19thcenturycoloradophotographers_d5uooh - 19th Century Colorado Photographers

George Washington Stiffler, Longmont’s First Permanent Photographer

George Washington Stiffler was the first photographer to settle permanently in Longmont, Colorado. His portraits and views of local events bring the past to life.

G. W. Stiffler was born on May 10, 1835, to George W. Stiffler and Nancy Ann Dust Stiffler, one of thirteen children. The family lived on a farm in Delaware County, Ohio, where his father also operated a milling business. In 1856, the family settled in St. Charles, Madison County, Iowa. The following year, on August 20, 1857, George married Ann Morgan in Madison County. At that time, George worked as a cabinetmaker.

In 1865, Stiffler opened a photography studio in Des Moines, Iowa, with Ann’s younger sister, Beersheba Morgan. George worked in Des Moines for the next twelve or so years, partnering with various people. George and Ann had two sons and a daughter who lived to adulthood. Their daughter, Rosana, died at fifteen. Ann Morgan died the day after giving birth to her son, George.

Less than six months after his wife’s death, Stiffler traveled to Kansas with Ann’s brother, Daniel, and a photo tent. No records indicate who cared for the children, but Ann and George had many siblings who could have provided care. In Kansas, Stiffner & Morgan visited Oskaloosa, Winchester, Holton, Wyandotte, and probably other cities. They offered finely retouched photographs. They also sold views of residences, businesses, and public buildings, such as the Oskaloosa courthouse, for 50 cents.

In 1878, he returned to Des Moines and briefly operated a studio with C. M. Baldwin. A year later, he was in Galena, Kansas.

By the summer of 1880, at age 45, George moved to Golden, Colorado, with his eldest son, Frank, also a photographer. On November 7, 1880, George Stiffler married Alice Jane Grimes. They lived in Golden for about a year, before heading west to Silver Plume, Colorado.

Group portrait in front of Opera House — G. W. Stiffler, photographer. Group outside the Ledger Printing Office. Courtesy of the Longmont Museum.

In June 1883, Stiffler moved into a remodeled gallery east of Idaho Springs’ City Hall. That fall, he left Idaho Springs, selling the gallery to Lachlan McLean. He set up a studio in Longmont, where he would remain for nearly twenty years. He also reunited with his children from his first marriage. Stiffler spent the summer of 1884 in Idaho Springs and Silver Plume. When he returned to Longmont, Stiffler acquired new backgrounds, a rustic fence, and other accessories.

G. W. Stiffler, photographer. Portrait of an unidentified girl holding a copy of the “War Cry,” a publication of the Salvation Army. Courtesy of the Longmont Museum. Courtesy of the Longmont Museum.

In 1888, Stiffler’s daughter, Anna, married William A. Killgore. Killgore learned the photography trade and later partnered with his father-in-law. That year, Stiffler traveled to California and spent five months on the West Coast. He left his brother-in-law, Daniel Morgan, in charge of the studio. Morgan specialized in crayon enlargements. At the 1889 Boulder County Fair, Stiffler exhibited 500 photographs, including views of schools and public buildings. He exhibited at the Colorado Camera Club in 1893. Later that year, he spent two months making photographs in a tent gallery in Castle Rock, Colorado.

On April 7, 1902, Stiffler’s oldest son and former business partner, Frank, died in California from stomach issues. In December 1903, Stiffler and Wilbur S. Ely combined their studios. They worked together until April 1904, when Ely sold his share to Stiffler. In August 1904, M. A. Cass bought the Stiffler studio. Stiffler moved a few miles north to Loveland, Colorado, where he operated a studio one block south of the Presbyterian church with a partner named Burns.

George Stiffler died on July 14, 1907, in Norwalk, California.

Otto Ward Courtney, Photographer and Miner in Telluride

Otto Ward Courtney was born around 1869 in Ohio (His obituary states that he was born in Kentucky, but census records consistently list Ohio as his birthplace). He moved to Colorado as a young man and settled in Telluride. One of his early experiences in Telluride came while hunting, when he encountered a mountain lion. Courtney shot and wounded the lion, but it kept approaching him. With the animal about twenty feet away, Courtney aimed again, and the lucky shot killed it. The mountain lion measured eight feet and nine inches from tip to tip.

