Another YOUNG GIRL AT BAKER'S ART GALLERY?

Those from Sepia Saturday who have been around for several years might remember a post I did on November 19, 2010 entitled The Lovely Young Girl at Baker's Art Gallery. It was about two lovely photos of a young girl taken at a photography studio in Columbus, Ohio. You might even see a comment you left with the post.

Over the past years I've been contacted by several people hoping to find out more information about the gallery. Alas, I have to tell them I'm not an expert and that everything I found online was put in the post. Let's see what happens this time.

The photo below was also taken at the Baker's Art Gallery in the late 1880s to sometime within the 1890s. I found this in Betty Schnabel's father's album. I believe Betty's father, Donald G. Schnabel, was from Ohio, though I can't verify it. If you don't know about Betty just click on "Betty Schnabel" in the labels below to see a variety of photos all purchased at the estate sale of her belongings.

First I was excited to find another photo from the gallery, but even more excited by the subject. When you collect vintage photos once in a while you come across ones of people cross-dressing. The most common are photos of women dressing up as men. They are usually done as a lark with a few gals dressed in suits "acting masculine." Occasionally I've also found ones of men purposely dressed as women as a joke. But the more interesting photos are those of someone cross-dressing because it's who they were. Often you're not sure what you're looking at, as is the case with this image. Is this a young man with very feminine features? Or is this a young woman who chose to dress as a man and perhaps live as a man? It is the first photo I have of a woman possibly living as a man. I have several of men that have me curious. There's an interesting story here that we'll probably never know.




Click on either image to see them larger.

This is my contribution to this week's Sepia Saturday which is about long hair. Sepia Saturday is giving you the long of it, I'm giving you the short of it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS dreamers

Sittin' In the Weeds SMOKIN' SOME WEED

Now, was it the photographer's choice or the subject's choice to sit in the weeds? Was he being humorous or had he just smoked a little too much of whatever it is he's smokin'? We'll never know.

No information is given on the back so he'll always just be Weed Smokin' Guy.

Actually, I believe I could make this a category. People sitting in chairs in odd places. Photos that somehow just don't look quite right. Such as this one from the past, Odd Family Grouping. Or perhaps the category should be Stubborn Men in Chairs. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Another from Bert's fabulous collection.

The Lovely Young Girl at BAKER'S ART GALLERY

For this weeks Sepia Saturday I give you two cabinet cards of a lovely unknown girl. Both were taken at Baker's Art Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, date unknown.

Since I can't do any research about the young girl, I find I can do some on Baker's Art Gallery which may lead us to make some conclusions about the girl.

Baker's Art Gallery was founded by Lorenzo Marvin Baker. I have found the following biographies:

Lorenzo Marvin Baker (1834-1924). Photographer, born in Copenhagen, New York, April 20, 1834, and active in Columbus (Franklin) format the early 1860s until about 1897. Baker's Art Gallery eventually employed two of his sons, Lorenzo N. and Duane Henry Baker, as well as Jon Samuel Schneider, and was the best-known portrait studio in the state capital until well into the twentieth-century. Between 1874 and 1886, nearly thirty first and second Ohio State Fair prizes went to L. M. Baker for photographs of every description, both plain and finished in watercolor or ink. In later years, the firm made a speciality of commercial work and genre scenes (some of which were shown at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition), and continued successfully until the mid-1950s, when it finally closed. It's founder died in Columbus on February 26, 1924. (SOURCE: Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900)

L. M. BAKER of Baker's Art Gallery, came to Columbus, in 1854 and became a clerk in a store, and later at the Neil House; was an officer at the penitentiary under Governor Chase; served a short time in the army during- the late unpleasantness; went into the photograph business in 1862, and the net year established the present gallery, of which he has been the head ever since. Baker's Art Gallery has the finest are rooms in Ohio, and it is a demonstrated fact that the work of the artists are the best produced in the United States. They were awarded the gold medal for the best specimens of photographs exhibited at the Semi-Centennial at Boston and at the World's Fair at Chicago. (SOURCE: Ohio American Local History Nework)

His son Duane H. Baker:

DUANE HENRY BAKER (1859-1934). Photographer, active in Columbus (Franklin) from 1878 until at least 1909. A son of Lrenzo Marvin Baker, he was born in Columbus in October 1859, and he worked in his father's studio for more than twenty years before gradually taking over the firms' business affairs early in the twentieth century. He later passed the Baker Art Gallery on to his son Lorenzo P. Paker. Duane Henry Baker died in Columbus on April 19, 1934. (SOURCE: Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900)

DUANE H. BAKER, of Baker's Art Gallery, Columbus. Son of L. M. Baker. Finished his education at the Ohio State University, and has since been connected with Baker's Art Gallery, he being business manager and owning a third interest. Was a veteran member of the Columbus Cadets, six years a member of Governor's Guards. Socially a K. of P. and an Elk. (SOURCE: Ohio American Local History Nework)

And the third partner in the business, John Samuel Schneider:

