primitive inhabitants - Santa Fe Train crossing Canon Diablo. 1903

2. From Red to San Francisco Mountains - A woody wilderness in sun-kissed Arizona. 1903

3. Blown Asunder by volcanic energies - Red Mountain, an extinct    volcano. 1903

4. Labyrinthine ways through the lava-ash formations, Red Mountain crater

5. "The sinuous Colorado, yellow as the Tiber," North from Bissell's Point

6. Among the Buttes, Red Canon Trail. 1903

7. Fathoming the Depth of a vanished sea - Grand Canon from Hance's Cove. 1903

8. Descending Grand View Trail. 1903

9. Dendritic stalagmites in a limestone cave. 1903

10. Angel's Gateway and Newberry Terrace from Cottonwood Spring

11. Beside the Colorado, Looking up to Zoroaster Tower from Pipe Creek

12. Down the Granite Gorge of the Colorado (1200 feet deep) from Pyrites Point. 1903

13. Prospecting for gold, Indian Gardens, Grand Canyon. 1903

14. Rounding "Cape Horn" on the Bright Angel Trail. 1903

15. Thos. Moran, artist sketching, Bright Angel Cove, Grand Canyon. 1903

16. "Over all broods a solemn silence" - Sunset at O'Neil's Point. 1903

17. Overlooking nature's greatest amphitheatre - from Rowe's Point, N. W. 1903

18. On the Brink, one mile above the river - N. W. from Rowe's Point. 1903

©Jeremy Rowe 2017


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