Texas? Stereoview w/ conflicting descriptions

Haven't received this card yet, but I figure i'd ask about the conflicting descriptions on back. From the looks of the card, it'd date 1850's-1860's. The photographers name didn't really turn up anything concrete with a google search.

Odessa, Russia/Ukraine? Corpus Christi, Texas? There appears to be cannons and lots of ships.

 

There is Odessa TX but nowhere near the Gulf.

 

Odessa (and what follows) seems to be crossed out, but below that (and just above "Texas Etats Unis") it says "Muelle (?) en Corpus Cristi." That first word might be something different that attempting a French to English translation might sort out.

 

Muelle is Spanish for Dock according to google. Yeah, the first description appears to be crossed out. I just wonder why, and if the second description can be believed. I've had a few cards with completely wrong information on the back.

 

I'm just wondering why Mr. Lopez was traveling to Russia. In the 1850s-60's, it was rather a big deal to haul your photographic equipment around to far off locations. There were a number of famous photographers that produced large series when they traveled to Egypt, China, Japan, and other more exotic areas, of course. This man does not seem to have been documented much, at least according to the internet.

 

Interesting that is supposed to be a dock. I would have thought a fort.

 

I wonder why some of the writing is in Spanish and some in French.

 

http://www.distancefromto.net/distance-from-spain-to-ukraine That doesn't seem so simple by slow boat. But sure, it's of course doable.

I was thinking more along the line of Lopez being in Central America/Mexico and traveling from there.

Gotta wonder why the two totally different descriptions...

The card stock is nicely done and the photographs look professional, so this wasn't some amateur/one off type deal.

 

There's a circa 1887 "bird's-eye view" map of Corpus Christi on the Wikipedia page for the city's history that shows 2 long docks (used at that time for rail traffic) that may be the ones in the stereo-view (or in situ replacements for earlier ones.) But the map does not show any kind of fortified bulkhead in the position from which the pictures would have been taken. Seems to me that even after 20-30 years (from your approx. timeframe) something as strong as what I see in the picture (with all those cannon emplacements) should still be there.

I also scanned through the list of Texas Historical Markers for CC and surroundings and didn't find anything that sounded like it either.

 

There's a Spanish photographer of the right period. Full name Eduardo López y Cembrando. He worked in Cádiz. Hum... Wonder if photograph is of Cádiz. I'll see if I can find a vintage photograph of muelle.

Debora

 

Whadjathink? Two views -- bateria of Cádiz.

Debora

 

Interesting. The area does look somewhat similar. That would mean there were two completely wrong descriptions on back though. Odd. I also wonder why a well known photographer would leave out his last name on his published photographs. Another oddity. Hopefully when I get the card I can enhance the scene some and maybe find a clue or two.

 

You know... It does appear that he used both his surnames professionally.

Debora

 

Yesterday I also found mention of a 19th-century photographer from Puerto Rico named Eduardo López Cepera. However, it sounds like he was active later in the 19th century than you are estimating your card to be. Here is what it says in the Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, in a short article about photographers in Puerto Rico. The content of the sentence is what struck me:

"By the end of the 19th century, the vernacular photographer Eduardo López Cepero documented the city of San Juan and its fortresses." [Emphasis added by me.]

Here is a link to the page in Google Books:
https://books.google.com/books?id=K...rdo lopez" "puerto rico" photographer&f=false

I have not found any other information about this photographer. But since it refers to end of the 19th century it may not be relevant anyway.

 

my BIL is named Juan.......boy do I have fun with that !!!
my wife only has one brother...but that doesn't stop me from asking...Which Juan ? .......hehehe!!!!

 

Having seen many ports, I think a lot of them look alike in these old photos. I had an aunt who belonged to an international post card club in 1900-1920 and these old ports with cannons pop up often. Very scenic, apparently. Maybe the person was identifying a lot of images and made a mistake and someone came along later and corrected it. Two different handwritings. Maybe it's "Mirelle" (a name) instead of Muelle, although Dock makes sense.