A surprise encounter with his sweetheart, Lucy Gardner, on a westbound train led to their hasty marriage. After a fight with her mother, Gardner boarded a train to Salt Lake City to visit her aunt. A few stops later, Courtney boarded the same train and, hearing Lucy’s woes, decided they should marry immediately. They exchanged vows on December 6, 1895, in Montrose, Colorado. On April 6, 1897, Lucy Courtney gave birth to an eight-pound baby girl. Unfortunately, their marriage did not last. By the 1900 federal census, Otto Courtney was listed as single.

View of Telluride — O. W. Courtney, photographer. Telluride, Colorado, Collodion or gelatin silver print, 1890s. Courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. Info from back of mount: O.W. COURTNEY, \ TELLURIDE, COLO. \ Landscape \ Photographer \ Views of Mining and Residents \ Properties a Specialty.

Based on a dated photograph of the town in the Telluride Museum’s collections, Courtney may have begun his photographic career in Telluride as early as 1892. In July 1896, Courtney purchased C. A. Erickson’s Telluride photograph gallery. The photo mount reads: Landscape Photographer—Views of Mining and Residence Properties a Specialty. A few months later, in December 1896, Courtney opened a photo gallery with one of the Moore brothers, either Henry or Oscar. The following year, Henry Moore occupied Courtney’s former gallery while Courtney built a new gallery on the corner of Colorado Avenue and Willow Street. By April 1898, Courtney had handed his photo business over to C. C. Harding.

O. W. Courtney, photographer. Unidentified girl with doll. Collodion or gelatin silver print, 1890s. Collection of the author.

For the next four decades, Courtney pursued cattle ranching in the Telluride area and mining claims, especially carnotite claims near Gateway, Utah, where he moved in 1921. He died of a heart attack on September 9, 1947, at his cabin in Whitewater, Colorado, about ten miles south of Grand Junction. He was buried at Orchard Mesa Cemetery in Grand Junction.

Jessie L. Bartoo, A Creative Photographer from Indiana, Had A Brief Career in Florence, Colorado

Portrait of Jessie L. Bartoo. Photo courtesy of Jasper County Historical Society, Jasper, Indiana. Notice her interesting studio building shown on the mount.

Jessie L. Bartoo was born on May 19, 1863, near Niles, Michigan, to Lafayette F. Bartoo and Arabella Mahala Blood Bartoo. She grew up on a farm in Jasper County, Indiana, the fourth of six children. She attended Rensselaer High School for two years. In 1885, Jesse was employed at the Republican newspaper office, where she learned the printing trade.

In March 1890, Jessie and her younger brother, Horace, purchased the J. C. Williams photograph gallery in Rensselaer, Indiana. Jessie had learned photography from local photographers, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Sharp. The Bartoo gallery could produce portraits and view work; they also offered copying and enlarging. In May, they purchased a new lens and other equipment, along with improved lighting techniques.

Star with Grandpa — Jessie L. Bartoo, photographer. Star Marshall with Grandpa Bartoo. Photo courtesy of Jasper County Historical Society, Jasper, Indiana.

By the fall of 1890, Jesse was running the studio by herself. She added a new background for portrait sittings. The following year, she offered portraits on the new Aristo printing paper, charging an extra dollar per dozen. She ran a profitable business with thousands of customers.

On July 4, 1892, Bartoo opened her new photograph gallery on the north side of Washington Street, just west of The Republican office. The Bartoo Art Pavilion was also known as “The World’s Fair Art Building,” because of the excitement surrounding the upcoming World’s Columbian Exposition to be held in Chicago in 1893. She made a specialty of children’s portraits in the new space.

In the fall of 1894, she opened a new and larger operating room with an artistically patterned hardwood parquet floor and a large, elegant reception room. In July 1899, Bartoo closed her Rensselaer gallery due to poor health. She and her brother-in-law traveled to Colorado to find a suitable location for her health and to resume her photography business. They stopped in Colorado Springs, but settled on Florence, Colorado, about 40 miles southwest of the Springs. She set up her studio on Pike’s Peak Avenue, away from family and friends. Unfortunately, her health did not improve during her stay in Colorado. After an uncharacteristically cold and stormy March and April of 1900, Bartoo’s health declined.

Woman and baby — Jessie L. Bartoo, photographer. Unidentified woman and baby. This is the only photograph I have seen on a mount from the Florence, Colorado studio, 1899 or 1900. Photo courtesy of Jasper County Historical Society, Jasper, Indiana.

