The Collected Library, Including Americana and Early Photography

7 x 9 1/2 in. album containing 98 CDVs and CDV-sized tintypes of men, women, and children of varying ages, highlighted by photographs representing Rutland, Vermont, photographer Francis Mowrey, his wife Harriet (Merrill) Mowrey, their son, and other family, friends, and associates. While many of the images are credited to F. Mowrey, other photographers are represented, including James O. Merrill (Rutland, VT), G.M. Baker (Rutland, VT), S.B. Taylor (Aurora, IL), Torr & Jeffries (Burlington, NJ), W.V. Ranger (Syracuse, NY), and Lazier (Syracuse, NY). Front free endpaper identified to Mrs. F. Mowrey. Some subjects identified in pencil on album page.

Limited information is available regarding Francis Mowrey (b. 1820-?), who operated a photo studio in Rutland, VT, and Troy, NY, during the 1850s-1860s. The 1860 US Census for Rutland, VT, lists Francis Mowrey as a 40-year-old artist from Pennsylvania, his wife Harriet Mowrey as a 21-year-old native of New York, and their 3-year-old son William Mowrey. An 1867 Rutland, VT directory states that Mowrey was a photographer with rooms at 63 Main Street. As per an issue of the Rutland Historical Society Quarterly (Vol. X, no. 4, Fall 1980), famed photographer William Henry Jackson began his career in Rutland, learning the trade from Francis Mowrey.

The album is headlined by 6 CDVs of Francis Mowrey, including a curious portrait in which the photographer is shown wearing a women's bonnet with a large bow tied around his neck. A shawl trimmed with an intricate design is draped over his coat and trousers. Three cartes include Mowrey's Rutland, VT, studio imprint, two include his Troy, NY, studio imprint, and one is uncredited. Also enclosed are multiple images of Mowrey's wife Harriet and his son William, including a charming portrait in which William wears an oversized top hat. The 1880 Troy, NY Federal Census indicates that William Mowrey went on to work as a photographer in Troy, NY. One image bears the verso imprint of F. Mowrey & Son, Troy, NY.

Additional subjects of note include: CDV, caricature of Jefferson Davis in women's clothing. Rutland, VT: F. Mowrey. -- CDVs of Harriet Mowrey's mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Merrill. Rutland, VT: F. Mowrey. -- CDVs of additional Merrill family members, some credited to James O. Merrill, who also operated a photo studio in Rutland. -- CDVs credited to G.M. Baker, also of Rutland, VT, including what may be a portrait of the photographer, his wife, and a period copy image of their daughter taken before she died (as per penciled notations on album pages).

Images in varying conditions though most feature some toning and spotting, with wear to mount edges and corners. Significant wear to album extremities, with back cover and several pages detached from spine. Spine partially separated from front cover.