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Lot Essay
This intriguing album is thought to have been compiled by Maria Isabelle Mizner, the member of a prominent family in Benicia, California. Her father, Lansing Bond Mizner was a lawyer and a California State Senator at the time the capital was in Benicia. Later, he was appointed by President Harrison as United States Minister to Central America. Mr. Mizner's uncle, Robert Semple, founded Benicia after purchasing the land from General Mariano Vallejo for one hundred dollars. Benicia is located on the Carquinez Strait which connects San Francisco Bay to the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers.
In addition to Marie Isabelle, Mr. Mizner and his wife Ella Watson had six other children. Lansing Jr. was a lawyer, his brother Edgar raced horses, William was a doctor and Henry an Episcopal minister, Addision was a distinguished architect in Florida and Wilson became a playwright. Marie Isabelle, also known as Minnie, married Horace Blanchard Chase and lived in Napa Valley at Stag's Leap Manor, where they planted vineyards in the late 1880s. The grandfather of the album's present owner, owned Stag's Leap Manor from 1957-63, where this album is believed to have originated.
In addition to the group portraits and social gatherings of Minnie Mizner and her friends and contemporaries in Benicia, the album includes two images recording Geronimo and his band and their captors at Fort Bowie, Arizona on September 8, 1886. Of the captors, General Miles, in the center of the image is believed to have brought in Geronimo. Lt. Ames is also among the men on horseback and appears two additional times in the album. It is possible that the photographs of Geronimo and his captors were given by Lt. Ames to Miss Mizner. The album also includes several images of the Benicia Arsenal and its surroundings.
In addition to Marie Isabelle, Mr. Mizner and his wife Ella Watson had six other children. Lansing Jr. was a lawyer, his brother Edgar raced horses, William was a doctor and Henry an Episcopal minister, Addision was a distinguished architect in Florida and Wilson became a playwright. Marie Isabelle, also known as Minnie, married Horace Blanchard Chase and lived in Napa Valley at Stag's Leap Manor, where they planted vineyards in the late 1880s. The grandfather of the album's present owner, owned Stag's Leap Manor from 1957-63, where this album is believed to have originated.
In addition to the group portraits and social gatherings of Minnie Mizner and her friends and contemporaries in Benicia, the album includes two images recording Geronimo and his band and their captors at Fort Bowie, Arizona on September 8, 1886. Of the captors, General Miles, in the center of the image is believed to have brought in Geronimo. Lt. Ames is also among the men on horseback and appears two additional times in the album. It is possible that the photographs of Geronimo and his captors were given by Lt. Ames to Miss Mizner. The album also includes several images of the Benicia Arsenal and its surroundings.