Perhaps they were putting on a play. (?)
In 1893, a fire apparently started in C. A. Myers' photo-lab which destroyed his studio and did a considerable amount of damage to the large "Holt Block" building. An article linked here talks about that fire, and the possibility of spontaneous combustion of certain photographic materials. Note that on the same page as this article it mentions that H.C.Tandy's Hanford photo gallery was also destroyed by a fire around the same time. (See my 9/4/12 post of Tandy pictures).
(Added 1/28/17): C. A. Myers maybe the same photographer ("Charles A. Myers") who owned Myers Studio on O'Farrell Street in San Francisco, during the 1910's & 1920's. e.g. According to voting and census records, both the Visalia and Bay Area photographer "Charles A. Myers" were born in Iowa around 1868. This San Francisco studio did a lot of lobby display photographs for theatrical groups.
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Below are two photo postcards showing the cast of the cantata Esther, the Beautiful Queen .
Visalia CA, 1915.
The reference to "1st M. E. - Visalia Cailf.", might mean that this program was performed at the Visalia First Methodist Episcopal Church.
On the back of this postcard is written: "Left to Right: Mr. Parsons, Mrs. Payne, Mrs Snow, Mr. Masters. Queen Esther Cantata. 1915". The cantata referred to here is probably the one composed by William B. Bradbury with Chauncey M. Cady and R. W. Seager: i.e. Esther, The Beautiful Queen: a cantata or short oratorio.
(Added 5/9/18) I recently found another photo postcard of this church play.
On the back of it is written: "Mr & Mrs Payne as Haman & Zerish, & baby, in Queen Esther Cantata. 1915. 1st M.E. Church - Visalia."
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Photo by "Robinson & Churchman, Holt Block. Visalia, Cal.". (circa 1900).
I believe the men in this picture are members of the I.O.O.F. (The Odd Fellows) in their ceremonial dress.
Fabulous photographs! You may perhaps already know that Richard Watson Seager, the man who reshaped "Esther" into the form in which it became popular, and wrote the libretto, moved out to California in the early 1900's to live with his son Frank Seager in Porterville; he died in 1913 but his son remained in the area at least through 1920. So it's quite possible that RW Seager was himself involved in these productions! I am seeking a photograph of either Seager, should one turn up -- in the meantime, thanks for sharing this fascinating local history!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that R.W. Seager lived in Porterville for a while.
DeleteThank you very much for this information.
I have a large photo of a bunch of guys on horseback with possibly a buffalo soldier at the Grant tree. It has a plaque on the frame that says HC Tibbitts, who is a well known photographer. If you would like to take a look please contact me at subtwenty@hushmail.com.. I've been trying to identify it but have had no luck (tibbitts photographs are mostly in libraries and museums out of public view)
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