Photograpic Studios: Itinerate Photographers


Figure 1.--This American boy was photographed by the itinerant/mobile photgraph gallery: Palace Rail Road Photo Car, Antoinette. I'm not sure what "Antoinrtte meant, perhaps the name of the railroad car. These railroad photographers travelled from town to town while customers posed inside the train car. This portrait was undated, but we would guess that it was taken in the late 1880s.

Cameras and darkroom equipment were bulky items in the 19th century. The chemical process was also more complicated in the years before celuloid films. Thus it was much easier for photographers to operate from a studio. Itinerate photography was complicated, but feasible by the 1860s as demonstrated by Mathew Brady and the other Civil War photographers. These itinerate photographers moved by horse and buggy. Many smaller towns did not have photographic studios, especially in the early days of photogrphy. For many in remote areas, a trip to town was a very infrequent occassion. As many rural residents rarely got to town so itinerate photographers went to them. Not all intinerate photgraphers operated by horse and buggy. There were also photographers which operated from trains. Photographers operated from railroad photgraphic galleries. These railroad photographers travelled from town to town while customers posed inside the train car. We have noted this in both America and Canada. There may have been other countries as well.

Horse and Buggy

Cameras and darkroom equipment were bulky items in the 19th century. The chemical process was also more complicated in the years before celuloid films. Thus it was much easier for photographers to operate from a studio. Itinerate photography was complicated, but feasible by the 1860s as demonstrated by Mathew Brady and the other Civil War photographers. These itinerate photographers moved by horse and buggy. This was not unlike itinerate portrait painters, although itinerate photographers could not travel on horseback. There equipment required a substantial horse and buggy. Many smaller towns did not have photographic studios, especially in the early days of photogrphy. For many in remote areas, a trip to town was a very infrequent occassion. As many rural residents rarely got to town so itinerate photographers went to them. These photographers also set up shop at major events, such as county and state fairs. We do not yet have examples of their work, at least examples that we are aware of.

Railroad Photographers

Not all intinerate photgraphers operated by horse and buggy. There were also photographers which operated from trains. Photographers operated from railroad photgraphic galleries. These railroad photographers travelled from town to town while customers posed inside the train car. We have noted this in both America and Canada. There may have been other countries as well. We are not sure just how this worked. Presumably they did not just travel ith scheduled trains. There ould not have been time between stops. We assume that there was an entire car devoted to photogrphy which was put on a siding for a week or two at stops where thgere was no local photographer. We are not sure about the dates involved here, but believe that these portraits were made from the 1870s to the 1900s. So far all of te cards we have noited have been cabinent cards rather than CDVs.








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Created: December 19, 2002
Last updated: October 16, 2003