Field and Studio: Western Hunting Photography - Virtual Exhibit

• Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center
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• Portraits
• Hunters With Their Kills
• Posed Commercial Photographs

Untitled [Hunters’ camp in the forest] Boudoir card photograph Photographer unknown, ca. 1895 2002.046.1	These three young hunters have packed their gear to their forest camp on horseback, as can be seen from the Western stock saddles displayed in the photograph. The hunters are using Winchester and Marlin repeating rifles and have already bagged one doe, which has been hung from a tree. Also hanging from various tree limbs are articles of clothing, a rifle scabbard, and a flask. In addition to the flask, these young men have prominently displayed a whiskey bottle in the lower left of the photograph. The hunters are wearing Mills cartridge belts and the man in the middle is wearing a bib-front shirt.

Dinner at a hunter’s camp showing the tent, cook fire, and eating utensils. The man on the left is wearing a fringed buckskin shirt and a high-crowned Mexican-style hat. Two lever action rifles, probably Winchesters, are leaning against the tree. The stereograph bears the legend, “Sold only by canvassers,” which indicates that this card was sold by door-to-door salesmen.	Camp Life and Black Tail Deer Stereograph T. W. Ingersoll, Publisher, St. Paul, Minnesota, ca. 1900 2004.107

Untitled [Three Victorian-era female hunters in the forest] Mounted silver gelatin print Photographer unknown, ca. 1900 2004.127	Three rather formally dressed female hunters pose with their guns and their Springer Spaniel dog in front of a tent. The rifle leaning against the tent is a Model 1873 Winchester; the woman on the left holds a Model 1892 Winchester. The women are clearly “mugging” for the camera, with the woman on the right aiming her pistol at the photographer and the seated woman holding a liquor bottle on her lap.

This is a bucolic hunting camp scene photographed near Lake Abundance, Montana. The standing hunter sports a Deluxe Model 1886 rifle with a half-magazine and a cartridge belt. Note the Spanish language caption under the English caption; this stereograph could be used for export to Central and South America.	Our Camp Near Lake Abundance, U.S.A. Stereograph J. F. Jarvis, Publishers, Washington, D.C., ca. 1895 2004.237

Our Camp in Indian Territory Tissue stereograph Underwood & Underwood, Publishers, New York, New York, 1899 2004.251	Photograph of a large multi-generational and multi-racial hunting camp in Indian Territory. Members of the camp include an African American, who appears to be attired as a cook, an American Indian, and a large number of Anglo American hunters, both young and old. The tree on the right of the photograph has been decorated with a variety of dead game including a deer, raccoon, bobcat, and squirrel. This rare and unusual stereograph is known as a tissue stereograph, sometimes called a French tissue. The tissue format was first developed in France and became available commercially in 1855. This particular card, manufactured by Underwood & Underwood, features colors on the reverse of the tissue to heighten the realism of the image when viewed against a light source.

It is hard to understand why this photograph was taken, except perhaps as an example of how not to maintain a campsite. This trash-filled camp also features some shabby cooking arrangements. These two slovenly individuals give hunters a bad name. Although they do have weapons, one of which is possibly a Model 1887 Winchester lever-action shotgun, their only discernable trophy is a large pair of scavenged elk antlers, bleached by prolonged exposure to the elements.	Untitled [Hunters’ camp with tent, wagon, and antlers] Mounted silver gelatin print Photographer unknown, ca. 1895 2005.006