More images from the collection of Emma Beauvais Thomas Grumley.
This is the ninth post in that series.
A particularly enjoyable part of this mission that I have set for myself is having had the opportunity to closely examine hundreds of original photographs with a connection to our community. The image quality of many of the cabinet cards, as some of them were called, is remarkable. I would call a lot of them stunning. They are of such a high quality that they don’t appear to have deteriorated at all even though they are 120 years old or more.
Additionally, many of them were stored under conditions that I would not have thought suitable. To begin with the images appear to have been printed on a thin photographic paper that is attached with an adhesive to a cardboard mount. Were the photographic studios of that era even aware of low acid cardboard in those days? Did it exist?
Another phenomena that I’ve seen over and over is how when the images are stacked one on top of another for long periods of time, the lower image will burn itself into the cardboard back of the one above. This I would expect. What I didn’t expect is that there would be no detectable deterioration of the lower image. Go figure.
In this post, I’ll focus on the Guerin Studio. They were definitely one of the best.
For whatever reason, this 1883 article is the earliest mention of the Guerin Studio that I find with Newspapers.com. Obviously the studio had been around for awhile. I can’t understand why there is no earlier mention.From the Jewish Free Press – July 1, 1887.From the Jewish Free Press – August 19, 1887.This is a style of cabinet card that many studios used. They measure roughly 4×7 inches. This baby is unidentified.The back of the previous image. Emma signed the backs of many of the images in her collection. We don’t get the baby’s name but we do get a date. Looks like May 23, 1896. Its is helpful to know when this style of card was being produced. Also of interest is Guerin’s advertising. If he won a medal in Paris in 1878, it seems reasonable to assume he had been in business for at least awhile before that.Another unidentified baby.No date and no name on this one. I don’t know that it is but it looks earlier than the other two to me.A different style of mount for this nameless gentleman.A similar mount for this lovely young woman.Here she is. The object of our affection, Emma Beauvais Thomas. I feel pretty certain of this.The back of the previous photo. 1894.No name or date on this very striking image but the back has something of interest.I actually recognized this burned in image. He was John L. Sutton, child of James and Ann. He was an uncle to Emma.Here is the photograph that must have been stored right under the striking woman for very many decades. Notice that even though the image burned into the cardboard very deeply, there is no sign of deterioration in this original.This excerpt is from page 43 of the 1911 History of St. Louis County by John’s brother-in-law, William Lyman Thomas. But I still haven’t explained how I know the man in the image is John.From an 1896 directory of St. Louis County. John was living at the Sutton mansion on Manchester.This image is from the 1911 History of STL Co., Volume One.John and Margaret Sutton with family members in front of the Sutton mansion. The image is courtesy of the Maplewood Public Library.A really great image of the Sutton mansion. Also courtesy of the Maplewood Public Library.John and Margaret in the front parlor of the Sutton mansion at 7453 Manchester, now the site of a Dobb’s Tire store. The mismatch of the text is due to something I was doing that I have now forgotten. But no matter, transcribed it for you. This image appears in both of my books on Maplewood history.
Ok, I got carried away and enhanced Emma Thomas’s collection a bit. All of the images were hers up to and including the first image of John L. Sutton. Believe it or not, there are still a lot more of Emma’s images to see.
Once again these images have been kindly provided by Chrissie Hayes McConnell and we thank her.
We finally are getting the weather we deserve. Unfortunately the war in Ukraine is impossible to ignore. The amount of suffering that just a few nutcases can cause is unbelievable. Every day more and more innocent folks lose their lives, their loved ones, their homes and cities. I pray for a swift and peaceful end to this.
Doug Houser March 26. 2022
7 COMMENTS
As a woman who loves to sew, quilt and embroider, I can’t help but notice that most of the clothing, including 2 of the men’s suits, are hand tailored. They have done a beautiful job of tailoring, even many laces were hand tatted. The hours of labor needed to make such beautiful garments is fantastic. Yes, you could purchase garments from stores and catalogs but they were expensive, the lady with the black lace seems to have attached purchased lace to a handmade blouse. Also many christening gowns were made from the fabric of a mothers wedding gown. Many brides were gifted pure white quilts, which showed off the hand of the quilters art.
Mary, thanks for pointing out details that many of us, myself included, would not have seen. My mother certainly would have. She sewed for as long as she was able. She made many quilts. I believe there are over thirty. She exhibited them in various places. I took many photographs of them. Someday I’ll have to put them on Facebook so others can see how beautiful they are. Thanks for your enlightening comment.
