"In 1882, Todd was commissioned to take a series of photographs illustrating the deleterious effects of hydraulic mining for presentation in the case of Edwards Woodruff v. the North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company. He photographed a debris dam in Sucker Flat Ravine at Smartsville, Yuba County. A month later he traveled to North Bloomfield Mine in Nevada County to photograph general views of the hydraulic monitors at work. Todd was called into the Ninth Circuit Court in Sacramento on June 4, 1883, to testify to seven of his photographs which were introduced as evidence in the Woodruff case"--Pioneer Photographers of the West / Peter E. Palmquist and Thomas R. Kailbourn.
From the description of Photographs of the effects of hydraulic mining [graphic] / J.A. Todd. [1882-1883] (California Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 122569585
