Posted 8 years ago
SpiritBear
(813 items)
The Detroit Photographic Co. is very well-known for just beautiful photochromes-- a process they advanced in the late 1800s and saw blossom till the 1920s. They were one of the most prolific suppliers of coloured photos (primarily in the new business of postcards) back in the day, only to be killed off by those less realistic, colourful linen-type weeds popularised by Curt Teich Co. (I never liked the linen-like postcards.)
Occasionally, though, you see something from the Detroit Photographic Company (later, it became the Detroit Publishing Company) that isn't a postcard.
This is exactly what I saw from about 7 feet away on the bottom shelf of a thrift-store I frequent. Even from that distance, my eyes picked up the gentle colours and strong detail of this landscape as it sat among many larger (and much newer) framed prints.
I identified it as a possible photochrome from the early 1900s and immediately went to it.
I picked it up and inspected the image closely, all the while liking what I saw. Indeed, it was an early photochrome. I looked for any words and couldn't locate any, frowning as I turned it around and saw where the original sticker had fallen off.
I thought it might be from around 1910, so I decided to pick up the unknown fall landscape.
I got home and took another look to admire it when I noticed in the corner that it said something. In the lower right under a century of dust, in faded, dull, gold-coloured lettering I saw, "Copyright 1902 by Detroit Photographic Co."
In the lower left, a number and, "Leslie Avenue, Mackinac Island".
And I was a real happy camper. It was made in Michigan, of Michigan, and stayed in Michigan.
I'm on a nature photography thing too, and it got 15 loves in 50 minutes when I decided to post it there. LOL.
Thank you, Ms.CrystalShip.
It just came crashing down from where it was hanging, bounced off a shelf, hit my chair, crashed onto an antique insulator, and bounced another foot-- thus sliding over my old fan and landing where I threw my hat! All this while I was laying in bed a few minutes ago. I was like, Oh My Gosh! and looked at it before getting up to pick it up. Only damage to it is a dent in the frame where I think it hit my chair. I'm glad I wasn't reclining in it!
Oh my, SpiritBear, well I'm glad you are okay and your beautiful picture! Thanks for sharing about its history. I have a few postcards myself, linen and others, love them for their beauty and the stories they tell.
I'll be posting more postcards over the next week. Featuring: A postcard with a U.S. stamp (now removed) over a German stamp, a romantic card, another 'tall-tale' (albeit poorly done), and a high-quality 'autocolor' from a German photochrome maker.