I was recently asked to provide an introduction to my some of my older posts and podcasts about early women photographers, and that provided me a chance to take a look through back at the whole Photographs, Pistols & Parasols website.
So I though it might be fun to share the impromptu list of highlights here on the blog today. Obviously I find all of the women I've profiled interesting. If you're new to the blog, or if you've been visiting for a while, you might like to take a peek at the following early women photographers.
So, without futher ado, what follows is a quick shortlist of highlights that spotlight different aspects of the lives of early women artisan photographers.
Delia Rich: photographer whose career starts when she’s single
Delia Rich worked for a (male) photographer who helped her go out on her own in Kansas. As the story goes, the photographer had originally wanted to hire a teenage boy assistant, but instead took on a teenage girl:
45 – A Rich Story
O'Donnell Sisters: two sisters who start a photography business
Margaret O'Donnell learned photography from a male photographer before opening her own studio:05 The Adventures of the Misses O’Donnell
McKellips sisters: two more sisters who were photographers
The McKellips sisters had a connection to the O'Donnell studio before opening their own studio:
06 Meet the McKellips
The Rust Studio in Beesville, TX
Ruth Rust (a photographer who has a studio in Missouri) who learned photography originally from her sister Jennie Rust Dugan, who ran the Rust Studio in Beesville, TX.
100 years ago today: “Women know what women want!”
BTW, I am often asked how early women photographers learned photography and/or the business of photography. Starting in the early 20th century, there were schools for photography in McMinnville, TN (as early as 1904) and Effingham, Illinois. These schools were essentially certificate programs, not years-long college degree programs.
The following links bring up lists of posts that mention women studying in McMinnville and Effingham.
Search resulits for posts that mention the McMinnville school:
Search results for posts that mention the Effingham school:
Rosa Vreeland
21-The Extraordinary Mrs. Vreeland
Belle B. Chase
Mabel Sykes
59 – Photographer to the Star
Sarah Larimer
49 – Fate and Fortune
Mary Winslow
13 The Mary Winslow Enigma
Elisabeth Withington
08 A Sensible Woman
Before the schools were around, mostly photographers learned by working for other photographers. For example, both Rosa Vreeland and Belle B. Chase taught others to be photographers. They were also both married: Mrs. Vreeland always ran the studio on her own, though, while Mrs. Chase was a photographer on her own both before her marriage and after her divorce; she also ran a studio with her photographer husband during their marriage.
22-On the trail of Belle B. Chase
Intriguingly, Mrs. Vreeland's son, George, travelled from Kansas to Colorado from to learn photography from Mrs. Chase, even though his mother had already been a successful photographer for many years at that point (and Mrs. Vreeland had taught a number of people to be photographers). It's an example of folks not necessarily learning the business from family; it also shows that men were willing to learn from women.
Now, I often say that accomplishments of most of these early artisan women photographers have been overlooked over time. But in their own time, some were famous as photographers in their own right because the took photos of famous people, for example, the photographer Mabel Sykes:
Others, like Sarah Larimer, had fame thrust upon them that had nothing to do with their photography:
Two more before I end this list for today. The following women's stories are the reason this project is called "Photographs, Pistols & Parasols."
Enjoy this trip down memory lane on Photographs, Pistols & Parasol. New profiles of more early women photographers coming soon.
