The "Photographs And Photographers Throughout Lancaster's History" Story

A wedding photograph taken of my wife in 1967 by
John Gates.  It's been 51 years ago today that it was taken.

It was an ordinary day.  Just pulled out the wedding photos that Carol and I had taken when we were married on June 17, 1967.  Album had 26 8"X10" photo- graphs; 4 of them were color prints while the rest were black and white.  We chose John Gates Studio in Lancaster, Pennsylvania after seeing some of his work as well as being able to afford his prices.  If I remember correctly, there were about two dozen professional photographers in Lancaster when we got married.  If you Google "Wedding Photographers in Lancaster, PA" today you will find reviews for 340+ photographers.  Wow, either Lancaster has grown tremendously since we were married over 50 years ago or people are getting married more frequently.  Got me thinking about how many photographers there might have been in Lancaster when having wedding photographs taken first became popular.  I had a hard time finding information so I took my search online to the Facebook page titled "The Lancastrian".  

Back and front of a Carte de Visite from
Frank Saylor Studio at 45 West King Street.

Wasn't long before I had answers, though they weren't necessarily about wedding photo- graphers.  Seems that photo- graphic studios began to open in Lancaster in the late 1800s.  The first permanent images came about in the late 1830s in France when Joseph Niepce used a portable camera obscura to expose a pewter plate coated with bitumen to light.  Daguerreotypes, emulsion plates and wet plates followed in the mid to late 1800s.  Then in the 1880s George Eastman started a company called Kodak and the flexible roll of film that fit in a self-contained box camera gave the public a chance to take images of just about everything including weddings.  You would take photos with your box camera then take your camera back to the store to have the camera sent to Kodak so the film could be developed and prints made.  When you went back to the store for your photographs you would also pick up your camera loaded with more film.  Then in the 1930s the use of 35mm cameras began.  

Another Carte de Visite from Otto Weber Studio in Lancaster.

In 1948 Polaroid introduced a film that would allow you to take a photograph and watch it develop after it came out of the camera.   It was in 1991 that Kodak produced the first digital camera that was used successfully by professionals.  Those people who answered my request for photographers in Lancaster gave me a wealth of information.  Some people showed me samples of carte de visite which began in the mid-1800s and were slightly over 2 inches by 3.5 inches.  Studio photos were placed on lightweight board and used to trade with friends and relatives.  

The larger Cabinet Card from Ernst
Studio at 28 East King Street in Lancaster.

Local studios that produced these cards that I know about were Saylor at 45 West King Street, J. Stehman at 10 West King Street, Otto Weber at 108 North Queen St., J.S. Saurman at 43 1/2 N. Queen Street and Cummings at 6 North Queen Street.  Next came the larger Cabinet Cards.  A Facebook responder, Sharon, told me that her husband collected Cabinet Cards from the turn of the last century and has photos from the following galleries: Ernst at 28 East King Street; Wm. T. Gill at 19 E. King St.; The Fowler Gallery at 12 W King Street; Rote at 106 N Queen Street; A.M. Lease at 22 N. Queen Street; Black's Gallery at 24 W. King Street; Otto W. Weber at 106 N. Queen Street; Aller's Gallery at 12 W. King Street; and Dengler's Studio at 14 S. Queen Street.  Another poster, Brenda, told me of a studio that was in business in 1923 called Killian.  

Cabinet card from Killian Studio.

I also had quite a few people tell me of places they knew in Lancaster from the mid-1900s such as Darmstaetters at 37 N. Queen Street, Russo's and Peel's in downtown Lancaster, Jaffe's Camera Shop in center city, and Gates Studio to the west of the city.  In 1944 George Coe opened his camera shop in Lancaster along North Queen Street.  His store was a photography store which sold cameras and film rather than operate as a studio.  In 1965 his store was part of a redevelopment project and was demolished so he moved a block to the west and opened at 220 N. Prince Street.  I got to know Mr. Coe as well as those that worked in his store and those who took over the store after Mr. Coe retired.  I would purchase my supplies, equipment and materials for my high school photography class I taught beginning in the early 1970s.  

George Coe opened his photo store in 1944 on North
Queen Street.  You can see it in the second block on
the right of this photograph.  Click to enlarge.

Another long time photo- grapher in Lancaster was Jack Long Photo- graphy which was located at 642 Fountain Ave.  Jack and his son Ken took the senior portraitures for Manheim Township High School's yearbook for years.  Since I was the yearbook advisor I got to know both of them quite well.  

George Coe inside his photo store.

Ken would often talk to my photography classes.  Another friend and photographer, Andy Kelly, operated a store in the Lancaster Shopping Center for many years.  Andy still supplies me with photos of sports teams for the Manheim Township yearbooks.  Photographs and photographers are a part of every community and city throughout the world.  Their services may have changed somewhat from what they did years ago, but the fact that they helped document the history of the communities and cities in which they are located will never change.  And, I suspect that many years from now it will still be that way.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Downtown Lancaster Photographic Store Darmstaetter's would produce these Album Prints booklets from a roll of film.

The back of the albumn tells the Subject, Place and Date the photos were taken.

Ben inside Coe Camera Store on North Prince Street.