PORTRAIT OF AN ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL ON A SWING IN DEADWOOD, DAKOTA TERRITORY

 

This cabinet card portrait features an adorable little girl sitting on a swing. The child is smartly dressed and her outfit includes a necklace, earrings, and a hairband. The bale of hay in the background is consistent with the location of the studio where the photograph was taken. The Pollock and Duganne studio was located in Deadwood, Dakota. The date that the photograph was taken was before Dakota became two states.The Dakota Territory was established in 1861. The territory was divided into North and South Dakota in 1889 which informs us that this image was produced sometime before that date. The town of Deadwood was located in South Dakota. It was named after the dead trees found in a local gulch. The birth of the town of Deadwood was illegitimate. It was built in the 1870’s on land that had been granted to Native Americans in an 1868 treaty with the Lakota tribe. In 1874, Colonel George Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills and announced the discovery of gold there. This resulted in the Black Hills Gold Rush and the lawless town of Deadwood quickly grew to five thousand people. Prostitution, gambling, and the opium trade flourished. Murder was common and one of the town’s murder victims was Wild Bill Hickok. In 1876 the town was struck by a small pox epidemic and in 1879 there was a major fire destroying more than 300 buildings. When panning for gold was replaced by deep mining, the town became more peaceful. Little information was found about the photographers of this image. Albert Pollock (1840-1899) came to the Black Hills in 1877 and his studio was established as early as 1879. He retired to ranching in 1886. No biographical data could be located about Mr Duganne.

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Published in: on May 11, 2017 at 3:44 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MOM AND DAD AND THEIR EIGHT KIDS NICELY DRESSED IN MADISON, SOUTH DAKOTA

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This cabinet card is a portrait of a large family taken at the studio of A. T. Lewis in Madison, South Dakota. This family is well dressed and likely well-to-do. South Dakota was part of the Dakota Territory until it became a state in 1889. This knowledge reveals that this photograph was taken in 1889 or later. The city of Madison was named after Madison, Wisconsin. Wikipedia reports that the city’s original name was Herman and that it was founded in 1880. Abrah T. Lewis, the photographer of this image was married to Miss Sarah J. Norcott in 1873. She was also a photographer and is actually the more likely of the two to have taken this photograph. Mrs. Lewis tended to do portraits while Mr. Lewis focused on scenic views. Abrah Lewis was born in Oneida, New York in 1853. He next lived with his family in Canada between 1855 and 1873. In 1873, Abrah and his bride moved to Michigan and eight years later he lost his house to a forest fire (1881). Mrs. Lewis’s grandmother perished in the fire and she nearly lost her mother. The couple left for a brief stay in Canada and then settled in South Dakota and worked as photographers in Sioux Falls. Three years later they moved to Madison and opened a photography studio there that was predominately operated by Mrs. Lewis while Mr. Lewis attended to branches of the studio at Brookings, Elkton, and Arlington (all in South Dakota). The pair resided in Madison (five years), Huron (two years) and Clark (two years). Like many photographer of the cabinet card era, this couple kept moving. Their next stop was various locations in Iowa where they continued to work as photographers. One of their locations was a town called Rock Rapids. To view photographs by other female photographers, click on the category “Female Photographers”.

Published in: on February 27, 2015 at 7:19 pm  Comments (1)  
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Mother and Child in the Dakota Territory

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 This photograph appears to be of a proud mom sitting with her cute child on her lap. The photographer is J Q Miller of Grand Forks, Dakota Territory. It is interesting to note that the  Dakota Territory was part of the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. The Dakota Territory existed between 1861 and 1889 so we know that this photograph was taken sometime during that time period.. In  1889 the land became two states, North and South Dakota. The mother and child in this Cabinet card were photographed in Grand Forks, which later became part of North Dakota.

Published in: on December 11, 2008 at 4:58 pm  Comments (1)  
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