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Rare prints and maps...Since 1918! Click here to go to Darvill's home page.

Since Adirondack Retro acquired Darvill's Rare Prints in August of 2022, we have been working tirelessly on our New State-Of-The Art Website. We are excited to announce that it is now up and running and that our massive inventory of Antique Prints and Rare Maps are being transferred over to the new site daily. In addition to the nearly 500,000 prints found on www.DarvillsRarePrints.com, Adirondack Retro offers an eclectic selection of Antique and Vintage Advertisements along with their Limited Edition Giclee Prints. During this transition, customers will still be able to shop and make purchases on www.DarvillsRarePrints.com.

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PPIE at San Francisco, CA 1915

In 1915, San Francisco held one of the most fantastic World's Fairs the country has ever seen—the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
Ostensibly to honor the completion of the Panama Canal, the exposition went much further in its grandeur and broad scope as these photos attest.

These are authentic photos from the official expo photographers, the Cardinell Vincent Company.
Most have the embossed stamp of the photographers and are generally in very good to excellent condition with minimal warping, foxing, etc.
(which are quite common to photos that are over 100 years old).

Please click on the thumbnails for enlargements.
You are encouraged to visit www.sanfranciscomemories.com for more history and background of the P.P.I.E.

Darvill's Rare Print Shop was located in San Francisco in the late 1920s through the 1930s and our founder,
Fred T. Darvill, Sr., amassed a huge collection of original PPIE photos. We are proud to offer them here.
Please check back often, as we are constantly adding to the site from this impressive historical treasure of original photographs.

The photos below are the original 1915 P.P.I.E. photos that were printed on heavy photo paper and would have been sold to fair-goers.
They are not modern reproductions!
The photos are generally in very good to excellent condition, but they are over 100 years old and some mild warping of the paper is to be expected.
Any major flaws will be noted.

To jump to a certain type of original antique photograph from the PPIE, please click on one of the below links
The Mullgardt Tower

original 100+-year-old photos of The California Building and Forbidden Garden from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915

The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-1 HAND-COLORED
(7" x 8 7/8")
Condition notes: somewhat unevenly trimmed
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-2 B/W
(7 7/8" x 9 7/8")
Condition notes: sky area has a few spots (possibly on negative when printed)
$30
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-3 SEPIA
(7 7/8" x 9 7/8")
Condition notes: NONE
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-4 BW
(8" x 10")
Condition notes: NONE
$35
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-5 BUFF
(7 7/8" x 9 3/4")
Condition notes: mild toning around edges
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-6 SEPIA
(7 5/8" x 9 5/8")
Condition notes: mild toning around edges
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-7 B/W
(7 5/8" x 9 5/8")
Condition notes: some spots on left side
$20
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-10 BUFF
(9 3/4" x 7 3/4")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-8 SEPIA
(8" x 10")
Condition notes: margins have a little foxing, spot in upper left sky area
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-11 BUFF
(9 3/4" x 7 3/4")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-9 B/W
(8" x 10")
Condition notes: top margins has some slight staining, some unobtrusive light spots (probably on negative when printed)
$35
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-12 SEPIA
(10" x 8")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-13 B/W
(10" x 8")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$35
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-14 BUFF
(10" x 8")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-15 SEPIA
(9 5/8" x 7 5/8")
Condition notes: NONE
$40
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-16 B/W
(9 1/4" x 7 3/8")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$35
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-17 SEPIA
(9 7/8" x 7 7/8")
Condition notes: NONE
$30
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-18 BUFF
(9 7/8" x 7 7/8")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$35
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-19 B/W
(9 5/8" x 7 3/4")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges, light spots in sky area (probably on negative when printed)
$30
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-20 BUFF
(9 3/4" x 7 3/4")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$30
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-21 BUFF
(9 5/8" x 7 5/8")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$30
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-22 BUFF
(9 3/4" x 7 3/4")
Condition notes: mild silvering around edges
$30
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-23 BUFF
(9 3/4" x 7 3/4")
Condition notes: mild toning around edges
$20
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-24 B/W
(9 1/4" x 8 1/4" on thinner paper)
Condition notes: none
$15
 
The California Building at the PPIE San Francisco 1915
The California Building
CAL-25 BUFF
(9 7/8" x 7 7/8")
Condition notes: mild toning around edges and margins
$25
 

next page

(The Palace of Horticulture)

To jump to a certain type of original antique photograph from the PPIE, please click on one of the below links
The Mullgardt Tower

Panama-Pacific International Exposition home page