You’re likely to get some argument in an effort to authoritatively bestow the title of “Saline’s Photographer” on any one individual.
If your history extends no further than the digital age, an Internet search focused on geotags will score a great variety of results, from social sites and those with portfolios under captive URLs, to the University of Michigan online library. [1]
Digging deeper, the Saline District Library has preserved back issues of The Saline Reporter, which was first published in 1959. And from the year just prior, then dating back to the first decade of local railroad service through this community, the Saline Observer. [2-4]
Think you’d find definitive agreement on “Saline’s Photographer” in any of those resources?
Perhaps a better way of looking at this would be to marvel in the fact that the skill and artistry of making still photographs is of such significance here that holding such title is important in the first place.
Last May, the subject came up with Saline History & Depot Museum Curator Bob Lane during a discussion in the old section of Oak Wood Cemetery. [5-7]
“If you think back to the Civil War — that time, around that time, before that time — how many photographers can you name?” he asked rhetorically. “Mathew Brady, right? Who else? [8]
We know a lot about the cameras from that time. Many examples of them have been preserved, you can see them in museums right now. And you can use them to learn about how hard they were to operate and why it was so difficult to get any sort of photographs if you hadn’t spent a lot of time learning about those cameras and how to work them. You can line them all up to see what it took on that side to make photography something =anyone could do. [9]
But the stories that fascinate me the most are the stories about the people, the people who took the pictures. I think that’s what you’re going to related to, what anyone is going to relate to. What are the stories of the people who used the things in the museums? That’s what makes you stay instead of just taking a look and them moving on to the next thing.
Enter Lucretia Gillett.
She wasn’t born here. In fact, she was thirty-eight years old when she moved from a place some eighty miles west of Chicago to Saline Michigan in 1858. She didn’t die here, either. Her final years were spent living with sisters, until some time around March 1894. During her time here, however, she made the following contributions as a professional photographer. [10]
Lucretia was listed in the 1860 Census for Washtenaw County as one of three Daguerrean artists (photographers) working in Saline, Michigan, the others being Susan Hulten and Lucretia’s relative (perhaps grandfather), Mr GC Gillett. However, by 1863, Lucretia was Saline’s only commercial photographer and continued to be so for nearly thirty years.
“Imagine that,” Mr Lane said. “We have an accomplished photgrapher from the 1800s — and photography was a hard thing. And she was a professional woman doing this, when it wasn’t common for women to work in these fields.”
Last year, Ginger Winter headed the annual cemetery enactments project on bahalf of the Rotary Club of Saline. Lucretia Gillett was identified as one of the persons to be featured, backed by a 450-word script developed for the portrayal approximately nine months later. Local resident (and Saline Troop 439 Scoutmaster) Tammy Mayrend portayed the photographer. [11-15]
When asked by Saline Journal about the difference between making a presentation on the historic figure and becoming her, Ms Mayrend noted the importance of having a live person “standing there in full costume” as means of helping attendees get into “the moment.
With kids and teens especially it was nice to explore some things they may not otherwise consider. One young person was shocked to realize how before her time Lucretia was. It’s the norm now to have women business owners but then it was largely unheard of. I was able to broaden their perceptions as we explored things. I asked them questions that hopefully will lead them on a path to explore more themselves!
Bob Lane also elected to feature Ms Gillett as personal touchpoint during the Historical Trolley Tours he organized for Saline’s Summerfest. Saline Journal Publisher Janet Deaton channeled that part. [16-18]
And now this weekend, Saline Area Historical Society will be providing a much deeper understanding of this important individual. Titled “Lucretia Gillett, Saline’s Photographer,” Bill Christin has been scheduled to make this presentation as part of their monthly educational program at the Saline District Library on Sunday, April 14, starting at 2:00pm — with no cost to attend. [19]
Notwithstanding those who would insist on arguing the point, the basis for his assertion is not without precedent. Community Observer declared “Saline’s Photographer” over a dozen years ago.
Here’s another way to test its voracity for yourself.
References
- “Saline Area Historical Photos” M Library, University of Michigan.
- Saline District Library (home page).
- “Saline Reporter” (June 11, 1958 to April 3, 2014) CMU: Central Michigan University — Digital Michigan Newspapers.
- “Saline Observer” (November 18, 1880 to May 26, 1959) CMU: Central Michigan University — Digital Michigan Newspapers.
- “Mr History” (Bob Lane Flickr Feed).
- “You Should Get to Know former Saline Resident Webster Ruckman at Some Point in Your Memorial Day Schedule” Dell Deaton (May 28, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Oakwood Cemetery” Saline.
- “Mathew Brady” Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- “Kodak Brownie Camera” The Franklin Institute.
- “Miss LA Gillett Artist – Sign” M Library, University of Michigan.
- The Rotary Club of Saline (home page).
- “Cemetery Tours” The Rotary Club of Saline.
- “On September 30 You’ll Learn More Than How Saline Resident Levi Haynes Became Wealthy With Enhanced Farm Crop Yields” Dell Deaton (August 22, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Like So Many Histories From Saline, Dress Rehearsals For Upcoming Cemetery Enactments Stretched Their Own Bounds” Dell Deaton (September 24, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Not a trick question: Look closely at this local Scouts BSA troop photograph; see if you can spot anything different about it” Dell Deaton (February 11, 2019) Saline Journal.
- Saline’s Summerfest (home page).
- “Work Must Go Into Making Saline Historical Trolley Tours Fun For The Guides So That It Will Be Fun For The Riders” Dell Deaton (August 11, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Make Sure Your Dress Is Right Before Stepping Onto The Saline’s Summerfest Trolley For Tour Guide Duty This Year” Janet Deaton (August 2, 2018) Saline Journal.
- Saline Area Historical Society (home page).
- “Saline’s Photographer” Grace Shackman (Winter 2006) Community Observer.