In late April, after Bartoo had concealed the extent of her illness from her family and friends in Indiana, concerned citizens of Florence informed her family. Her brother-in-law returned to Florence, and he and Jessie departed by train for Indiana. She died about a month later at the home of her sister and brother-in-law from consumption. She was interred at Weston Cemetery.

In 1906, a stained glass window was commissioned for a new church in Jasper County. The window titled, “Easter Morning, or the Risen Christ Appearing to Mary,” was dedicated to Jessie L. Bartoo.

See other photos from Bartoo’s time in Indiana

Thank you to Sue Caldwell at the Jasper County Historical Society, in Rensselaer, Indiana, for providing the scans for this post. Marty Lamm, Secretary of the Museum Board, at the Florence Pioneer Museum and Research Center, in Florence, Colorado, provided research materials that led to this blog post.

Martin W. Mealey, the Leading Photographer of Pueblo

Martin Williams Mealey was born in Canada in October 1847 to Lawrence Alonzo Mealey and Elizabeth Williams Mealey. (The 1850 census lists his birthplace as New Brunswick, while the 1860 census records Prince Edward Island.) The family moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, known for its textile mills, when Martin was very young. His father was a tailor. Martin married Agnes Averill on May 14, 1871, in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

stereo — M. W. Mealey, photographer. Garden St., looking east from the Common, 1870s. Lawrence Public Library, Lawrence, MA.

During the 1870s, Mealey worked as a photographer and taught photography in Lawrence. A newspaper article reported that he later worked in Manchester, Haverhill, and Quincy, Massachusetts, but I have been unable to confirm this. By 1877, he had moved west and briefly owned a studio in San Jose, California. In November 1878, seeking a better climate for his asthma, Mealey relocated to Pueblo, Colorado. He set up a studio at the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and Sixth Street, and according to the local press had “one of the best lighted operating rooms in the United States.” He could produce views as large as 17 x 24”. He also sold pianos and organs. Mealey had a large trade in portrait photography. When he wasn’t in the studio, he photographed events and scenes in the community. In April 1880, Mealey began a project to document views of Pueblo and its surroundings, resulting in a large inventory of photographs. The following month, a strong windstorm broke windows in his studio.

In June 1882, Mealey opened a new five-room studio on the second floor of the Smith & Furguson block on West Fourth Street. The following year, he exhibited his photographs at the National Mining and Industrial Exposition in Denver. His exhibit was described as “a very attractive collection of photographs, which clearly proves that the southern metropolis is not behind in this art.” He attended to all sittings. His successes established him as the leading photographer in Pueblo.

M. W. Mealey, photographer. Picnic on Sharp Ranch, Huerfano River, 1880s. Possibly Spotswood Sharp (1851-1914), a cattle and horse dealer in Huerfano County, CO. Photo courtesy of the Huerfano Heritage Center.

In January 1885, Mealey advertised for a young man to learn photography. In May, a hailstorm destroyed the north skylight. Mealey estimated that replacing the 80 broken window panes would cost $100, and the studio also sustained water damage. In June, another unexpected storm battered Pueblo when the Arkansas River overflowed its banks—the biggest flood in 13 years. Mealey arrived on the scene to document the aftermath.

On August 7, 1885, Mealey’s youngest child, Ada Elizabeth, died at the age of seven after a long illness from heart disease.

In September 1885, Mealey participated in a large bazaar at DeRemer’s skating rink in Pueblo. Mealey’s booth displayed photographs of all sizes, many of local citizens. The booth also featured large life-sized crayon portraits. Originally scheduled for one week, the fair was extended by an additional week. During the bazaar, Mealey updated the booth with new photographs, including group portraits of the champion Pastimes baseball team, which won the Colorado state pennant in 1884 and 1885, as well as a large group portrait of the Knights of Pythias.

Later that year, DeRemer’s skating rink hosted a masquerade carnival to kick off the winter skating season. Mealey won a prize for the most original costume.

Back of cabinet card — M. W. Mealey, back of boudoir card

In February 1887, Mealey’s studio was completely remodeled at a cost of $500. A new reception room, measuring 50 by 20 feet, was furnished with new furniture acquired from Chicago, Brussels carpets, and curtains. The operating room, where portraits were made, was enlarged and included a large skylight and new backgrounds from New York City.

