Pictures from the "Old West"

[Dr. Bob]

Howdy folks,

While browsing on eBay [keeps me poor  ] I came across a listing for "190 Pictures by John C. Grabill - Rare Old West Photos"  On a CD in jpg format.  Have notations, but too small for me to read.  Description says he "arrived in Sturgis SD in 1866 and that he took photos of the Wounded Knee massacre site 'days after it happened.'"  The Buy It Now price is pretty steep ---$3.77 with $4 shipping to the US and Canada.  Shipping to the rest of the world is $6.

The item number is 110127708717.  BTW one on the pictures shown is a fellow on a bucking horse with this "Bonnet String" flying up in the air!  Thought that you would like that one James & Bill!

[Dutch Limbach]

Dr. Bob,

You might find this link interesting:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/p?pp/grabill:@field(COLLID+grabill)::SortBy=CALL

This is on the second page:

[French Jack]

Looks like he is wearing my hat-----  aaaannnnd I bet it hurts when he lands in that saddle!!!!

          

[St. George]

Looks more like a quirt...

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

French Jack......
Actually....or, unfortunately I've been in that position several times.....

It would be nice to know the date on that particular photo.

St. George......Quirt?? Could be....but his right hand looks empty and his left is full of reins....

Bill

[Delmonico]

A late friend of mine and a fellow docent at NSHS was the Great Nephew of John C. Grabill.  The camera he used now belongs to the NSHS, I attended a workshop a few years ago when Don did a talk about Uncle John, an interesting fellow.

[River City John]

It's pointless trying to decipher details in a print that has been so heavily masked. Who knows what was cut out when they traced around the main image. Look at the tip of the horses tail and you can see that part of the original background shows behind the wispy ends of the tail. No bucking horse has that neat of a rounded foxtail.

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

It's pointless trying to decipher details in a print that has been so heavily masked. Who knows what was cut out when they traced around the main image. Look at the tip of the horses tail and you can see that part of the original background shows behind the wispy ends of the tail. No bucking horse has that neat of a rounded foxtail.

John,
he could be headed down hill at a very fast pace.......

Bill

[Dutch Limbach]

It would be nice to know the date on that particular photo.

OCB,

When you view the picture on the Library of Congress web site there is a link at the top of the page to "Bibliographic Information". On that page it lists the photo as being "Created/Published: 1888."

[Dutch Limbach]

I was perusing the collection on the Library of Congress web site. The photos had J. C. Grabill - Photographer and his location printed in the margin. I noticed one of the photos also had,"Views all copyrighted. Will give a handsome reward for detedction of anyone copying our pictures." in the margin too.

It never occurred to me that the technology existed in 1891 to make a copy of a photograph without a negative.

Also, this is a picture that really said a lot to me.


Dutch

[Black River Smith]

OCB,

This may sound stupid but:  Why do those tepee's seem small?  In relation to the wall tent they look smaller than norm.  They are not Sibley Tents.

[French Jack]

BRS--  Some of it is the perspective of the photo-- depth of field.  Actually, those are very likely a 12 - 14 foot tepee.  The poles are a bit shorter than some others I have seen, but they ( tepees) are relatively broad at the base.  The shapes varied somewhat among the various tribes.

[Delmonico]

Since that is also a reservation picture, most likely the Great White Father was just a bit stingy when he issued canvas.

[Books OToole]

It never occurred to me that the technology existed in 1891 to make a copy of a photograph without a negative.

Dutch

Dutch;

They basically just take of photo of the photo.  Then they have a negative.  This does not alway produce a clean copy.  That is why there are so many carppy copies of the famous Billy the Kid photograph.

Books

[Delmonico]

Thanks Books, I thought that is what they did, but I wasn't sure.

[Dutch Limbach]

Dutch;

They basically just take of photo of the photo.  Then they have a negative.  This does not alway produce a clean copy.  That is why there are so many carppy copies of the famous Billy the Kid photograph.

Books

Thanks Books,

That was the only way I could figure out to copy a photograph. I was wondering if they had some other method of reproducing photographs. I saw in The Household Cyclopedia instructions for making glass plates to use for photography. I didn't know if it would be possible to take a photograhy and use it to make a negative with one of those plates. It seems like the more I learn about the period, the the more I'm amazed with some of the things they were able to do.

Dutch

[Mick Archer]

  Howdy Pards!

  Back in the Dark Ages before digital photography, and scanners, say  15 or 20 years ago....    
  My Photo Lab used to "take pictures of pictures" to produce a negative to make prints from.

   Mick Archer