Glass Plate Project
Photographs by Frank Day Robinson

circa 1911-1935
Merced County region of Central California

A collection of nearly 600 glass plate negatives by photographer Frank Day (Daniel) Robinson from the early 20th. century.

The collection consists of studio portraits, outdoor event portraits, landscape and farm scenes. The project involves the digital scanning and restoration of this work to document, organize, and make available these long lost images of life in California's Central Valley from 1911 into the 1930s.

These negatives were retrieved from the Merced County Dump on Highway 140 east of Planada in the 1940s. They were picked up, and put in a garage for 40 years, given to a neighbor, who eventually reached out to me when he heard I was doing my book on the Central Valley. I copied many of them, featuring many in my 1993 book The Great Central Valley: California's Heartland.

Most of the negatives are 5x7 commercial portraits. Many of the most interesting view were people working the land made as 8x10 plates, and a few were 11x14 glass plates. This collection remains a clean-up and copying project needing to be done. The goal is to preserve the collection and make it available for appreciation.

Frank Robinson at his 617 (now 1717) L Street studio. Merced County Historical Society and Courthouse Museum

One of Robinson’s boxes of Cramer glass plates.

Ad from 1934 Polk Directory.

FRANK D. ROBINSON

from “A History of Merced County, California” by John Outcalt, 1925. (from cagenweb.org: Merced County, California Biographies 1925)

“Commercial activity in Merced finds a worthy representative in Frank D. Robinson, who has been engaged as a commercial photo­grapher for the past thirteen years at this place, where he has built up a far-reaching and satisfactory business, his work extending over the entire county. He is a native of the county, born near Merced Falls, on March 17, 1875, a son of Dr. William and Malissa (Yonker ) Robinson, whose sketch may also be found in this work.

Frank D. Robinson received a public school education and while the greater part of his life has been spent on a farm he has been employed in various lines of work, broom making, smithing and mill­ing; he learned mineralogy in the old Mariposa Mine.

Since taking up commercial photography he has been content to make Merced his permanent home.

Mr. Robinson's marriage united him with Miss Edith Gann, a daughter of Eli Gann, a California pioneer of Mariposa County. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were the parents of one son, Ernest Alton, who was accidentally killed when only eighteen years of age. Mr. Robinson is independent in his political views, voting for the man best fitted for office, rather than be confined to strict party lines. Fraternally he is a member of Willow Lodge No. 121, I. 0. 0. F., of Snelling, in which he is a Past Grand; he also belongs to Yosemite Lodge No. 30, K. of P., of Merced.”

Frank Robinson. Merced County Historical Society and Courthouse Museum

Mr. Robinson’s earlier work found so far ranges from 1911 and he was listed in the 1935 Polk Directory as still being a working photographer with a studio. He had 16 brothers and sisters, lived to 72 years and apparently died in 1948. He is buried in his Snelling, California near his native Merced Falls.