I was excited to obtain from eBay an outdoor carte-de-visite identified as the “Mark Hodgson residence, Oxford, PA.” Since the photo has a name and location, I have a good chance of finding where the house is and if it still is there today. Mark Hodgson residence, Oxford, PA taken by an unidentified photographer on…
The biography of photographer C. Alfred Garrett has been a long-term project for me. I found bits of information over a decade ago, and by 2018 I thought I had a complete document of his time in West Chester from 1864-1871. But I realized his story had some intriguing twists and turns. He came from…
When Edward Marshall married Abigail Hicks in a Friends Ceremony, his wife’s other love joined their household – her beloved horse. We do not know if the horse had been from her father’s farm, or if it was a smart looking hackney she had purchased. Abby had her own personal carriage as well as a…
Collecting historical photographs – particularly cartes-de-visite (photographic visiting cards) can become a passion. Not only are the portraits and subjects intriguing, but how many different photographers’ studios can you find? This is what motivated me to try to find every photographer (or at least as many as possible!) in Chester County Pennsylvania. What features should…
Havard Barrett was the youngest of a large family and a popular figure around town. His brothers and sisters worked hard in their bakery to finance a photo studio for their brother. It had the best location in West Chester on High and Gay Streets and even featured an elevator to reach the third floor….
Commuting was not something that you did in 1855. But two members of the Valentine family did what looked like commuting in their day. Photographer Edwin Valentine lived in East Bradford just over the line from West Chester Borough, he toggled between his daguerreotype gallery and helping on the family farm. His father did the…
Chester County Photographist is celebrating its first anniversary! First and foremost, we want to send a shoutout of thanks to Cap Web Solutions for doing an incredible job building this site and supporting us through this fascinating adventure! You can see all the creative things they do with WordPress via this link. For our anniversary…
West Chester’s Centennial in October of 1899 was a photographer’s dream. The town celebrated in a big way. Colorful bunting decorated all the businesses and public buildings. Two huge parades showcased the three local fire companies as well as a civic parade. The local veterans were honored with a grand luncheon as well. There were…
Chester County had three photographers who were also dentists. What is it about this combination of skills that makes it a logical paring of pursuits? Dentists in that era had a rudimentary knowledge of medicine and science. They were familiar with basic chemistry and were very adept with their hands. They were also good at…
It is gruesome to say, but photographers who got into financial troubles left a richer paper trail than those who were sober and industrious. Poor John Bransom, he had big dreams. He purchased a property in 1858 on the Main Street in Coatesville (today East Lincoln Highway) and in 1863 he contracted with Robert Russell…
