When it rains it pours… I’m going to have several busy weeks ahead getting ready for three (THREE!!!) shows at the same time. I’m going to have work in a group show of large format photography at the River Road Unitarian Church, an alternative process show at the ArtDC Gallery, and a solo show at Mad Momos, a restaurant here in DC. Fortunately the Mad Momos show won’t be until the end of June, so I’ll have more time to prepare for it.
For the group show at the Unitarian church, I’m contributing some of my color nighttime shots of DC –
Georgetown in a RainstormBurma Restaurant, Chinatown, DCSecession Sushi – The Wok ‘n Roll in the Surratt HouseFountain, Georgetown Waterfront, Kennedy Center
The ArtDC gallery show will have my 14×17 palladium prints from Eastern State Penitentiary (don’t have them printed yet so I can’t show them – the negs are too big to scan).
Mad Momos will feature my “street” photography I think – mostly my documentary stuff from around DC. Probably all color work, but I haven’t decided yet.
Chickass JeansPan Lourdes, 14th StreetStreet Snack, 14th StreetPhilip Seymour Hoffman and My Shadow
I called this one Philip Seymour Hoffman and my Shadow because the guy sitting against the Metro entrance wall just kinda looks like him, in full-on Method acting mode studying for a role.
Standing in the DoorwayTogether, Apart
This was taken around 10pm on the subway on my way home from Chinatown. I suspect these two were heading home after dinner and a long day (perhaps week!) at the office.
Oncoming MetroChinatown Arch, Sunset
This image has me on the horns of a dilemma- would it have been better in color or as it is in black-and-white? I think it has a certain character in black-and-white that it wouldn’t have in color, but the western sky would definitely look different. Comments?
An anonymous couple by Brady’s New York studio (if the backmark follows the formula I’ve interpolated, this is from the NY studio because it is listed first). The carte itself is in immaculate condition, and this is another variation on the studio imprint. Brady seems to have changed his often, unlike others (Fredricks, Gurney, Bogardus, Eisenmann) whose imprints remained largely unchanged throughout their studio operations.
I know I said I don’t collect Stereoviews (and I really don’t, except that one series) but this one came along with the Native American portrait of yesterday’s post, and it was sufficiently cute I thought it worth keeping and posting. It’s copyright 1897, by Strohmeyer & Wyman, distributed by Underwood & Underwood. I’d not heard of Strohmeyer and Wyman before, but Underwood & Underwood were a HUGE publisher of stereoviews.
Although it may be a little hard to see (the original card is somewhat faded, especially in the highlights) the little girl in the upper right has cupid wings and a bow-and-arrow.
Here is a stunning Native American portrait from Portland, Oregon.
Native American by G.L. Eastman
I’m showing the back and front separately because the image is just so nice I wanted to let it stay larger on the page, and I also wanted to keep the text on the verso very clear because it’s so specific and unusual. It really speaks to late 19th century business style for a custom service business.
Verso, G.L. Eastman portrait
This photo would have been taken between 1886-1900, my guess is the earlier part of that period based on the style of the mounting card. Again guessing, this looks like Chinook tribal decoration but I could be completely ass-over-teakettle wrong, so if anyone has a better idea or knows specifically (and even better, if you can identify the sitter!!!) please let me know!
Here is what I found about Prof. G.L. Eastman in Portland:
R. L. Polk’s Portland City Directory:
1881: I didn’t find any reference to G. L. EASTMAN.
1887, page 202: EASTMAN, George L., artist, 229 5th.
1889, page 234: EASTMAN, Gilman L., photographer, 283 1st, res same.
1890, page 223: EASTMAN, Gilman L., photographer, 283 1st and 169 3rd, res 283 1st.
1897, page 257: EASTMAN, Gilman L., photographer and printer, 203 1/2 1st and 167 4th, res 203 1/2 1st.
1903 and 1904 didn’t have anything on EASTMAN the photographer.
Ancestry:
1900 Census, Idaho, Ada County, Boise, Wd 2, E.D. 2, Sheet 10B, line 93:
EASTMAN, Gilman L., Boarder, White, Male, born Oct. 1848, 51, Married, 7 years, born in Maine, father born in Maine, mother born in Maine, occupation Photographer.
Ancestry:
U.S. National Home for Disable Volunteer Soldiers 1866-1938, Sawtelle, Los Angeles County, California.
#13021, Gilman L. EASTMAN
Military History:
Private, E. Company, 30th ME Inf.
Enlistment: 19 July 1864. Augusta, Maine
Discharge: 20 Aug. 1865 Savanah, GA.
Domestic History:
Born in Maine. Age 68. Height 5′ 10″.
Religion: Protestant. Occupation: Photographer.
Residence subsequent to discharge: Salt Lake, Utah. Married. Nearest living relative: Mrs Minnie EASTMAN.
Date of Admission: 6 Apr. 1915; 26 Sept. 1917; 5 Sept. 1918; 10 July 1919.
Discharge and Transfer: 31 Jan. 1917; 6 Oct. 1917; 9 Oct 1918. In the same column was a stamped date “Sept. 17, 1924”.
Pension Certificate: 1078,985.