In May 1887, Mealey sold his photograph gallery for $3,000 in cash to Michigan photographer H. D. P. Reeve. Mealey planned to remain in Pueblo and manage his real estate investments. He could not stay away from his artistic pursuits for long, and by November of that year Mealey and Reeve formed a partnership, with Reeve in charge. They planned to refit and refurnish the gallery, even though it had been remodeled six months earlier.

By the following month, the partners sold the business to D. C. Desmond & Company. Mealey & Reeves stayed with the gallery in December to ensure a smooth transition. Yet again, Mealey was back in the studio in June 1888. Mealey attended to all sittings and finished all of the work.

In February 1889, Pueblo hosted its first Mardi Gras celebration. Mealey photographed the floats, the street scenes decorated for the event, and the royal family. The following year, Mealey concentrated his efforts on his real estate business. In 1893, along with his son, William Preston Mealey, he purchased Charles H. Mills’s studio. The studio was located on the south side of town above the Central National Bank. They hired Professor Larson from Denver to help finish all orders.

In December 1896, Mealey and his son moved to Phoenix, Arizona, seeking a better climate for the elder Mealey. Mrs. Mealey stayed in Pueblo, but made visits to Phoenix. There the men opened the New York Photo Studio, devoted solely to portrait photography. The Arizona weather seems to have agreed with Mealey, and in 1903 he was able to travel to Los Angeles, and then east to attend a photographic meeting in Indiana.

In 1908, Mealey purchased the long-standing Phoenix studio run by F. A. Hartwell. Madam Jettie, a hairdresser from Kansas City, was associated with the studio.

Mealey died unexpectedly on May 12, 1913, of heart disease, at his home in Phoenix. He was survived by his wife and son, William. He was interred at Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery in Phoenix.

Thank you to John Van Keuren and Oliver Lesniak at the Huerfano Heritage Center for sharing their collections with me and providing scans.

The Millers Photography Business in Trinidad, Colorado

Richard B. Miller was born in September 1853 in Illinois to Robert B. Miller and Mary Ann Austin Miller. His father was a grocer, and Richard also worked in the grocery business. The 1880 census recorded him as working in the grocery field in Prairie, Illinois, and noted that he was lame from a broken leg. On September 30, 1880, Richard married Lorinda Florence Reeder in McLean County, Illinois.

Man on horse — Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Miller, photographers. Unidentified man on horseback, 1896. History Colorado, 92.85.31

Note that Mrs. R. B. Miller was the portrait artist and her husband was the view artist. Panel cards were $4.00, while the price for cabinet cards was left blank, as prices often changed due to competition between photographers.

Lorinda Florence Reeder was born on a farm in January 1855 in Warren County, Ohio, to George Washington Reeder and Jane Thompson Reeder. She worked as a teacher and dressmaker before her marriage.

Details of the next twelve years of their life are uncertain. Around 1892, the Millers and their two children had moved to Trinidad, Colorado. Mrs. Miller operated a photo studio, while her husband ran a fruit-and-candy store. Later, they both worked at the studio, and they remained there until 1897.

In the fall of 1897, Miller relocated his studio to Gaylord, Kansas. He spent the next decade in Kansas, moving among small towns, and sometimes operating a photo car. Mrs. Miller ran the studio when her husband traveled. In 1901, the family moved to Atchison, Kansas, where he worked first as a photographer and later as a house painter. By 1909, the Millers lived in Beloit, Kansas. In the 1910 federal census, Mrs. Miller is listed as a photographer and her husband as a house painter. In 1917, they left Kansas for Spokane, Washington, where their daughter and her family lived.

Richard B. Miller passed away on January 4, 1925, in Salina, Kansas. He was buried at Gypsum Hill Cemetery in Salina. Mrs. Miller spent the final years of her life in Riverside, California. She died on May 20, 1945, and is buried at Olivewood Cemetery in Riverside.

Thank you to the staff at History Colorado, including Jori Johnson, Ann Sneesby-Koch, Aaron Marcus, and Joy Saliu, for providing access to their photo collection and for providing scans.

The Final Years of Dana B. Chase’s Career

My last post looked at D. B. Chase’s early career in Trinidad, Colorado, and New Mexico. This post examines the final years of his career.

Man standing with hat — D. B. Chase, photographer. Unidentified man, 1890s. Collection of the author.

