Featured Tintype photos and others

I agree, but it is not inconsistent with an artist signing his work. Maybe Spilman the photographer had a bit of a reputation, if he was so enthusiastic & involved with his craft as to have patented a photography-related invention. If you wanted the best, you went to Spilman.

Maybe a service Spilman offered was to transfer people's treasured old family pictures onto a newer medium? Maybe not every photographer was doing this at the time?

Lots of moving around between Illinois, Indiana, Ohio & Kentucky. Maybe the Presbyterian pastor was father of the photographer?

I see it often enough with cameos, that someone will decide a generic pretty lady is really Princess So&so, or the portrait of a Victorian era man is Prince Albert, when it doesn't look like him at all. It's such a strong urge to identify people; we hate letting them go unrecognized. Don't think we are likely ever to know which, if any, of our speculations is the truth.

 

Research follows:
Found an Ancestry page that indicates that a very similar photo is of B. F. Spilman, the minister. Says the photo is from History of the Presbyterian Church in Illinois. There is a poor scan of the image on page 22 of the Google version of this book:

https://books.google.com/books?id=ts4NlwBrkuEC&q=spilman#v=snippet&q=spilman&f=false

The image is clearer in the scan posted on Ancestry.ca:

https://search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/...entucky,+USA&cpxt=0&catBucket=p&uidh=000&cp=0

Since the Reverend died in 1859, I think it's likely that the CDV photo was printed after his death as sort of a memorial. As I mentioned earlier, it appears to be a copy of an older photo.

So I think the photo is of the minister. However, the photographer might well have been a relative of his. Not sure whether he was a son or not. I didn't really read the extensive biography of him in the first link above, but did notice mention of only one son. His Find A Grave entry also lists only one son. That is not a definitive source but I notice the reverend also had a lot of siblings. If the photographer wasn't his son he might have been a nephew. The photographer who applied for the patent worked in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and the patent was applied for in 1880.

I found the photographer in Find A Grave... born in 1846, died in 1906. Father was C. H. Spilman, according to the obituary. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55447042/benjamin-f.-spilman

So, the photographer was in his early to mid-20s when the CDV was published by a studio in Cincinnati. (I do not know when he took up photography.) I currently don't see a connection between this photographer and that studio. But the photo is clearly of the Reverend B. F. Spilman, who died in 1859 when the younger B. F. Spilman was 13 years old.

It is possible that the younger Spilman could transfer older photos to new formats. Many photographers would do that. However, I don't have enough information to know whether Spilman was ever connected with that studio in Cincinnati. And since the photo is clearly of the Reverend B. F. Spilman, I think the simplest explanation is the one to go with... that the name written on the card is a caption identifying who was in the photo.

 

great information.....

 

I do believe Fig has it worked out. Considered that the photographer might a relative named for Benjamin Franklin Spilman who labeled the photo sometime later. Don't know about your families, but mine on my dad's side had to sit down with a big box of photos mostly taken by his mother & try to figure out who was who & get them labeled before the knowledge was lost altogether.

However, comparison of the 2 signatures we have shows the photographer's is back slanted, maybe a leftie:

 

I hope it's helpful!

 

Very good information Figtree3. Thank You for all your research, I so much really appreciate all you have done, Thanks again...

 

Awesome work, best site ever...

 

You're welcome!

 

The first image that you posted a bit further down as FULL.....looks like he has a leather 'apron' on.....which leads me to wonder if he was a farrier......and maybe only put on the "dress" clothes for the photo shoot??? I thought his hands looked kind of rough as well.......

 

NICE work, Fig!!!!!

 

Billyd3us,
This is part of an article about Stauntons camera museum:

By the time photography had reached the end of its first decade Staunton had its first permanent photographer. R.J. Rankin opened his studio in the city in 1850, taking daguerreotypes, photos made by exposing a chemical coated copper plate. Staring back from the rows of daguerreotypes in the case that displays Rankin's work are Staunton citizens in their Sunday best from 170 years ago. Eight years after opening his shop, Rankin died of mercury poisoning, a fatal side effect of the chemicals used in early photography development.

Maybe you could contact them about you photo.

 

Great info Huntingtreasure. I will try to contact them, Thank You.

 

Happy to help. Sometimes you can find an email. I've done it. Museums share the passion!

 

Okay Great to know..