Ancestry:
1910 Census Utah, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City, E.D. 145, Sheet 1A, stamped #216, lines 88-89, shows Gilman L. EASTMAN as age 62, a photographer born in Maine, with 23 year old wife named Minnie and daughter Minnie L. age 11 months. It also shows they hav been married 2 years and this is Gilman’s 5th marriage.
Ancestry:
1920 Census, California, Los Angeles County, Malibu, Dist 486, Sheet 18A, stamped #24, line 38. in the National Military Home.
Gilman L. EASTMAN is listed as an inmate, born in Maine, age 73 (see census for additional information).
If anyone is interested in this Gilman L. EASTMAN, there are several Ancestry Family Trees posted by Ancestry members for Gilman.One of these postings had several sources attached to their information, some of which are above. They also show the name for his middle initial L. and the names of his parents and names of other spouses. Date and place of birth and death are also listed.
Based on the above information, your G. L. EASTMAN, photographer, was Gilman L. EASTMAN. He was a photographer in Portland, Oregon, possibly from about the end of 1886 until at least 1897, and possibly a year or two more. He was in Boise, Idaho for the 1900 census.
[Information gathered for city directories was usually done at the end of the prior to the year of the directory in order to be printed in time to issue the first part of the year for which the information was gathered.]
If you’ve been reading my blog long enough you’ll probably remember my saying I don’t collect stereoviews. That’s largely true – I will on occasion buy the odd one if it’s cheap and has an interesting subject, but I’m not really looking for them – collecting them is kinda like getting into sports trading cards of all varieties: just too much out there if it isn’t your primary focus. I am however collecting a specific series because it’s a small series – only about 24 images in total for the full set. The first one in the series that I acquired was found at an antique shop in Sacramento, California. The card shows a station on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, outside Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania (now known as Jim Thorpe, PA). I have since found four more in the series. These are all early stereoviews from the 1870s (one of the new ones posted here today has a date on the reverse in pencil of October 4, 1876), identifiable as such by the size (they are larger than the later cards) and by the paper stock and printing style.
Here are the two latest acquisitions. I had been hunting for more on an irregular basis for the last year-plus, and then finally these two show up at almost the same time, and in quite good condition overall. I suspect it will be hard to complete the set, but it’s not like I’m on a schedule 🙂
Mansion House, Mauch Chunk, PASwitch Back RR, Lehigh Valley Railroad
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time you know by now of my interest in images by Mathew Brady’s Washington DC studio. Here is another gem, in near perfect original condition. The sitter is anonymous.
I’ve seen enough of Brady’s CDVs now that I’ve noticed a pattern in the labeling – if you want to tell which studio produced the image, first look at the front – if it says Washington or New York on the front, that’s a 100 % guarantee of where it was taken. If it is not labeled on the front, look at the photographer’s imprint on the verso. The studio that produced it will be listed first: a Washington DC portrait will say “No. 352 Pennsylvania Av., Washington DC & New York”, whereas a New York portrait will say “Broadway & 10th Street, New York, & 352 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC”. Strangely, the Washington DC ones often list only “New York” as the second address, if they list it at all (I have seen it all three ways,”Broadway & 10th”, “New York” and no second address), but the New York ones seem to always list the full “352 Pennsylvania Avenue” as the second address. This of course does not take into account the E&HT Anthony CDVs, which do not list any Brady studio address, but rather state “Published by E & HT Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York” very prominently, and then include the following variations:
From Photographic Negative by Brady
From Photographic Negative in Brady’s National Portrait Gallery
Manufacturers of Photographic Albums
No Brady attribution or mention of photographic albums
I guess it makes sense for Anthony to plug the albums on the backs of CDVs, but they made a full range of photographic supplies from albums to chemistry and cameras. The name lived on in various forms for well over a century – they merged with Scovill around the turn of the 20th century and formed Ansco (ANthony & SCOvill), which then partnered with Agfa in the US to become Agfa-Ansco.
This is a cabinet card (roughly 4×6″), as opposed to most of the CDVs I’ve been collecting, which are 2 1/2″ x 4″-ish. Major Littlefinger and his wife are depicted here, circa 1880, on a cabinet card by Eisenmann, “the Popular Photographer” who specialized in photographing the theatrical profession (and by theatrical profession, I mean that in the broadest terms – he not only photographed actors and musicians, but sideshow performers and circus freaks, basically anyone who could be called an “entertainer”).
Unknown Little Person, H.B. Gerncore’s Temple of Art
I’ve had a devil of a time trying to decipher the photographer’s name on the back – the best I can tell is it’s either H.B. Gerncore or H.L. Ger-something-something. In any case, it’s a beautiful photo of a strikingly proportionate little person. I’m frankly not even entirely sure he’s a little person and not just a pre-teen in a well-tailored suit. But the top hat and tails make it more likely he’s an adult sideshow or circus performer.
The Strattons, George Nutt and Minnie Warren in their Tuilieries outfits
Here’s yet another photo of Tom Thumb and company, this time in the outfits they wore to meet Napoleon III. Also an Anthony print, with the facsimile signatures on the back. Again no attribution of the photographer, so while it is possible it’s a Brady, it’s likely not. Notice the hand-coloring of the women’s garlands and the men’s watch chains.
dcphotoartist 