In 1891, Dana B. Chase opened a studio in Denver, Colorado, with his wife Belle. In the capital city, they concentrated on portrait photography, rather than views. They acquired new backgrounds from the well-known artist, Seavey of New York. He advertised in a national photographic journal for a printer who could also work as an operator. During this period, the card mounts were imprinted with either “D. B. Chase” or “Chase.” In 1897, when Denver photographers organized a professional association, Chase served as first vice president.

Chase, photographer. Woman with cats, 1890s. Collection of the author.

In December 1897, Belle Chase filed for divorce, alleging that her husband had been intimate with a woman named Fanny Smith in the fall of that year. The divorce was finalized on April 26, 1898. Under the settlement, Mrs. Chase acquired the Chase studio on Denver’s 16th Street, along with all its equipment. The day after the divorce became final, Dana married Fanny Smith.

After the divorce, Chase sought a new studio location, and, with much fanfare, headed back to Pueblo, the site of his first Colorado studio. He purchased a gallery and outfitted it with new cameras and backgrounds. Crowds flocked to inspect the sample photographs displayed outside his workplace. But he did not remain in Pueblo long. In August 1899, Chase sold his Pueblo studio and moved west with his new wife.

In October 1899, Chase opened a photo studio in Salt Lake City, Utah. The gallery was described in the Salt Lake Tribune as having “The largest and best cameras, modern backgrounds and all of the very best accessories that money will buy, together with a convenient and commodious gallery impress one with Mr. Chase’s ability to equip and run a photograph gallery on strictly modern lines.”

By 1904, Chase’s third marriage was in trouble. Mrs. Chase left Salt Lake City and returned home two years later. Mr. Chase filed for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. Mrs. Chase was granted $40 a month in alimony, provided she did not remarry. She established her own photo studio in Los Angeles, California.

Dana Chase died of cancer on August 4, 1912, in Los Angeles. It is unknown why he was in California. Chase’s remains are interred at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.

Listen to this informative podcast for more information about Belle Boyd Chase

Dana B. Chase’s Early Career in Trinidad, Colorado

Dana Boardman Chase was born on September 20, 1847, in Waldo, Maine, to John A. Chase and Lydia Sylvester Lane Chase. By 1860, the family was living in Atchison, Kansas, where John A. Chase operated a photography gallery. His son, Henry A. Chase, also practiced photography in that city. Dana most likely learned the trade from his father. On September 16, 1863, at age sixteen, Chase enlisted in the Union Army as a private in Company F of the Kansas 13th Infantry Regiment. He served on garrison duty in Arkansas from March 1864 to January 1865. In March 1865, the regiment performed guard and provost duty at Little Rock until it was discharged in June.

Erie sign — Duhem Bros., photographers. Stock Growers Bank, Pueblo, CO, 1875. See Erie Photo sign at bottom right. Denver Public Library, Western History, x18626.

In the spring of 1873, Dana and his father arrived in Colorado. They worked together as Chase & Chase. A year later, after his father returned to Kansas, Dana and Henry O. Morris established the Erie Photographic Company in a red and white tent between Jordan’s store and the Lindell Hotel in Pueblo, Colorado. In January 1875, the men rented gallery space above Jordan’s store. That fall, they moved their gallery above Stockgrowers’ Bank, on Santa Fe Avenue.

In November 1875, Dana’s father returned to Pueblo for health reasons. He resumed work in the photography field, operating a photo car out of Las Animas, Colorado.

On May 11, 1876, Pueblo’s Colorado Daily Chieftain reported that “Mr. D. B. Chase and Henry O. Morris, of the Erie Photograph gallery, start out this morning in a photograph car for Cañon City and other points in southern Colorado, to take photograph and landscape views of mountain and plain—not forgetting Cañon’s big sideshow, the grand cañon. Messrs. Chase and Morris, are artists in their line of business, and we commend them to our friends all over the country. Mr. G. G. Withers, of the CHIEFTAIN corps, accompanies the out-fit as “special artist on the spot,” to do up accidents, arsons, murders, neck-tie festivals, Beecherism, or any other kind of ism, for the paper of vim, vinegar, vitriol and enterprise.”

D. B. Chase, photographer. Trinidad, Colorado from Simpsons Rest, ca. 1880. Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.

