Scholar discusses state’s history of early photography
That old photograph of Great-Grandpa Olson might hold more family history than you know.
Robert Kolbe can help unravel that information during his presentation on the history of photography in the state from 1840 to 1930.
Kolbe will speak at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at the Madison Public Library as part of the Madison Area Arts Council Chautauqua Series. The event is free and open to the public. This program is made possible by the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Kolbe, an independent scholar from Sioux Falls, will talk about a number of issues in photography, such as when the occupation started and the types of photography used since the beginning of Dakota Territory.
Several kinds of photographs were done in South Dakota, Kolbe said, including Ambro type, tin type, stereographs, cabinet cards and Daguerreo type.
He’ll speak about the timeframes when certain forms of photography were used. For example, Daguerreo types were made from 1840 to around 1860 and tin types were produced from the mid-1850s through the 1870s.
Kolbe will use a slide show during his presentation and bring examples of different forms of photography.
Early photography still has an impact on people locally, Kolbe said, by what one can learn from a picture as it relates to genealogy. By knowing the differences in the varying types of photography, people can distinguish what kind of photograph they have, he said.
“If you can tell the difference, it helps you date the timeframe when the photograph was done,” Kolbe said.
Other pieces of information can be picked up as well, like where the picture was taken, who the photographer was and what kind of paper was used for the photograph.
Kolbe said audience members can bring along their own old photographs to the presentation and see if he can give them any information about it.
Kolbe has spent more than two decades studying early photography. In 1985, he started working with Brian Bade, who was a colonel in the South Dakota Air National Guard, on a book that documented Dakota photographers from 1853 to 1920. During research for the book, titled “They Captured the Moment,” they found 1,760 early photographers who worked in the Dakotas.
“Since the book came out in 2006, I have added another 50 photographers,” Kolbe said.
Kolbe will mention some specific photographers, mostly those who worked in eastern Dakota, including John M. Munson. Munson had a photography studio in Madison for about 40 years until 1918, Kolbe said. There are 15 early photographers listed in Kolbe’s book who spent time in Madison and one photographer who was in Ramona.
Kolbe said he hopes the audience comes away from the presentation with the tools to learn more information from their old photographs.
“I would hope they have a better appreciation of old photographers and the images they did,” Kolbe said.
MAAC meetings are held the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. at The BrickHouse Community Arts Center at 106 S.E. 2nd St. in Madison.
Image: ‘Grand View Hotel on Lake Madison Grounds’ From the Digital Library of South Dakota.
