Diamond - 19th Century Colorado Photographers

Dan Diamond in Craig, Colorado

Born in Huron, Ontario, Canada, Dan Diamond worked as a cabinetmaker in Chicago before learning photography. Chicago’s cold weather, combined with the dusty conditions of a woodworking shop, irritated Diamond’s lungs. This condition would plague him for the rest of his life. Diamond returned to Ontario, studied photography, and set up a studio in Pocatello, … Continue reading “Dan Diamond in Craig, Colorado”

Photographers in Routt County, Colorado

This blog post presents a chronological listing of photographers who had studios in Routt County in the 19th century. (In 1911, the western portion of Routt County split off to form Moffat County.) More detailed posts for some of these photographers are available on the blog. Routt and Moffat Counties are located in the northwest … Continue reading “Photographers in Routt County, Colorado”

James M. Goins, The First Black Photographer in Denver
James M. Goins was born circa 1850 in Ohio. In 1869 he opened a photography gallery in Chicago, Illinois with J. G. Johnson. Goins remained in Chicago for nearly a decade, offering cartes de visite and opal miniatures. He also made enlargements from old and faded photographs and photographs colored on oil, India Ink, or […]
William Cronyn’s Talented and Tragic Life
Last fall I attended the annual Daguerreian Society meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. I was on the lookout for photographs by Colorado photographers at the trade fair. An image made by Cronyn & Hibbs of a woman with a guitar caught my attention. I thought the name Cronyn was in my database, so I hustled up […]
Picturing Longmont Lecture
The Longmont Museum (Longmont, Colorado) is presenting a program featuring early photographs of Longmont on Thursday, February 29 at 7 pm in the Museum’s Stewart Auditorium. Director Erik Mason and the museum’s new Curator of History Elizabeth Beaudoin will show images selected from the Museum’s photo archive. The program is presented in conjunction with […]
Denver Photographer J. C. Swan
To celebrate Black History Month, this post is illustrated with a portrait of an unidentified Black woman made in a Denver studio by White photographer, J. C. Swan. Only a few Black photographers worked in Colorado, and information about them is very limited. An earlier post discussed one of them, John Green. As a follow-up […]
A. E. Lickman’s Short Career in Denver
A couple of interesting photographs inspired this post. I had never heard of A. E. Lickman, but the two photographs shown below made me wonder who he was and the extent of his work. Albert E. Lickman (1864-1945) arrived in New York City in 1887, crossing the Atlantic from Liverpool, England on the Steam Ship […]
Photographers in Routt County, Colorado
This blog post presents a chronological listing of photographers who had studios in Routt County in the 19th century. (In 1911, the western portion of Routt County split off to form Moffat County.) More detailed posts for some of these photographers are available on the blog. Routt and Moffat Counties are located in the northwest […]
Four Female Photo Retouchers in 19th Century Denver
Photo studios hired artists to retouch or “improve” negatives before making prints, often hiring women for these positions. As the stories below illustrate, the field attracted young, single women and widows in need of employment. The work could be done at the studio or in the retoucher’s home. Retouchers used a variety of lead […]
Dan Diamond in Craig, Colorado
Born in Huron, Ontario, Canada, Dan Diamond worked as a cabinetmaker in Chicago before learning photography. Chicago’s cold weather, combined with the dusty conditions of a woodworking shop, irritated Diamond’s lungs. This condition would plague him for the rest of his life. Diamond returned to Ontario, studied photography, and set up a studio in Pocatello, […]
Elmer E. Pascoe in Creede, Colorado
Elmer E. Pascoe was born on November 3, 1861, in Indianapolis, Indiana to British immigrant, James Pascoe and Pennsylvania native Louisa Synder Pascoe. James worked as a boilermaker for the railroad. Elmer attended public schools in Indianapolis and graduated from high school. In 1879, Elmer moved south to New Orleans, accepting a position in the […]
George Stephan, Photographer, Attorney, and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
George Stephan was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 30, 1862, to John C. Stephan and Elizabeth Watson Stephan. His father worked as a dentist. George attended Cleveland public schools, graduating from high school in 1878. George moved to Denver four years later, where his uncle Henry W. Watson ran a photography studio. George likely […]

19thcenturycoloradophotographers_d5uooh on John Green, a Black Photographer in DenverApril 13, 2024
Dear Mr. Kautzman, Thank you very much for your e-mail. I apologize for my tardy reply. How nice that you…
Harry R Kautzman on John Green, a Black Photographer in DenverApril 2, 2024
I have tin type photo of my Grandfather, Harry Hill, and another man. The sleeve it is in says John…
Kathy Gibson on A. E. Lickman’s Short Career in DenverFebruary 2, 2024
Wow! Interesting! I want to go on a rabbit trail to find out more about him.
Martha H Kennedy on Photographers in Routt County, ColoradoJanuary 17, 2024
So well done, thank you. I enjoyed reading this.
Snow Portraits on Let it Snow!December 30, 2023
[…] The photos that accompany these good wishes are of two women wearing winter clothing which would be of the…