My excuse for ignoring this blog and the associated site for the past few months has been that I was working on a new website. Well it is still not done, but it is far enough along that it can support a few beta-testers while I work out final kinks. The site is for Antiques and Collectibles, including old photographs of course, so anyone who reads this site should go join. The site is called AmTiquing — please check it out and let me know what you think of it. Remember, it is a work in progress, now is the time to make suggestions!
January 24, 2012
Pen-Mar Park and Blue Ridge Scenery
Group of Holiday Tourists at Pen-Mar in the 1880s
This photograph, one panel of a stereo pair, taken in the 1880s. It is marked on front #558, Pen-Mar and Blue Ridge Scenery, Western Maryland Railroad. The back of the card has a long list of titles, but the numbers go from 401 to 517. Several of the titles are for the Pen-Mar area, where the Western Maryland Railroad had developed a resort in the late 1870s. The village of Pen-Mar was established to support that park, with hotels and services. It is on the border, straddling the Pennsylvania-Maryland line.
Notice how this image shows several young girls, all of varying ages and heights, but with nearly parallel hemlines. The length of the skirt was not standard, but its height above the ground was — so as girls grew their skirts were styled progressively longer.
Notice too that the right-most man and girl next to him are both standing partly within a railroad track — the train appears to have passed within about one meter of the hotel. That man also wears a railroad company cap, though straw boaters seem more popular with the youngsters. Those ladies who are wearing hats have very large brimmed styles, for shade from the summer sun.
The photographer for this image is marked on front as H. Frank Beidle, though on back the name is repeated and spelled H. Frank Beidel. The latter spelling is more common for this photographer, who was born Henry Frank Beidel about 1856 in Pennsylvania to German born parents, Henry C. and Catharine Beidel. The younger Henry had just one sibling, a sister named Laura who was about two years younger.
All of the records for both Beidel families was found strictly within two adjacent counties in South-Central Pennsylvania, Franklin and Cumberland. That is appropriate, as both the town of Shippensburg and the township of Southampton, which surrounds it, span the border of these two counties. In 1860 the family was living in Southampton township, Cumberland county, and the elder Henry worked as a wagon-maker. By the 1870 census they were living in Franklin county. In the 1880 census, when the younger Henry was in his early 20s, the elder Henry was again in Southampton township, now working as a store clerk, and H. Frank Beidel was already working as a photographer in Shippensburg.
It seems probable that H. Frank Beidel learned photography from a relative, as Craig’s Daguerreian Registry notes an L. S. Beidell in Chambersburg in the mid to late 1850s — about the time H. Frank Beidel was born. Chambersburg is only about 10 miles southwest of Shippensburg, and was the city where H. Frank Beidel spent the latter years of his photographic career.
Beidel took photographs, including stereoviews, in Shippensburg from about 1880 to 1890. He is last noted there in the 1889 directory. In 1891 he appears in Chambersburg. In the mid 1890s he married Annie, and in about 1896 their only child, Hester Beidel, was born. Annie died sometime between the 1910 and 1920 censuses, as she is listed in the former, and H. Frank is listed as a widower in the latter. Annie continued to live with her father at least through 1930, the last mention of them we have found. H. Frank Beidel was still active as a photographer in Chambersburg in 1930 when he was in his 70s.
January 2, 2012
December and Annual 2011 Progress Summary
Another year gone bye, let’s look at our progress. First, just for the month of December, as I try to report each month. As with November, I have been preoccupied with work on the new Antiques and Collectibles website, which I hope to announce in the next few weeks. So ClassyArts has been on the ‘back burner’ — but even so we get some new work done on it from time to time. We added nearly 1,000 photographer records and 130 images to the databases. No new work on the dated images or photograph dating sections, but I have continued to collect more dated images and other relevant data, there just has not been time to integrate it all into the site yet. By February, I hope to begin splitting effort between this site and the antiques site 50/50, and we should begin to see more progress then. Here is the December report:
2011 Dec 31
86353 Photographer records [995 increase]
2393 Digital Images archives [29 increase]
1429 Pending Images collection [105 increase]
835 Dated Photograph Imprints from 681 photographers [no increase]
26 Pages Dating Old Photographs (132k) [no increase]
Now let us turn our attention to the year in review. I added almost 20,000 names to the photographers database. If I manage to do anywhere near that in 2012 that database will exceed the 100,000 landmark. I added over 3,000 images to the databases, almost as many in the pending images collection as in the main archives — even though the pending images collection was only begun in September. The dated imprints and photography dating sections were also both new in 2011, so the progress there will serve as a benchmark for future efforts. Here are the same totals as above, but the increase measure is for the year, rather than one month:
2011 Total Change For The Year:
86353 Photographer records [19,422 increase]
2393 Digital Images archives [1763 increase]
1429 Pending Images collection [1429 increase] (since Sep)
835 Dated Photograph Imprints from 681 photographers [835/681 increase] (since Jun)
26 Pages Dating Old Photographs (132k) [26 increase] (since Sep)
I hope everyone who reads this has a prosperous, healthful and enjoyable 2012.
