Resources
The directories included in this study are from the collection of the Chester County History Center, West Chester, PA and are documented in the included bibliography.
While information from county directories makes a helpful framework for beginning a listing of working dates for photographers, it is not always the most accurate source. All data has been included, but some annotations have been made in the “comments” column for known errors.
Drawn from data collected in this study, studio succession in the borough of West Chester is examined street by street. Some sources include: information from photograph imprints, newspaper advertisements, business records and county directories.
Please note that the streets in West Chester were renumbered in the fall of 1879, when the dividing lines for east and west were changed from Church Street to High Street; and north and south from Gay Street to Market Street. Although it appears that photographers during this time period moved, instead they were in the same studio location with a new street number.
Tax lists provide an accurate source of information for determining when a photographer was working in the boroughs of Chester County, PA. It documents men above the age of 21, but only records women if they owned property or loaned money at interest. Thus, female photographers are an invisible part of the work force.
The tax list provides the following information: name, occupation, tax status (landholder, married “inmates” or single freemen), tax rate, eligibility for state militia and taxables such as real estate, horses, cattle, carriages, dogs and a watch. The tax lists are displayed presorted by name.
If an entry is crossed out, it means that the person was there in the fall when the tax list was compiled, but had left or died by spring when tax was due. This information is of high value.
While the West Chester tax assessor recorded occupations for all residents, this was not the norm, tax assessors in other parts of Chester County were not this thorough.
The links page connects you with more resources on Chester County photographers created by other authors, when available online.
Also included are useful websites to help you identify processes of historical photographs in your collection and how to care for your collections at home as well.
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