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BLACK YOUTH, FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHER KATHERINE E. McCLELLAN

Signed at lower left corner: "Katherine E. McClellan." This is from pioneering female photographer, Katherine Elizabeth McClellan's Florida series. Frame is approximately 21⅝ by 14⅝ inches. Photograph is approximately 16½ by 9¾ inches.

"Katherine Elizabeth McClellan (1859-1934) was born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey... graduating from Smith College in 1882... Her career as a photographer began in the Adirondacks in 1892 when the McClellan family moved to Saranac Lake, NY so that Katherine's sister could be treated for tuberculosis at the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium. Katherine McClellan took up photography as a hobby, concentrating on landscapes. She turned her hobby into a thriving business. In addition to selling her photographs, McClellan also published two viewbooks, John Brown, or A Hero's Grave in the Adirondacks (1896) and Keene Valley: "In the Heart of the Mountains" (1898), and planned two more Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. It is not known whether these two were ever completed. In 1903 McClellan started spending part of the year in Northampton, Massachusetts. She opened a studio on State Street and (advertised) in the Smith College Monthly magazine... A large share of her business came from the college. She was hired to make photographs to illustrate college publications and newspaper and magazine articles, (as well as the yearbook.) . The College also called on her to document physical changes on campus (as well as special events)... In 1912 she was given the title 'Official Photographer of Smith College.'... (McClellan also photographed) visiting dignitaries such as Helen Keller, Julia Ward Howe, and Henry James (as well as) images of local townspeople. In 1918, at the age of 59, McClellan retired to Florida. She and her sister, Daisietta McClellan, developed a tract of land known as McClellan Park and McClellan continued to make photographs of the Florida landscape and its people... Katherine McClellan died in Sarasota in September of 1934." (source: Smith College Libraries website)

This is a large item, so special packing fees apply. See the shipping terms for details.

NO RESERVE

Condition:Very good; perhaps faded at the bottom, but that might be the sun.

Estimate: $400 - $700
Price Realized Including Buyer's Premium
$250
10/16/2021

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THIS AUCTION IS BEING HOSTED BY THE DAGUERREIAN SOCIETY. ALL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AUCTION INCLUDING ABOUT ITEM CONDITION SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO GREG FRENCH AT auction@daguerreiansociety.org.

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