December 30, 2011
Patent Ambrotypes at Bean’s in Lowell Massachusetts
Ambrotype advertisement from Lothrop G Bean in Lowell MA
This is a clipping from an 1858 Lowell MA newspaper, showing an advertisement for ambrotypes. It reads:
Patent Ambrotypes
If you wish a clear and life like picture of yourself or friend, visit Bean’s, 234 Merrimack street, where beautiful pictures are taken for 25 cents. Mr. BEAN is the only one in Lowell that makes the Patent Ambrotypes. Lowell, March 2, 1858.
This would be Lothrop G. Bean, as indicated in this entry in Craig’s Daguerreian Registry:
Bean, Lothrop G.
First listed as a daguerreian in Fall, River, Mass. in 1856. In 1858 and 1859 he was listed in Lowell, Mass. He advertised his “gallery of art” at 234 Merrimac St. in 1858 with “no stairs to climb”, and offered photographs and “lettertypes” as well as daguerreotypes. In 1859, at the same address, he advertised the exclusive right in Lowell to Cutting’s patent ambrotype process.
As we can see, the Ambrotype ads actually started in 1858. Lothrop G. Bean was born ca 1823 in Massachusetts, and in 1850 was living in Boston (Ward 4), employed as an engineer. In 1859 he is listed in the Lowell city directory as daguerrian, though I can not seem to find him in the 1860 census. He may be the L G Bean listed in Marlin Texas in 1870, occupation artist (photographers were often listed as artists in those early censuses), but I have no proof of that.
I also suspect Lothrop was the eldest son of Samuel Bean (ca 1796- ca 1867) who was son of Folsom Bean (1747-1830), and who married Adeline Jackman (1804-1869) Feb 28, 1821 in Boscawen NH. Online genealogies list Samuel and Adeline, but they show only the eight youngest children — those who were listed at home in the 1850 census. The 1840 census, however, shows that there were two older children, a male born 1821-1825 and a female born 1826-30. I believe Lothrop was that boy because the 1839 city directory for Lowell shows him as a boarder at S Bean’s on Ads street, and just below that Samuel Bean, whose house was 16 Ads street. Of course Samuel could have been some other relation, but because of the fit with the 1840 census data, it seems more likely he was Lothrop’s father. It was not unusual for adult (in this case, 17 or 18 years old) children be listed as boarders in their parents home in the old directories, especially if they are employed — which Lothrop apparently was, though I’m not sure what to make of the occupation: ‘Trem’ — perhaps it was a typo for Tram, as he was listed as an engineer in 1850.
December 23, 2011
Two Sailor Lads
Tintype Portrait of Two Sailors
This is a tintype portrait of two sailors in uniform. I think that style of uniform, with flap-front trousers and mortar-board type hats, was English, but those features may have been used in other countries as well. And being sailors, they could be in port almost anywhere in the world when the picture was taken. As with so many tintypes, there is almost no clue as to the photographer or location. The only possibility I see, is that someone might recognize the distinctive pillar and bench (or low wall?) the seated fellow is perched on, or the background, which is only visible at the edges because the photographer chose to hang a plain backdrop directly behind the subjects. If either of those appear in card-mounted photos with a photographer’s imprint, we might discover the location. The identities are even more elusive. An expert in uniforms might be able to tell what country they come from, and a rough time-span, but recognizing the sailors would require a descendant identifying them from other family photos. A very ‘long-shot’ — but it could happen.
