The Great White Fleet Comes to San Francisco

The White Fleet sails into San Francisco

Some of these adventures sent ripples of excitement through the population of San Francisco. One of these events was the Great White Fleet, the mobile foreign policy that President Roosevelt sent out from Hampton Road, Virginia December 16, 1907 to circumnavigate the world. The Fleet sailed into San Francisco, its original destination, on May 6, 1908 and Arthur C. Pillsbury was there to immortalize their entry into the Bay.

Having examined every possible location for the shot of the line of mighty ships steaming into harbor Pillsbury determined that the best position would be on Point Bonita, at the far outside northern entrance of the Golden Gate. Most of the photographers were then staking out positions on Alcatraz Island, standing in mid channel. Two of the men Pillsbury employed were stationed there to create the appearance that this was deemed by him to be the best site. Photographers had swarmed into San Francisco from as far away as Chicago to capture this moment in history.

From Point Bonita, with the glorious arch rock in the foreground, he thought the setting ideal. Pillsbury had kept this plan secret even from the management at the Examiner, who had contracted with him for first publication rights for all of his photos of the ensuing events.

Having obtained a permit from the Army officer in charge of the fortifications there Pillsbury set out at day break in a launch to ensure he was in place when the ships began their approach.

When the moment arrived Arthur C. Pillsbury stood alone on Bonita Point, his camera poised to capture history as it streamed towards him across the glistening water. In his autobiography Pillsbury said of that moment,

“ ...the fleet came steaming in to the Golden Gate in perfect formation also in the northern channel nearest me the sky was overcast but the light perfect and my trusty panorama did its self proud, the fleet steamed on by me, the grey fog settled down and the proud procession disappeared into it. The other camera men could only see two or three of the battle ships at once, and my picture of the hundreds taken was the only one showing the entire fleet entering the Gate. It was so good the Examiner ran it full size 3 feet long across both pages and its sale almost equaled that of the fire pictures; it was a thing of beauty, as well as of historical value.”

The entry of the White Fleet into San Francisco was marked by an outburst of patriotic fervor; sailors were feted, the ships were toured; speeches made. The Pillsbury Studio, then located at 219 Powell St, San Francisco, offered prints of the photos that chronicled the events. This included not only the shots of the ships coming in but other shots that showed what was happening on board the ships as they were under way. Panorama photos of these images were produced to be used as postcards, a specialty of the Pillsbury Picture Company, and one shows “Teddy”, a small bear, climbing the rigging of the USS Buffalo. The bear, named for the Commander-in-Chief, is wearing a collar and seems to be enjoying himself in his unusual environment. Most of the photos were also produced as smaller postcards, since these sold more.

The studio in San Francisco did a booming business in post cards and fine prints featuring the San Francisco scene and also sold prints from Yosemite. Also sold at the studio in San Francisco were the d'orotones of Yosemite; these were photos produced on glass and backed with gold to produce an amazing depth and intensity.

The sales of events such as the entry of the White Fleet into San Francisco, were the jam, adding to the bread and butter of sales that made up the income of the Pillsbury Picture Company. As excitement waned over events as they receded into the past so did sales. Pillsbury had been through many such waves of excitement over particular photos and was always looking for ways to bring in more customers. Sometimes things happened that he did not anticipate but he always remembered what the customer wanted. The photos were important.