In the fall of 1876, Chase worked out of a tent gallery in Saguache, Colorado, a supply town for miners and settlers along the Old Spanish Trail, for about a month, making portraits. He then moved his tent to Lake City. On December 1, 1876, he married Ella May Burt in Saguache. They had five children, and one, Gladys, died a few days before her third birthday. He returned to Saguache in the summer of 1877. Later that year, he opened galleries in the mining towns of Alma and Del Norte, Colorado. The Del Norte business was a partnership with Danforth N. Wheeler. Dana’s father passed away on December 18, 1878, in Pueblo, leaving his estate to his wife and giving each of his children five dollars.

D. B. Chase, photographer. View of a Denver and Rio Grande Railway train, with a locomotive and mixed cars, at Mule Shoe Bend on Veta Pass (La Veta Pass). Denver Public Library, Z-5482

Chase operated the leading gallery in Trinidad for more than a decade. In 1884, he opened a branch gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the west side of the Plaza, selling local views to tourists. He advertised in Santa Fe’s Spanish-language newspapers, highlighting his experience with the Mexican community. During this period, he also made many portraits of Native Americans. He hired Eben B. Headley as the studio’s photographer. He maintained studios in New Mexico through 1891.

In 1888, he divorced Ella May and later that year married Belle Bybee in Santa Fe. Bybee was an experienced photographer, who had operated her own studio in Harper, Kansas. It is likely that Belle assisted Dana in the studio. In July 1889, Mr. and Mrs. Dana traveled to the Taos Valley to view pueblo ruins and cliff dwellings, leaving Frank E. Scott, Chase’s studio manager in Trinidad, in charge of the Santa Fe gallery.

Scott took over Chase’s new studio in San Pedro, New Mexico, with all the finishing completed in the Santa Fe studio.

In December 1890, Chase placed an advertisement in the St. Louis and Canadian Photographer, offering his gallery for sale, describing it as “cabinets $6 per dozen; best climate for cure of pulmonary troubles in the United States; military post with elegant band.” Chase sold his Santa Fe gallery to Thomas J. Curran.

My next post will examine the later years of Chase’s career.

How to Photograph a Burro

I was on the road last week, visiting a couple of archives in southern Colorado, and thought I would share one of my favorite photographs from the trip. This photo by William E. Hook is from the collections of the Trinidad Carnegie Public Library.

It seems the photographer was having trouble getting the burro to face the camera, so he used a treat to get the burro’s attention. The man holding the treat may be Hook himself, based on portraits of the photographer.

Hook, Pikes Peak — William E. Hook, photographer. Summit of Pikes Peak. Altitude, 14,336 feet, 1890s. Trinidad Carnegie Public Library.

The strenuous hike to the summit of Pikes Peak usually took two days. In the summer of 1891, a cog railway reached the summit. The dapper man in the center of the frame likely took the cog railway to the top.

Sleeping dog — Detail of a dog sleeping.

Notice the dog sleeping in the lower right portion of the photograph. What else do you see?

Hook’s views of the Pikes Peak region were sold by the Fisher Brothers stationery store in Trinidad.

William E. Hook was a longtime photographer who deserves a long blog post, but here is a brief biography.

Hook was born in England in 1833. His family moved to the United States when Hook was only one year old, but they returned to England by 1851. Hook married Eleanor Jane Dore on May 22, 1857, and they had six children. Ten years later, Hook moved to the United States, leaving his wife and children in England. It would be twenty years before Hook and his wife lived together again!

Hook worked in Wisconsin, Montana, and Canada before settling in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he worked for about twenty years.

Stay tuned for more information on Hook and his photographs.

Thank you to Javonne Archibeque, Adult Programs & History Room Coordinator at the Trinidad Carnegie Public Library, who shared the collections with me.

Rosa Davis’ Short-Lived Studio In Walsenburg

Rosamund (Rosa) Goerke immigrated to the United States from Prussia in 1876 at the age of twenty. On September 11, 1878, she married Theodore F. Braun, a prosperous assayer and business associate of her brother Paul, in Pueblo, Colorado. In October 1880, after the birth of their first child and while pregnant with their second, Rosa traveled to Germany to visit friends and relatives. She returned to the United States in June 1881. In May 1884, Theodore Braun died, leaving Rosa, only twenty-eight, a widow with three children.

She ran a boarding house in Pueblo until her marriage to Ory Thomas Davis on November 21, 1888, in Walsenburg, in southeastern Colorado. During the summer of 1889, she opened a photo studio called the Home Gallery.

news ad — Walsenburg World, July 12, 1889, page 4, column 4.

After their son was born that fall, her husband took over the studio.

