Month: February 2023

C. C. Wright Photographs Colorado’s Legislature

Charles C. Wright was born in East Livermore, Maine.  He married Sarah Ann Judkins on November 28,1860, in Lawrence, MA.  Marriage records cite his occupation as a teamster.

By 1870, Wright, known professionally as C. C. Wright, operated a photography studio in Lafayette, Indiana where he worked for more than a decade.  In 1882 he arrived in Colorado, setting up a temporary gallery in Central City, before opening a studio in Denver that December over Reithmann’s Drug Store, at the corner of Fifteenth and Larimer streets.

Stereo of Larimer Street
Alexander Martin, photographer. Larimer St. from 15th St., showing C. C. Wright’s photography gallery on the right, between 1882 and 1886, albumen silver stereo view. History Colorado. Accession # 84.192.405.

In 1884, for the July 4th holiday, Wright and his wife accompanied a small group to Silver Plume on the Colorado Central via the recently completed Georgetown Loop, an engineering feat of horseshoe curves and four bridges that were used to link Georgetown with Silver Plume, only two miles apart.

That same year, Wright employed a young Adolph F. Muhr, later known for his portraits of Native Americans.  In 1885, Wright’s brother-in-law, David Roby Judkins, briefly worked at the Denver studio. In December 1885, Wright opened a branch gallery in Central City, employing Morton E. Chase.

CO Senate
C. C. Wright, photographer. Colorado Senate, 1885, albumen silver print. Denver Public Library Special Collections.

Wright photographed the Colorado legislature on more than one occasion, making a composite portrait of the 1885 Colorado Senate.  He also made a group portrait of the pages that assisted the state legislature.  Nine boys wearing hats bearing the words “House Page,” stand in front of a hand painted backdrop.  The backdrop is signed on the lower left corner by Davis and a partner’s name that is illegible.  

Wright was one of six photographers who submitted work to the Colorado Manufacturers Exposition held in Denver in 1886.

House Pages
C. C. Wright, photographer. House Pages, between 1882-1887, albumen silver print. Denver Public Library Special Collections.

On January 20, 1887, Wright was traveling through the city in his carriage when he made a sharp turn.  The carriage tipped over, and Wright landed in the street.  He died less than a week later from injuries sustained during the accident at the age of forty-six.  A large funeral was held with participation of fraternal organizations and many local photographers. The procession led by the Opera House band, walked to Wright’s studio where services were conducted.  The crowd then proceeded to Riverside Cemetery.  

Shortly before his death, Wright had opened a new studio at 910 Sixteenth street. His wife is listed as a photographer in the 1887 Denver City Directory.  Henry Rothberger took over the studio by October 1887.

Thank you to Beverly W. Brannan, former curator of photography, Library of Congress, for proof-reading this post.

William E. Few, A Civil War Veteran With A Camera

William Edwin Few was born on March 27, 1847, in New York state to William Few and Frances H. Phillips Few.  Few enlisted in the Civil War at the age of eighteen, joining the New York 8th Cavalry Regiment, Company K on March 23, 1865.  He mustered out on June 27, 1865, in Alexandria, Virginia.  

Nanny and child
Disbrow & Few, photographers. Mary Allen Watson and her nanny, June 15, 1866, albumen silver print on cdv mount. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

The following year, Few took up photography with a partner named Disbrow.  They operated as Disbrow & Few in Albion and Barre, New York. The firm photographed six-month old Mary Allen “Daisy” Watson (1865-1944) sitting on the lap of her Black nanny in June 1866.  While the 1860 and 1870 census records list servants in the household, none match up with the woman pictured.  

By 1870, Few had moved his business to Independence, Iowa, and a few years later he traveled south, setting up shop in Little Rock, Arkansas.  The 1880 census lists him as a photographic artist in Delavan, Illinois.  

Based on Few’s Canon City street scene showing blacksmiths Hyde & Ashby, the photographer arrived in Colorado before March 1881, when Hyde took sole control over the shop.  In 1883, photographer Augustus W. Dennis took Few as a partner in his Canon City studio.  After 1883, there are gaps in Few’s career.  He surfaces Montrose, Colorado in 1888 and in 1893 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, again working with Dennis, until his contract expired in May 1894.  Later, Few moved twelve miles west to New Castle, Colorado, making cabinet card photos for three dollars per dozen.

Canon City street scene
Will E. Few, photographer. Canon City street scene, circa 1881, albumen silver print on boudoir card.  Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.

Around 1897, Few moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, working as a caretaker at Lookout Mountain and residing in the Cravens House, a Civil War battle site.  William E. Few died on May 22, 1920, in Chattanooga.  His remains reside at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.  

Thank you to Elisabeth Parker, former assistant chief, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington, D.C., for  proof-reading this post.

 

Aaron Swanson’s Portrait of William Norris Moore, Denver’s First Black High School Graduate

Aaron Swanson arrived in Denver in 1885 as pastor of the Swedish M. E. Church.  In the spring of 1886, having resigned his position at the church, Swanson took over C. C. Wright’s photo studio in Central City, Colorado.  He worked briefly with Morton E. Chase, as Chase & Swanson in both Central City and Denver. His brother, John, was employed in the Denver studio. Swanson married Cora Johnson on November 24, 1887.  Sadly, Aaron Swanson died of consumption at his home in Denver on July 12, 1888.  

Aaron Swanson, photographer. Portrait of William Norris Moore, albumen silver print, 1887. Denver Public Library Special Collections.

Swanson photographed William Norris Moore (1872-1920), the first Black graduate of Denver High School, in 1887.  In his senior portrait, Moore stands in front of a painted studio backdrop of a nature scene.   Fashionably dressed, Moore wears a morning coat, checkered pants, watch fob and holds a walking stick.  His derby hat rests on a pillar.  

Moore spent the last years of his life in Omaha, Nebraska, where he worked a series of jobs including  waiter, porter, and janitor.  He died March 7, 1920 after a long illness, leaving a wife.