Joseph Britton (lithographer)

Joseph Britton (1825 – July 18, 1901) was a lithographer, the co-founder of prominent San Francisco lithography studio Britton and Rey, and a civic leader in San Francisco, serving as a member of the Board of Supervisors and helping to draft a new city charter.

Britton was born in Yorkshire, England, and at age 10 immigrated to New York City, where he took up the trade of lithography.[1] He came to California during the Gold Rush, travelling in 1849 with the George Gordon party via steamer from New York and overland travel through Nicaragua,[2] an arduous journey that took eight months instead of the advertised two.[3] After several unsuccessful years in various California mining camps, he settled in San Francisco in 1852.[1][4]

In 1852 he became active in lithography and publishing, first under the name Pollard and Britton, and then Britton and Rey, a printing company founded with his friend and eventual brother-in-law Jacques Joseph Rey.[1] Britton and Rey became known as the premier lithographic and engraving studio of the Gold Rush era, producing letter sheets, maps, and artistic prints.[1][4] Common subjects in the studio's output included views of California cities and towns, depictions of mining life, and architecture. In 1857 the studio received a diploma for "The finest specimens presented" at a Mechanics' Institution exhibition, and Britton became a member of the institution[4] and judge for the following year's exhibition.[1]

Britton was active in San Francisco civic affairs for most of his life. He was reported to be a prominent participant in the Committee of Vigilance reform movement of the early 1850s[5] and a member of the People's Party in the 1860s.[2] He served on the Board of Supervisors in the 1860s and again in 1870,[1] and with Henry L. Davis and James Moffitt, helped finance Andrew Smith Hallidie's Clay Street cable car line in 1872, the first of its kind in the world.[6] In later years he pursued efforts to establish a local political party, the Taxpayers' party, which grew into a committee of freeholders, of which he was elected president in 1897, responsible for drafting a new San Francisco city charter.[5] The charter was ratified by a public vote in 1898, approved by the state legislature in 1899, and took effect January 1, 1900.[7]

Britton was a lifelong bachelor, and lived with his sister and Rey, who married in 1855.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Palmquist, Peter E.; Kailbourn, Thomas R. (2000). "Britton, Joseph". Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Stanford University Press. pp. 124–125. ISBN 9780804738835.
  2. ^ a b "The Passing of Joseph Britton". San Francisco Chronicle. July 19, 1901. p. 16.
  3. ^ Ingalls, Libby. "George Gordon". FoundSF. Retrieved 2017-01-01.
  4. ^ a b c Lekisch, Barbara (2003). "Britton, Joseph". Embracing Scenes about Lakes Tahoe & Donner: Painters, Illustrators & Sketch Artists 1855-1915. Great West Books. p. 29. ISBN 9780944220146.
  5. ^ a b "Father of the Charter is Claimed by Death". San Francisco Call. July 19, 1901. p. 14.
  6. ^ "ANDREW S. HALLIDIE". Street Railway Journal. 11 (5): 311–312. May 1895. hdl:2027/njp.32101051126298.
  7. ^ Treadwell, Edward Francis (1899-01-01). The charter of the city and county of San Francisco: proposed by a Board of Freeholders, March 25, 1898 ; ratified by a vote of the people, May 26, 1898 ; approved by the Legislature, Jan. 19, 1899 ; in effect January 1, 1900. San Francisco: Bancroft-Whitney.