Historic photographers and their studios

<p dir="ltr">Nearly 200 years before the era of ubiquitous cell-phone "selfies" - and decades before the <strong>Brownie camera</strong> introduced snapshots to the mass consumer market - photographers were capturing images across Indiana.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Joan-Hostetler-2017.PNG" alt= "Joan Hostetler" width="188" height="269" align="left" />Clear back in the 1820s, a teenager in <strong>New Harmony</strong> was experimenting with "solar picture drawings." In the early 1840s, a professor at <strong><a href= "https://www.indiana.edu/">Indiana University</a></strong> became Indiana's earliest documented photographer.</p> <p dir="ltr">For this exploration of photographers and early photography studios beginning in the early 19th century, Nelson will be joined by photo historian <strong>Joan Hostetler</strong>, founder of the <strong><a href= "https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/">Indiana Album</a></strong>. The organization maintains the <strong>Indiana Photographers Project</strong>, a database that records biographical and studio information about photographers who have worked in the state from the early days of photography to the present.</p> <p dir="ltr">The two longest-operating studios in Indiana, according to Joan, are the <strong>McDonald Studio</strong> of <strong>South Bend</strong>, which was founded in 1861, and the <strong>W.H. Bass Photo Co</strong>., which is based in <strong>Indianapolis</strong> and has roots dating to 1897. Both studios are still operating today.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Brown-&-Co-Studio-in-Valporaiso.JPG" alt= "Cabinet card photograph of Brown & Co. Studio in Valparaiso., 1890s. In 1897 the partners were charged with printing counterfeit money. Courtesy The Indiana Album, Inc." width="358" height="482" align="right" />During our show, Joan will discuss itinerant photographers during the 1800s who traveled across the state in wagons, bringing along tents. Other itinerant photographers tr