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If you have information to share about the photographers mentioned in this blog or have questions about other 19th century Colorado photographers, please send me an e-mail.

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Britton Bros. and Their Unusual Photo Mount
Buffalo natives, Walter Raleigh Britton (1868-1934) and his brother, George Francis Britton (1870-1939), worked as photographers in Denver in the mid-1890s. Their cabinet card mounts provide many interesting details about their business. The back of the card shows portraits of both men. We learn that Walter worked behind the camera as the operator, while George […]
Watermelon Day In Rocky Ford, Colorado by J. E. Orr
In 1878, Rocky Ford farmer G. W. Swink offered slices of watermelon to train passengers passing through town. The following year, using the door of a Santa Fe boxcar for table space, a crowd of about fifty people celebrated the local melon. During the next decade, the celebration moved into the watermelon grove with a […]
Photo Studios in Mineral County, Colorado
In 1889, Nicholas C. Creede and his mining partners discovered silver at the Holy Moses vein up East Willow Creek in Mineral County. New mineral strikes in 1891, combined with the extension of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad to Upper Creede, brought an influx of people to the region. Three months later, the […]
Summer Road Trips
Part of my research involves visiting Colorado’s small history museums. Many of these museums are only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I aim to make one research trip a month during the summer. In June, I traveled to Creede, Colorado, more than 300 miles from home. Before my trip, I compiled biographical entries […]
Horace S. Poley and Co., The Pike’s Peak Photographers
Best known for his photographs of Native Americans, Horace Swartley Poley was born on August 1, 1863, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, to Dr. Francis Boyer Poley and Barbara K. Swartley Poley. He arrived in Boulder, Colorado, around 1886, where he met photographer B. F. Sooy. Together, they operated a photography studio in Colorado Springs, Colorado, […]
Views of Colorado by Benjamin E. Hawkins
Benjamin E. Hawkins was born in Steubenville, Ohio. In 1865, IRS tax assessment records place him as a photographer in New Castle, Pennsylvania. On November 24, 1866, he married Ellen Spaulding in Steubenville. They had three children before divorcing in the 1870s. Hawkins operated a photography studio in Steubenville in the late 1860s and early […]
A Trip to a Denver Photo Studio
In 1892 or 1893, an unidentified couple arrived at the Central Photo Parlors at the corner of 15th and Lawrence Streets in Denver. They posed for a full-length portrait, likely dressed in wedding attire, in front of a painted backdrop. In the 19th century, marriage ceremonies were typically held at the home of the bride’s […]
William R. Armington, Photographer and Painter in Brighton
William Richard Keys Armington was born in Lansing, Iowa, around 1860. By 1880, he resided in Colorado and worked as a painter, making both signs and landscape paintings. A man of many interests, Armington led the Harvey Light Guards, a military company established in Brighton in 1888. He began pursuing photography in the 1890s and […]
The beginning and the end of a short-lived Denver photographic studio in 1886
Today we have a guest post from Anders Hedman, an archivist and records manager at the Stockholm City and Municipal Archive in Sweden. If you search for old Denver pictures you might come across cabinet photos with the credit line ”Steele & Co. 448 Larimer St. Denver, Colo.” Different web sites date these pictures to […]
J. G. Hiestand, Official Photographer of the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway
Joseph Gonder Hiestand was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on August 15, 1860, to John Valentine Hiestand and Eve Ann Gonder Hiestand. His father worked as a coachmaker and later served as a clerk in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, Joseph visited the Smithsonian Institution and developed an interest in mineralogy. He trained at Philadelphia’s […]

19thcenturycoloradophotographers_d5uooh on Ouray County’s 19th Century Photographers (Part 2)August 23, 2025
Thank you for your e-mail. I don't have anyone named Sauel Orr in my database. Do you know when he…
Mark S. Downing/Karen L. Downing on Ouray County’s 19th Century Photographers (Part 2)August 23, 2025
My Great Grandfather owned a photo studio in Ouray. His name was Samuel? Orr. My maiden name is Orr. We…
19thcenturycoloradophotographers_d5uooh on Photo Studios in Mineral County, ColoradoAugust 10, 2025
Ah, the renowned Frank Dean. Thank you for bringing that article to my attention.
Gary saretzky on Photo Studios in Mineral County, ColoradoJuly 31, 2025
You might like to see my Portrait magazine webpage which includes a Colorado photographer. Saretzky.com
19thcenturycoloradophotographers_d5uooh on Victor, “The City of Mines,” Goes Up in Flames in 1899February 25, 2025
Thank you for your comments, Kathy. All of the photos should now be visible. If you have a minute to…

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