Recreating a Little Piece of History website
Transcription
Recreating a Little Piece of History website
Recreating a Little Piece of History By Dustin White Nearly 140 years separate two photographs taken at the Custer House in the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. The first, by post photographer Orlando S. Goff in July 1875, depicted General George Armstrong Custer, with family and a few followers on the front porch of the house. The second photo was taken on Sunday July 13, 2014, by Shane Balkowitsch, North Dakota’s only wet plate photographer. Attempting to recapture history, he painstakingly recreated that photo Goff had taken over a century ago. Even though the two artists lived in two very different times, they were connected by their passion for this one art form: a wet plate photography known as ambrotype. Having a love for the art form is one of the reasons that Balkowitsch wanted to reproduce Gof f’ s phot o. Being part of that history and sharing a space with a ma n w ho had enjoyed the same art form was something he looked forward to recreating. “It was wonderful thinking that I was standing on the same ground that he had stood on,” Ba l kowi t s c h sa i d. “Hopefully, Goff was smiling down on us, that someone was mentioning him. And maybe in 300 years someone will pick up one of my photos and do the same.” Identified in this 1875 Orlando S. Goff photograph: Leonard Wanting to continue to share this art form, Balkowitsch Swett, Elizabeth Custer, Margaret Custer Calhoun, Lieut. James met with Matt Schanandore from Fort Lincoln State Park C. Calhoun, unidentified trooper (top row); W.C. Curtis, Miss. after the photo shoot. Wanting to donate the four plates he Emma Wadsworth, Lieut. Richard E. Thompson (middle row); Lieut. Thomas W. Custer, Miss. Nellie Wadsworth, Lieut. Col. t ook t ha t Sunda y, Balkowitsch was given just that George A. Custer. Courtesy National Park Service, Little Bigopportunity. One of the plates will hang on a wa l l in the horn Battlefield National Monument, Elizabeth B. Custer ColCuster House while the three others will be used to create lection, Orlando Scott Goff, “Ft Lincoln, 1875,” LIBI 00222 a display about the history of wet plating at Fort Lincoln. Also discussed was the possibility of Balkowitsch being the official wet plate photographer of Fort Li ncol n. He said the goal would be to get a large collection of original pieces for future generations to enjoy. Abridged article reprinted courtesy of Mandan (ND) News. A glossary of 19th Century photographs was the subject of our Fall 2014 “Collecting Custer” column. Shane Balkowitsch checks camera at the Custer house, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. Courtesy Troy Balzer Living historian Steve Alexander (George Armstrong Custer) was among those who posed for this recreation of the 1875 Goff image. Courtesy Shane Balkowitsch Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument maintains an extensive photograph collection of historic images. Requests for information and use of those images may be obtained by contacting Cindy Hagen, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, PO Box 39, Crow Agency, MT 59022-0039 or at (406) 638-3230 or [email protected]. Some collections are only available for research; others may be available for publication purposes. A cost recovery fee may apply to requests.