JOHN SAMUEL SCHNEIDER (1860-1926). Photographer, active in Columbus (Franklin) from 1880 to 1912 or later. Born in Galion (Crawford), January 31, 1860, Schneider attended German Wallace College, Berea (Cuyahoga), and trained two years with William H. Moore, then worked under George William Edmondson in NOrwalk (Huron). In 1880 he settled in Columbus, where he was part owner and principal camera operator of Duane H. and Lorenzo Marvin Baker's studio from 1886 until well into the twentieth century. IN 1901 he served as president of the National Photographer's Association and was elected several times to head the Ohio State Photographer's Association. Some of his carefully posed genre scenes were shown at the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition. (SOURCE: Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900)

JOHN S. SCHNIEDER, Of Baker's Art Gallery, Columbus. Son of Rev. John S. Schnieder; completed his education at the German Wallace College, Berea; began as a photographer at Marion and after a short time at Norwalk came to Columbus as one of Baker's staff and in 1886 acquired a third interest in the business. He is in charge of the operating rooms. (SOURCE: Ohio American Local History Nework)

And then there was the youngest son, Lorenzo N. Baker, who was not a partner in the gallery:

LORENZO N. BAKER *1861-1905). Photographer, born in Columbus (Frannklin), December 16, 1861, the younger brother of Duane Henry Baker and second sone of Lorenzo Marvin Baker and his wife, Samantha. He worked in this father's Art Gallery during the 1880s, but by 1890 he had established his own business in Piqua (Miami). In 1899 he was again listed at the family home in Columbus, where he died, February 10, 1905. (SOURCE: Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900)

The two photos I have are blank on the back, but here's an example of their advertising on an earlier card showing their studio.

(SOURCE: Sheaf -Ephemera)

Here is an actual photo of the Gallery from the Ohio Historical Society files.

Here is a photo of the front display window.

And here's a shot of their reception room.

The two photos above are from a vintage book, The Photographic Journal of America, Vol. 31, which can be read here at Google Books. It's quite interesting to read.

What I really find fascinating about Baker's Art Gallery are some of the famous names and otherwise interesting folks that walked through their door:

Rutherford B. Hayes

Annie Oakley

William Mckinley

Actress Grace Arnold

Actor P. Henry Crosby

Actor Robert Drociet

Actor A. Field

Actors Mr. and Mrs. E. Girard

Actress Baby Lillie Havre here and here

Actress Rhea as "Nell Gwynne"

Actor Arthur Stanford

Actress May V. Warren

"The world's greatest finger whistler"

1892 Columbus Baseball Club photo

A theatrical card

A young boy with a violin

And then several portraits of a particular family.

So, this leaves me with a few questions and possible facts.

It's likely our lovely young girl walked through the Baker's reception room and possibly met one of the men shown above. Now, was she simply a well off young lady who posed twice at the studio or was she an actress who brought a change of clothes for a one time sitting?

Both of these images of the young girl are from Bert's collection. Thank you Bert!

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

KARNAK the Magnificent

This photo, and indeed it is a photo, not a real photo post card, was purchased last Friday at an estate sale for 50 cents. I think it's stunning and I wish I knew the history of it. I know it was taken at the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt. Other than that, I know nothing. I'm imagining it is a tourist souvenir, but I can't be sure because nothing is written on the back to indicate its origins. So I'm hoping by posting it on the net someone someday will step forward and say they have one. Perhaps it was part of a series sold to tourists of various images at the temple.

I find it very romantic and mysterious. Has a nice Indiana Jones quality to it. There's an interesting story here if we could find out its history.

This is my submission for this weeks Sepia Saturday. For a change I actually have something sepia. Keep me posted if you ever see another one just like it.

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Here is a photo, taken by Steven Beikirch in 1992, of the same basic image, for a book called Ancient Egypt. You can see the photo in context on the web here.

Photo: © 1992 Steven Belkirch, Ancient Egypt

MERRY CHRISTMAS dreams

For those who have settled down to watch A Christmas Story for the umpteenth time I give you a slightly doctored photo of a street that would be happy to have a fragile leg lamp lit in a window and two little boys smelling of wet wool with dreams of Santa in their heads. 

Merry Christmas Past and Christmas Never Was.

MERRY CHRISTMAS grandma and grandpa

Usually in old found photos with children there's at least one child that is blurred. Blurred forever through time. Everyone else is posed stiffly, either smiling or looking somber. And then there's that one child who just wouldn't stand still. Here on the other hand it appears the photographer was a little tipsy with Christmas cheer and moved just enough to make the whole scene become a bit ghostly, even a little like a seance. Sweet little girls posed with their fun toys, their message to grandma and grandpa neatly printed on their chalkboard, and then ol' dad just couldn't keep it together. Let's hope he took a second that was in focus. I hate to think of the disappointment they all felt when the photo came back from being processed. Perhaps this is why this one was thrown away. Somewhere, somebody has one in focus.