Added on October 27, 2014 Ray Berg

Early Manchester Photographers – Part 1 of 4

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by Ray Berg and Alan Dyer

In June 2009, the authors met with local Manchester resident and historian Howard Parr, who had been given a photograph album by another local resident, Jane Cook, for donation to the Manchester Area Historical Society. This album was originally assembled by Addison DeForest Kief, a descendant of the Artemus Kief family who settled here in the 1830s. The album contains 41 photographs of Kief family members and presumed relatives, and dates to the 1863-1875 period. It is considered a major find, in that it identifies many of the photo subjects, as well as serving as a record of early Manchester photographers.

This find caused the authors to explore and learn more about these early photographers of our village and its residents. In this first article of a four-part series, we summarize some basic findings on these early photographers, as well as examine three of the more prominent ones and some of their work.

Overview of Known Manchester Photographers 1860 – 1890

We limit our discussion in these articles to the commercial photography business which thrived in Manchester from about 1860 through 1890. This includes photographers who prepared individual carte-de-visite portraits of persons, or who photographed various Manchester street scenes or events with the purpose of selling “postcard” style or stereographic view products.

We are continuing research on locating daguerreotypes and tintypes of Manchester or its residents, which represent photographic techniques of the 1840s and 1850s. We have not yet discovered any Manchester street scenes from this time period, but the search does go on! We have discovered that daguerreotype street scenes of other local towns such as Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti do exist from this period, and that daguerreans traveled from these towns to smaller villages to expand their business. We hope in a future article to report a find of very early Manchester views.

We also are not covering photographs of Manchester beyond 1890. By that time the Kodak camera had been invented, and inexpensive and convenient photography rapidly advanced into the hands of the ordinary user.

So with this time window in mind, let us begin with a look at some findings of Mr. David Tinder, who identified many early Manchester photographers through a systematic review of Internal Revenue Assessment Lists from 1862-1866, census records, and Washtenaw County directories. Mr. Tinder’s work is preserved at the William Clements Library at the University of Michigan. Figure 1 presents this list, with some corrections based on research in old issues of the Manchester Enterprise.

Figure 1 – Listing of Early Manchester Photographers,

with Approximate Date of Business Start

Our first reaction was one of surprise at the large number of photographers found in our small village! Apparently there was quite a demand for their work, and many of them maintained studios in several villages. These “artists”, as they often referred to themselves, traveled from place to place, making periodic appointments with rural residents to have their likenesses recorded.

The advent of photography provided severe competition for portrait painters. Photography was cheap and required very little time on the part of the subject. This meant that most anyone could afford to have his likeness reproduced, without days of posing. As an example, Russell D. Palmer of Bridgewater and Brooklyn was a local portrait painter, who was put out of business by the economics of photography. After trying his hand as a photographer in Ann Arbor for a while, he retired to farming full time, and became content creating engravings of farm animals, including some for Manchester people.

Let’s look at three of Manchester’s early photographers.

Susan T. Speechly

Susan T. Speechly was a popular and prolific carte-de-visite artist in the 1870s, with her studio located above the Graham and Goodyear Block building (now 138-144 East Main Street). Susan was born in Ann Arbor on February 10, 1844, to Robert and Elizabeth (Lancaster) Speechly, who came to Washtenaw County from England in 1838. She began photography work in Manchester in 1869, with the following notice published by Mat Blosser in the Manchester Enterprise on October 28, 1869: “E. A. Graham has concluded to stay at home and ‘mind his own business’, and would say to those wishing a good photograph, that he has secured the services of Miss S. T. Speechly of Ann Arbor in his Photograph rooms.—Miss S. comes recommended as a first class artist.”

By January 13, 1870, the Enterprise reported: “Good News—We are pleased to inform our readers that Miss S. Speechly who has been in partnership with Mr. Graham in the Photograph business has bought out Mr. Graham’s interest and will remain with us, and all those wishing good photographs can secure them at her Art Gallery. Special attention paid to securing good photographs of children. All will be pleased to give her a call.” After selling the photography business, Graham concentrated on his jewelry business.

Susan Speechly focused on individual portraits, with a particular emphasis on children. She also demonstrated friendly customer service: “…she desires those who visit her Photograph Rooms, to walk right in without knocking.” She focused on maintaining her skills and professional reputation by joining the National Photographic Association, and attending their conventions where she learned new techniques. Figure 2 shows a sample of her portrait photography.

With the planned construction of her own studio building in downtown Ann Arbor at 72 S. Main Street, Miss Speechly left Manchester in October 1873. This studio operated from 1874 until at least 1896. She briefly returned to Manchester in 1878, however, to open a part-time studio in the Union Hall Building. She also operated a studio in Dundee from 1886-1894. Her advertisements in Manchester typically read: "Miss S. T. Speechly, ARTIST, Manchester, Mich. - Particular attention paid to children and copying old pictures."

Figure 2 – Photo Believed to be Louise Merriman Kief, Circa 1871,

Front and Reverse, by Susan T. Speechly

She advertised her business in 1875 in this poem:

“THE PHOTOGRAPH: Do not let the present moment / Unimproved like others pass / Till the little face is hidden / From your sight beneath the grass. Hasten, lest the deepening shadows / Find you desolate and lone/ Without even a resemblance / Left to comfort when its gone. Gray-haired sire with furrowed features / He with form so strong of yore/ 'Neath the weight of years is bending / For his journey's almost o'er/ Hasten, precious time is flying / Not a moment will it stay/ Catch, oh! catch the precious shadow/ Ere the substance fade away.

There's a skillful little Artist / Ready to obey your will/ Susie Speechly, quick and neatly / Will your orders gladly fill. There are others very near you / Whom you love and wish to keep/ Wives and husbands, sisters, brothers/ She will take them well and cheap/ Do not fail to call and see her / In her studio small but neat/ You will find the little maiden/ At 72 South Main Street”. (i.e., her main studio in Ann Arbor).

Susan employed Converse G. Cook as a photographer in 1886, and married him shortly thereafter in Dundee, on Saturday, December 11, 1886. The Manchester Enterprise noted the event as follows: “Miss Susan will be remembered as the popular photograph artist once located here and her many Friends will join with the ENTERPRISE in wishing joy to the happy couple.” Directories identified her afterwards as Mrs. S. T. Speechly, and as S. T. Cook. She died April 7, 1915, and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Ann Arbor. She was also mentioned among several women who were noted for their achievement in business (Papers read at the Fourth Congress of Women, Held at St. George’s Hall, Philadelphia, October 4, 5, 6, 1876).

We’ll come back to other Manchester photographers in Part 2….