Osceola, IA
The parking lot at Terrible's Casino
Hitting the Road
Popular Photography August 1938
Hitting the road on yet another Midwestern tour. Perhaps there will be snaps from the road.
Vacation
Popular Photography August 1938
Not very French
Thrills from Stills
Popular Photography, August 1938
My love
Still a popular look
Happy Birthday, my love
Tiddlywinks
American Annual of Photography 1932
Same Shoes
No one will question the importance of pictorial records, although professional historians in general have not often made them a matter of serious study. In fact, the most surprising circumstance is that many historians, professionals, and amateurs alike, who are most meticulous about documenting their written manuscripts with source notes and arguments, use illustrations without the least attempt at documenting the source or authenticity of the illustrations used. This practice is so common that it seems invidious to single out any one case for criticism.
. . . Unfortunately seldom is there available all the information which we would desire in forming a complete and competent judgment on any artists’ work so far as its value to the social historian goes. The same comment, of course, could be made on the written record upon which our present histories are based. The same procedures, therefore, in passing judgment on the pictorial record must be employed as is employed in the examination of the written record, namely, to utilize the information that is available to the best of our ability and intelligence. (Robert Taft, Artists and Illustrators of the Old West 1850-1900 [1953], p. 249, 251)
Outstanding in the field
I can’t stop thinking about this image, taken from half a stereoview by T.W. Ingersoll of St. Paul. I believe the man closest to the camera is H.H. Bennett, and the setting is Bennett’s beloved Wisconsin Dells. Adding figures to a stereoview is a standard practice to highlight the scale and to contribute to the illusion of depth.
The professional photographic community of the late nineteenth century seems to be loosely joined, and yet profoundly important. It was as if they used each other to measure themselves, as they competed for the scarce discretionary dollars available to consumers. They inevitably crossed, sharing some secrets while protecting others— conscious of the need for connection while careful to assert their independence from each other.
The littered path, constructed from timbers, is a common feature of most of the photographs of the canyons of the dells. The whole scene is constructed, not in a carefully thought out way, but rather as if they just threw things down in order to have a place to stand.
