Cliff House in a Storm Victorian Black and White Gelatin Silver Photograph After Tsunekichi Imai

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For over a century this view of San Francisco’s Cliff House under a black, storm-charged sky has been sold with … Read more For over a century this view of San Francisco’s Cliff House under a black, storm-charged sky has been sold with a better story than it needed. The shot is amazing, and stands by itself. Early souvenir copies claimed a young Japanese photographer took the last streetcar to Ocean Beach and waited past midnight for lightning to expose the plate. The photographer’s son later said the scene was shot by day and darkened in the studio. Also known as Cliff House in a Storm and Nighttime Cloud Effect, the image is credited to Tsunekichi Imai (T. Imai), whose family described him as the city’s first Japanese commercial photographer. It shows the Victorian chateau Adolph Sutro built in 1896, which burned in 1907.

This is a later gelatin silver print, probably made in the 1970s from a copy negative of the c. 1900 original. It is sharp, printed on a fine matte paper typical of the period, and affixed to a mat backing. The print measures 11 by 14 inches. The listing photographs show it in full, both out of the frame and as mounted on its backing.

The print is presented in an ornate silver-toned frame with acanthus-scroll moulding, a rope-twist inner fillet and a deep black velvet mat. The frame was reglazed with Artglass AR 99 anti-reflective museum glass, which blocks 99 percent of UV light, and refitted with conservation backing. Photographs were white-balanced to a gray card under daylight-balanced lighting; colors may display slightly differently across screens. See less