How old is this photo?

September 24, 2006 9:52 PM

Approximately when was this photo taken, and for what purpose?

I don't have too much info about the photograph, other than the report that it might have been sent from Denver to Ohio in the early 20th century.

posted by greatgefilte to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

Ok, so the words are:"D.B. Chase, photographer", with offices in Trinidad CO and Santa Fe NM. On one side of the picture, there's a label "Views of Santa Fe NM and vicinity. Pictures of burros loaded with wood, fruit, etc". On the other side of the picture, there's a label "Views of Trinidad CO and vicinity" and then it looks like there's more caption that is hidden by the picture itself. From this it's not clear to me whether this photo is from Trinidad or Santa Fe. But the "burros" caption doesn't describe this scene. It looks like there is a woman on a horse/burro/donkey at the center of the picture, sitting tall? (Could it be a pre-wedding picture?) There's a sign in the picture but I can't read it... nearest I can make out, maybe it says "private boarding"?

Is there a message on the back at all?

My first move in either case would be to contact the local historical society. You'll probably get more help from the Trinidad historical society, since they may have less to do than Santa Fe's.

Cursory searching reveals that the town of Trinidad, CO has an impressive amount of local history on its website, so they'll probably be enthusiastic to help.
Old photo 1
Old photos 2
Stories of long-time resident families
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:26 PM on September 24, 2006

Best answer: Probably taken because of its Western life theme, on which D.B. Chase did quite a few photos. Apparently D(ana) B. Chase was a pretty well-known 19th century Western photographer. If you search on his name, you'll get a lot of hits with photographs or photographic references like the one in your post. The photographs I found date from late 1880's to 1890's. This auction site with a D.B. Chase photograph says "In the 1880s and 1890s, Dana B. Chase had studios in various cities in New Mexico, where he died ca 1897." Judging by the clothes in the picture, that date range looks right to me -- or did you need it closer to a single year in that range?

This site for Mark L. Gardner says "January 2006: Mark's feature article on 19th-century Western photographer D. B. Chase appeared in the January issue of New Mexico Magazine." if you want to read more information about D.B. The site has an e-mail address for Mark Gardner. You might contact him directly and see if he can tell you more details.
posted by mdevore at 10:30 PM on September 24, 2006

It may have been taken for the express purpose of being a postcard. "Real photo" postcards were a big thing around the turn of the century, and they remain collectible. This is a pretty good book on the subject.

For more information about D. B. Chase, you might try contacting the Denver Public Library, as they seem to have aquired his Trinidad successor-in-interest's plates and negatives.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 3:50 AM on September 25, 2006

My Mom collects real photo postcards and the bulk of them date around the 1880s and 1890s and were often taken, just as palmcorder_yajna says for the purpose of sending folks back home pictures of their new settlemenrts. You can browse more in the Prarie Settlements collection at American Memory. If you're just curious, you may not need more information. If you're wondering if the picture is worth money, the chances are that it's not super valuable unless there is something significant about the people or the building in it.
posted by jessamyn at 4:20 AM on September 25, 2006

I may be completely off base, but I'd guess that it's in Trinidad, which has a lot of wooden houses like that, rather than Santa Fe, where buildings are primarily built of adobe. Things may have been different at that time, though.
posted by sugarfish at 6:55 AM on September 25, 2006

I can't read the sign too well but it looks like it says "Private Boarding". Many businesses had photos taken by itinerant photographers for use as advertising. It wasn't really for the equivalent of direct mail advertising. Do you have a larger resolution scan of the image?
posted by JJ86 at 8:34 AM on September 25, 2006

the house looks as though it was just built ... i would guess that might be the reason the picture was taken
posted by pyramid termite at 10:27 AM on September 25, 2006