Roswell H. Gardiner, Mr. & Mrs. (1856- )
Atlantic Photo-View and Advertising Co.
Great Eastern Photographic and Advertising Co.
Great Eastern Art Co.
Chronology
1887 itinerant, Roseburg area
1888 Victoria BC
1888 Clackamas
1889 Hillsboro
1892-1895 Portland and itinerant
The Gardiner’s were among the best organized of Oregon’s itinerant photographers, and I have seen more home views on their mounts than any other photographer. They produced full plate contact prints on imprinted mounts. To judge by the sheer number of different mount styles, they must have re-ordered card stock frequently. They also produced custom imprinted mounts for photographs of specific events.
When the photographers were not engaged shooting school group portraits and banquets, they traveled among rural farms. They would photograph the family standing in the front yard of their dwelling. The quality of these posings suggests considerable experience in placing the camera and arranging the customers.
Directory Listings
1889 POWI pg. 292 Hillsboro “Gardner (sic), R. H., meat market”
1891 POWI Hillsboro Not listed
1904 PCD not listed
Mautz Oregon “Gardiner, R. H., 1892, ? (sic)”
Photographer’s Imprints
“R. H. Gardiner, Hillsboro, Or.” cabinet card, printed front (WCM #LP72-175/172-17)
“R. H. Gardiner Photo, 285 Goldsmith St., East Side, Portland, Or. ” 3 3/4″ x 5 1/2 print on 6 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ printed front, view of ship Charlston (WCM #LP72-191/188-79)
“Great Eastern Photo. & Advertising Co. R. H. Gardiner, Manager. 285 Goldsmith St., East Side, Portland, Oregon.” 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ print on printed front mount. Hillsboro school group subject. (WCM #LP76-12-80/2615-129)
“Mrs. R. H. Gardiner, manager, Atlantic Photo-View and Advertising Co.” 6 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ print on card mount, with ms. date Nov. 1889, view of home in Hillsboro, subject in picture died Sept. 1892. (similar printed mount, Cornelius school group portrait WCM #LP72-1245/1305-28)
“R. H. Gardiner photo” printed front of card mount, 7 1/2″ x 15″ print, with ms. date May 11th, 1892 (U S. Cruisers Baltimore and Charlston Laying in Portland Harbor) (OHS box group)
Gardiner imprint on view of The Dalles Public school, “Dec 92” visible on chalkboard.
“R. H. Gardiner, Artist, Portland Or” printed on mount, 8″ x 10″ print of view near Gearhart OR (OHS box group)
“Portland’s Great Flood, June 1894, 33 Feet Above Low Water. R. H. Gardiner Photo, Portland, Oregon.” printed on front of 10 x 12 mount, 8 x 10 print. (OHS box group)
“R. H. Gardiner, Artist, Portland, Oregon, View of ……..”
“New Years Anniversary Banquet, 1895…R. H. Gardiner Photo” (Hook and Ladder Company) printed on front of 10 x 12 mount, 8 x 10 print. (OHS)
News Items and Advertisements
1887: “R. B (sic). Gardiner, photographer, is in our city taking views of residences, etc.” Plaindealer, (Roseburg) 22 April 1887, pg. 3, col. 3.
1893: “R. H. Gardiner, a photographer from Portland, met with a serious accident while at Cathlamet. While sitting on the door step a chain attached to a yoke of oxen which was going by flew around and caught his right leg below the knee, crushing the muscles and producing a fracture of the leg.” Oregonian, 8 August 1893, pg. 4, col. 7. (courtesy Michael Cirelli)
Bibliography
Palmquist, Peter, unpublished research notes. Summary: Roswell H. Gardiner was born in Maine in 1856. His wife was born in Oregon. His son was born in Oregon in 1889. He was a photographer in Whittier in 1900.
Brown, Robert O., Nineteenth Century Portland, Oregon Photographers: A Collector’s Handbook (author; Portland, 1991) pg. 63
Mattison, David, Camera Workers, author, 1985, pg. G-2. Roswell H. Gardiner had a shop in Vancouver, BC, on Government st. at Courtney st. from August through September 1888. Gardiner turned up in Clackamas in November 1888. Mattison says Gardiner moved to Portland after that.