In today’s post, we continue our story about the life and career of Mrs. Clara Barton Drew, a photographer in Ansonia, Connecticut in the early 20th century. Here’s a quick summary of the information in the Part 1 post about her:
Clara Barton Tomlinson, born in 1867, married John Drew in the late 1880s. By 1902 Clara Drew had started working as a photographer, opening the “Drew Studio” in a building behind her house in Ansonia. Mrs. Drew was named for the famous Civil War nurse, Clara Barton. There are a series of photos of Miss Barton from the early 1900s that were taken by Clara Barton Drew in Ansonia. Yesterday’s post focussed on the photos of Clara Barton.
Today I want to talk about some of the other work Clara Barton Drew did during her 40 years as a photographer in Ansonia, Connecticut.
Clara Barton Drew’s life has been celebrated over the years in Ansonia by the Derby Historical Society, which has a lot of information about her and photos by her. In addition to running a successful photograph studio there, Clara Barton Drew at one point also ran an antique shop. Away from work, she was active with the Christian Science Church as well as with the Connecticut Humane Society.
As a photographer, Clara Barton Drew ran a standard artisan photo studio, taking photos of people, places and things. She regularly advertised in the newspaper, with ads that promoted her services, including taking portraits of people in their homes:
Clara Barton Drew also took multiple photos of scenes around town, capturing images of daily life in the early 20th century in Ansonia. Many of these types of images appear in two books about Ansonia and neighboring Derby: e.g. in the book: Ansonia (Images of America: Connecticut) and in the book Derby and Ansonia (Then & Now). Many thanks to Christine B. from the Derby Public Library for giving me a sense of what kinds of photos by Clara Barton Drew are included in the books.
Photos used in the books are owned by the Derby Historical Society, and I also want to thank Kellie S. from the Derby Historical Society for sending me scans of photos and giving me permission to share them here on the blog. Many thanks to both Christine and Kellie for their time on the phone as well; through these conversations I learned a lot about Clara Barton Drew’s life and times.
In the rest of his post, we’ll see some more photos by Clara Barton Drew.
For example, the following photo is used on the cover of the book Derby and Ansonia (CT) (Then & Now):
(Courtesy Derby Historical Society)
(Courtesy Derby Historical Society)
This whole book is actually dedicated to Clara Barton Drew. Although the photo of the people in the car is technically undated, information in the book dates it to before 1905 due to the lack of a front license plate on this car. After 1905, apparently, cars in Connecticut would have been required to have a front license plate.
Here are a few more photos by Clara Barton Drew that Kellie S. at the Derby Historical Society sent to me – some are used in the books, some are not:
Undated photo by Clara Barton Drew.
(Courtesy Derby Historical Society)
(Courtesy Derby Historical Society)
Civil War Veteran (on left), Ansonia, June 1919
Photo from the Drew Studio
(Courtesy Derby Historical Society)
According to information on a photo similar to the one above published in the book Ansonia (Images of America: Connecticut) book, these photos were taken at a reception held in June 1919 for returning Naval veterans of WWI (the older gentleman in the photo is an unnamed Civil War veteran who apparently met with all the WWI soldiers). The reception took place at the home of John and Clara Drew.
Moreover, private communication with Kellie S. , Director of the Derby Historical Society, revealed that this photo was taken in the backyard of the Drew home. The building we see in the background is the building where Clara Barton Drew had her studio.
So, is that woman photographer that we see in the photo Mrs. Clara Barton Drew herself? Possibly. I’d like to think so. Certainly, in the books that use this photo, the woman is definitely identified as Clara Barton Drew.
Of course … that then begs the question of who took that photo. I mean, if the woman in the photo is Clara Barton Drew, then she didn’t take the photo, right?
In any case, it’s still a fun photo of an early woman photographer “at work” — and fun to think that it is a photo of the talented photographer from Ansonia, Connecticut, Clara Barton Drew.
