When photography was invented in the 1820s, California hadn’t even been awarded statehood. Mexico had control of the region, and the first organised group of American settlers wouldn’t arrive until 1841. The Bear Flag Revolt (after which California was an independent nation for 25 days) and the Mexican-American War ensued, but photographs only really started telling California’s story after gold was struck in 1848.

Click through this gallery to see extraordinary early images of the Golden State, all of which are over a century old...