Learning from Historical Photographs

Learning from Historical Photographs

ITC Photo 88-289, courtesy John Wildenthal Family. This photograph was made by Canadian Texan I.N. Hall, who moved to Cotulla in 1896. An itinerant artist, Hall worked from his photographer’s wagon throughout the area now outlined by I-35, I-90, and the Rio Grande. Since he did not have a studio, Hall’s “backdrop” was the natural landscape, and he was able to photograph persons alone or in groups working or posing in their natural environment. What can we learn about South Texas life and landscape 1886-1908 from his images?

Photo, Institute of Texan Cultures 88-278

ITC Photo 88-278, courtesy John Wildenthal Family. This photograph was made by Canadian Texan I.N. Hall, who moved to Cotulla in 1896. An itinerant artist, Hall worked from his photographer’s wagon throughout the area now outlined by I-35, I-90, and the Rio Grande. Since he did not have a studio, Hall’s “backdrop” was the natural landscape, and he was able to photograph persons alone or in groups working or posing in their natural environment. What can we learn about South Texas life and landscape 1886-1908 from his images?

Photo, Institute of Texan Cultures 88-59

ITC Photo 88-59, courtesy John Wildenthal Family. This photograph was made by Canadian Texan I.N. Hall, who moved to Cotulla in 1896. An itinerant artist, Hall worked from his photographer’s wagon throughout the area now outlined by I-35, I-90, and the Rio Grande. Since he did not have a studio, Hall’s “backdrop” was the natural landscape, and he was able to photograph persons alone or in groups working or posing in their natural environment. What can we learn about South Texas life and landscape 1886-1908 from his images?

ITC Photo 88-254, courtesy John Wildenthal Family. This photograph was made by Canadian Texan I.N. Hall, who moved to Cotulla in 1896. An itinerant artist, Hall worked from his photographer’s wagon throughout the area now outlined by I-35, I-90, and the Rio Grande. Since he did not have a studio, Hall’s “backdrop” was the natural landscape, and he was able to photograph persons alone or in groups working or posing in their natural environment. What can we learn about South Texas life and landscape 1886-1908 from his images?

Photo, Institute of Texan Cultures 88-96

ITC Photo 88-96, courtesy John Wildenthal Family. This photograph was made by Canadian Texan I.N. Hall, who moved to Cotulla in 1896. An itinerant artist, Hall worked from his photographer’s wagon throughout the area now outlined by I-35, I-90, and the Rio Grande. Since he did not have a studio, Hall’s “backdrop” was the natural landscape, and he was able to photograph persons alone or in groups working or posing in their natural environment. What can we learn about South Texas life and landscape 1886-1908 from his images?