Thanks Doug I will relook at that post. Not sure you have seen the film called Brick by chance and fortune. It has been on PBS before and is about the brick industry and brick work in St Louis. No houses from Maplewood but I am sure we have some of the same brick work on some homes here in Maplewood as is shown in the film. Very interesting to hear them tell the history of bricks and clay tiles and how they build the homes here in town.
One thing I have never seen is how some of the building are inches away from each other. They must have built them from the inside out is all I can figure. Barry Greenberg’s architect business is one. Looks like maybe a foot of distance at the back of the building between the next building and goes down to almost nothing if I recall correctly.
Mark, I did see the film that you mention and found it very interesting. I agree that the bricklayers must have had to stand in the building they were constructing. The walls are too close for it to have been done any other way.
Hey Mark, After reading your comment I went back and read all of the occupations listed on just that one page of the directory. Pretty cool. Quite a diverse group. Thanks for pointing that out. Like you I do admire handwork well done. I especially like woodwork and stone work. You have been following this blog from the beginning, so you will probably remember the series I did on the stonework in Maplewood. If you would like to take a look at some of those posts again, called “Let’s go Get Stoned”, here is a link to all of them. https://40southnews.com/maplewood-history-lets-go-get-stoned-part-6/
While I liked the pictures I was again noticing the listing in the 1896 directory of the names and then the occupations. I saw folks listed as farmers, laborers, gardener, clerk, stonemason and wagonmaker. Some occupations that are no longer around it seems to me. Or for some folks not thought of with very high praise. But they needed them then and we need them now. I would guess I would consider a mechanic a type of wagonmaker today, the clerks still wait on me almost daily at stores, I grew up on a farm, did a fair amount of garden work on it and marvel at some of the beautiful stone work that we see on walls, building and bridges that are still standing.
As a woman who loves to sew, quilt and embroider, I can’t help but notice that most of the clothing, including 2 of the men’s suits, are hand tailored. They have done a beautiful job of tailoring, even many laces were hand tatted. The hours of labor needed to make such beautiful garments is fantastic. Yes, you could purchase garments from stores and catalogs but they were expensive, the lady with the black lace seems to have attached purchased lace to a handmade blouse. Also many christening gowns were made from the fabric of a mothers wedding gown. Many brides were gifted pure white quilts, which showed off the hand of the quilters art.
Quilts not in these photos, but were common gifts of this time period.
Mary, thanks for pointing out details that many of us, myself included, would not have seen. My mother certainly would have. She sewed for as long as she was able. She made many quilts. I believe there are over thirty. She exhibited them in various places. I took many photographs of them. Someday I’ll have to put them on Facebook so others can see how beautiful they are. Thanks for your enlightening comment.
Thanks Doug I will relook at that post. Not sure you have seen the film called Brick by chance and fortune. It has been on PBS before and is about the brick industry and brick work in St Louis. No houses from Maplewood but I am sure we have some of the same brick work on some homes here in Maplewood as is shown in the film. Very interesting to hear them tell the history of bricks and clay tiles and how they build the homes here in town.
One thing I have never seen is how some of the building are inches away from each other. They must have built them from the inside out is all I can figure. Barry Greenberg’s architect business is one. Looks like maybe a foot of distance at the back of the building between the next building and goes down to almost nothing if I recall correctly.
Mark, I did see the film that you mention and found it very interesting. I agree that the bricklayers must have had to stand in the building they were constructing. The walls are too close for it to have been done any other way.
Hey Mark, After reading your comment I went back and read all of the occupations listed on just that one page of the directory. Pretty cool. Quite a diverse group. Thanks for pointing that out. Like you I do admire handwork well done. I especially like woodwork and stone work. You have been following this blog from the beginning, so you will probably remember the series I did on the stonework in Maplewood. If you would like to take a look at some of those posts again, called “Let’s go Get Stoned”, here is a link to all of them.
https://40southnews.com/maplewood-history-lets-go-get-stoned-part-6/
While I liked the pictures I was again noticing the listing in the 1896 directory of the names and then the occupations. I saw folks listed as farmers, laborers, gardener, clerk, stonemason and wagonmaker. Some occupations that are no longer around it seems to me. Or for some folks not thought of with very high praise. But they needed them then and we need them now. I would guess I would consider a mechanic a type of wagonmaker today, the clerks still wait on me almost daily at stores, I grew up on a farm, did a fair amount of garden work on it and marvel at some of the beautiful stone work that we see on walls, building and bridges that are still standing.