The Davis marriage was troubled. By September 1892, Rosa was using her former husband’s last name as she pursued a business selling a facial formula called Gloria water. When the divorce case came before a judge, Rosa stated that Davis had threatened to kill her and that she was afraid of him. In December 1892, the divorce was granted, with Rosa receiving custody of all four children.

In 1895, Rosa married F. William Rieke. The 1910 federal census lists Rosa as working on a fruit farm in California, and sharing a home with her son and daughter. She died on September 2, 1920, in St. Helena, California.

Does anyone have any photos by Rosa Davis? A future blog post will follow up on her ex-husband’s success as a photographer.

Fun fact: Her brother Paul operated a photo studio in Manitou Springs, Colorado, in the 1890s.

A Giant Potato–Was It Real or A Hoax?

A photograph of a giant potato grown in Colorado became an international sensation in the 1890s. It started innocently enough. Joseph B. Swan was a successful potato farmer in southeast Loveland. In October 1894, a committee appointed by the Larimer County Commissioners visited the Swan farm, measured an acre of the land, and watched as the potatoes were harvested and weighed. The acre yielded 25,816 pounds of potatoes!

To attract public attention, the local newspaper thought it would be funny to photograph the farmer (although some reports suggest it was the photographer’s father) with a very large potato. Photographer Arthur H. Talbot posed the man with a giant wooden potato. Word soon spread across the country about the giant potato. A New York City attorney sent a copy of the photo to the editors of Scientific American, and they published the image in their September 28, 1895, issue. According to the article, the potato of the Maggie Murphy variety was “28 inches long, 14 in diameter, and is said to weigh 86 lb. 10 oz., which is equivalent to the weight of 1-1/2 bushels of ordinary potatoes.”

Big potato — A. H. Talbot, photographer. Maggie Murphy Potato. Denver Public Library, Z-2982.

A subsequent issue of the Scientific American noted : “The photo. picture of the mammoth potato we published on page 199 proves to be a gross fraud, being a contrivance of the photographer, who imposed upon us as well as others. An artist who lends himself to such methods of deception may be ranked as a throughbred knave, to be shunned by everybody.”

People from all over the world requested information on how to acquire seed to grow their own mammoth potatoes. Others purchased copies of the photograph for twenty-five cents each.

Albert H. Talbot was born on August 18, 1862, to Nathaniel H. Talbot and Susan Ann Eaton Talbot in Dedham, Massachusetts. The Talbot family moved to Evans, Colorado, in the mid-1870s, where Nathaniel operated a photography studio. Arthur studied telegraphy and worked in the field for ten years, with jobs in Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado.

Arthur married Miss Della Kempton on August 18, 1885, his 23rd birthday, in Longmont, Colorado. In the summer of 1892, Talbot opened a photograph gallery in Loveland, Colorado, operating out of a tent next to the Presbyterian church. He specialized in views and portraits. In 1893, Arthur’s sister, Almira S. Talbot, assisted in the gallery, where they offered crayon enlargements.

In late 1896, Talbot moved his studio to the photography gallery previously occupied by photographer Harold Fisk By June 1897, he had sold his studio to photographer Frank Reed. Reed’s tenure was short-lived, possibly because he did not advertise in the newspaper. In October 1897, Talbot was back working in his old studio on B Street. By December 1, 1898, Talbot had built a new studio at B and Fifth Streets. In 1899, Talbot purchased an Al Vista camera that took 180-degree panoramic photographs.

In 1900, Talbot bought new backgrounds for his studio. He displayed nearly 100 pictures of babies in his reception room. He sold Kodak cameras and also offered printing services for amateurs. In 1901, Arthur’s father moved to Loveland and helped with the photo studio. It is hard to determine who made the photos, as the mounts often credit only Talbot. In 1902, Talbot’s views were published in Loveland, Colorado, Illustrated, a view book showcasing the city’s businessmen. In 1903, Talbot began making flash light photos of interiors and night scenes of various businesses. That Christmas season, he offered a wide range of photo jewelry.

In 1915, Talbot moved to Trinidad, Colorado, where he worked for photographer Oliver Eugene Aultman. In the 1920s, Talbot relocated to Los Angeles, where he lived until his death on November 9, 1935.

More info about manipulated photographs through history: Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/faking-it

Thank you to Kellen Cutsford at the Denver Pubic Library for scanning the verso of the photograph.