Early FDL Photographers

Early Carte de Viste, ca. 1863-65

Dating Early Photographs

Many early photographs come in the form of a print that is attached to a piece of thin cardboard.
The earliest of these is called a  carte de viste card, and is about the size of a playing card.  These were very popular, and easily exchanged with others, especially during the civil war period.

The Cabinet Card, a much larger image, replaced the carte de viste in popularity, some time after the civil war, and reached their peak popularity in the 1880's.  Cabinet cards continued to be produced infrequently up to the 1920's.

Most of these cards contain the name of the photographer, and in order to date the picture, it helps to know when the photographer was in business.  The earliest known photographer in Fond du Lac, was G. B. Green, who had his studio on Main St. near First St.  He had a full page ad in the 1857 city directory.

Here is a list of photographers found in city directories.  Note: many photographers were in business before they finally paid to be listed in the city directory, so the date they were first listed, is not necessarily the date they started their business.

Photographer	Address	year of first directory listing*	year of last directory listing
Bergan & Ormiston	484 Main St.	1865-66	1865-66
Blackburn, Frank D	75 S. Main	1911-12	1911-12
Buss, Herman J	575 Main St	1887-1891	1915
Byam, J. W	over 489 Main; 575 Main	1865-66	1872-73
Chadbourne, Cyrus	over 456 Main; 98 Macy	1876	1901
Denne, Peter	75 S. Main	1913	1913
Dillon, John W	493 Main	1874-75 "established 1860" in 1875 ad	1903-04
Dittmar, Charles F	Macy St, S of Forest	1884-1885	1884-1885
Donner Brothers	over 516 Main	1872-73	1872-73
Dye, A B	93 Macy	1889	1889
Gibson, Byron	529 Main	1868-69	1869-70
Green, G B	Main near first; 516 Main	1857-58
Habermann, George A	171 S Main	1917	1917
Harnacker, Frank	120 S Main	1915	1917
Hart, James T	191 S. Main	1911-12	1911-12
Holterman & Crofoot	139 S Main	1907	1907
Holterman, William	139 S Main	1905	1905
Hurtt, George W	14 Fifth St	1884-1885	1884-1885
Johnson, Alfred S	Washington st, 3 E of Mill; Waupun	1876	?
Kibbe, Edwin	119 S. Main	1907	1907
Lang, Charles	534 Main St	1879-1880	1882-1883
Lind, Christian C	456 Main	1884-1885	1884-1885
Lind, Henry C	575 Main St	1884-1885	1884-1885
Lockwood, G M	498 Main St	1874-75	1876
Lockwood, W M	498 Main St	1874-75	1876
Matter, William	over 535 Main	1874-75	1876
Matteson, Jared	New Cassel	1876	?
McDougal, William	402 Amory	1913	1913
McGowan & Son	79 S. Main	1911	1914
McGowan Studio	79 S. Main	1915	1922
McGowan, Maurice	488 Main	1884-1885	1910
McKenna & Miller	over 512 Main	1887	1887
McKenna, Dennis W	Main & First	1884-1885	1884-1885
Miller & Chadbourne	512 & 536 Main; 98 Macy	1897-98
Miller, Henry S	512 Main	1889	1922
Moestne, A	Main at Second	1868-69
Moody, H W	opposite American House	1868-69	1876
Parker, D	Main St. Brandon	1876	?
Rogers, Charles E	585 Main	1889	1905
Roorbach, J O	491-493 Main St	1865-66	1865-66
Shaw & Macomber	456 Main St	1874-75	1874-75
Spink, R A	over 493 Main	1872-73	1872-73
Stanz, Herman J	119 S. Main	1911-12	1911-12
Strehmel, Edward C	85 Seventh St	1911-12	1915
TerMaat, J D	456-536 Main	1889	1889
Towns, H E
Valin Camera Shop	119 S. Main	1919	1921
Valin, Rudolph H.	119 S. Main	1913	1918
VanBlarcom, L	over 456 Main; 98 Macy	1879-1880	1879-1880
Wilkins & Hooker	cor Main & Forest	1865-66	1865-66
Wilkins, O E	over 489 Main. "sold out to Chadbourne"	1868-69	1876
*  note: many photographers were in business, before they paid to be included in the city directory