| Estimated Dates |
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Chronological listing of years spanning the individual's career in photography. An asterisk (*) after a year indicates that this is a verified start or end date for that studio or town. Years without an asterisk are dates that the photographer was known to have worked at a location, but they are not necessarily the beginning or end years – they are just the years that we know about so far. |
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| WorkerType |
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While gallery owners, photographers, and employees typically performed multiple tasks at a studio (including operating the camera, processing, printing, retouching, framing, etc.), we have listed their primary known role as found in sources such as directories and newspapers.
- A “Studio owner” or “Studio owner/partner” is assumed to be a photographer unless otherwise noted.
- If there were known partners, or family members actively involved with the business, each person is listed as “Studio owner/partner.”
- We have also noted the wives as “Photographer’s wife involved with studio.”
- If the photographer was also employed in another field, we have noted them as, for example “Photographer/Dentist” or “Combined career photographer.”
- Early census records denote daguerreotypists, as well as sculptors and portrait painters, as “Artist,” so we use that term until we have confirmed that they were a “Photographer.”
- It is sometimes difficult to determine if a daguerreotypist renting a room was a “Studio owner” or an “Itinerant photographer.” If advertisements indicate that their stay was short (up to 3 months or so), we list them as the latter. That term also refers to photographers traveling in tents, wagons, etc.
- The term “Studio proprietor” might indicate that the person was either a manager or the owner. As we determine which, we change the type to “Studio manager” or “Studio owner.”
- If known, we are specific about the role employees played in studios, such as “Receptionist/Secretary” or “Printer/Processor.” Workers with indeterminant positions are listed as “Employee” or “Assistant.” Be aware, though, that many employees had multiple studio roles.
- The older term “Operator” usually refers to a camera operator. We use this term instead of “Photographer” when backstamps or advertisements use that word.
- Photographers employed by corporations, factories, or other businesses are listed as “Photographer for company.”
- If employed by a newspaper, they are a “Newspaper photographer,” while magazine or newsletter photographers are listed as “Photojournalist.”
- An “Amateur photographer” is usually only included if they were prolific (and signed their work), if they entered contests, if they received publicity, or if their collections are in repositories.
- An “Art photographer” (a subjective term) refers to a person who made images as art, whether to sell or for personal enjoyment.
As the directory progresses, we will include studio types, studio services, genres, photo processes, and formats.
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| Studio / Employer / Name UsedAlternate Names |
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Listing of photographic studios, places of employment, or names used. Because 19th-century photographers did not consistently use their own studio names (sometimes advertising the same business as John Smith, J. Smith, J. H. Smith's Art Studio, Main Street Excelsior Gallery, and Smith & Co. Pavilion), we have chosen the most common name for that studio. Known alternate names are italicized. |
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| City, County, State (if not Indiana) |
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Location of studio or place worked. Towns listed without states are located in Indiana. All locations are assumed to be in the United States unless another country is listed.Note that sources sometimes only record a studio town name without an address, so many studios in our list include a town listing with no address, as well as separate lines for addresses within that town. For example, E. B. Radabaugh's verified start and end years in Huntington are 1875-1891. His studio might have been in different addresses during this time range. So, a separate line indicates that he was known to have worked on Jefferson St. in 1879 and Taylor's Block in 1881. At this point, we have not determined if Taylor's Block was on Jefferson St. |
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| Studio Address /Alternate Address |
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Photographers were not consistent with their addresses. For example, although the McDonald Studio's address was 301 S. Michigan Street, they advertised as SW corner Michigan & Wayne Streets. When known, we have listed the proper address used at that time, as well as alternate addresses for that same location. If an address changed (for example the Jones Studio at 248 E. Washington Street changed to 498 E. Washington during the 1898 Indianapolis renumbering project), we have included two records for this same studio since the dates are helpful dating clues. |
