''Photo Era: The American Journal of Photography ''was an American magazine for amateur photographers published in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
from 1898 to 1931.
Publishers
Published by Photo Era Co. 185 Franklin Street, Boston, at its launch in May 1898, the magazine was sold for 15c a copy or $1.50 annual subscription. It advertised itself as "The New Illustrated Monthly of Progress in the Science and Art of Photography. An up-to-date publication for Amateurs and Professionals" with illustrations in color, photogravure and heliotype. The magazine headquarters moved later to
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
Wolfeboro is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,416 at the 2020 census. A resort area situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee, Wolfeboro includes the village of Wolfeboro Falls.
History
The town was granted ...
.
Contents
The target audience was mainly the dedicated amateur for whom the magazine published such articles as "How Design Comes Into Photography", by
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
lecturer
Denman W. Ross in December 1899, and "Water Front Scenes" by William S. Davies, Bruce Keith's "A Home Made Adjustable Daylight Enlarger", and "Photography in the Tropics", written by H. C. Cornthwaite in its September 1915 number, with instructions for successful photography in the opposite conditions in the snow in February 1900 alongside an interview with the first man to be photographed in the United States, nonagenarian Dr. Charles E West. The magazine included regular sections including the results of its Beginner and Advanced competitions; 'The Crucible', which detailed photographic formulae; 'On the Groundglass', discussing individual images and series; and 'News Events'.
Editors
In 1906 Wilfred A. French (1855–1928), formerly of photographic supply firm Benjamin French & Co. purchased the magazine and became managing editor, later selling it but remaining associate editor. A. H. Beardsley was president of Photo Era Publishing Company and editor until the cessation of publication in 1931. Phil M. Riley was associate editor from 1904 to 1912, and C. B. Neblette was associate editor from 1927. Capt. R. H. Ranger, inventor of the photoradiogram wireless photo transmitter-receiver, was also briefly associate editor. Other editors were Juan C. Abel who was Manager from inception, and Thomas Harrison Cummings. J. W. Barber, Joseph Prince Loud, Henry Lewis Johnson, and George Jepson constituted an Advisory Board from the date of establishment.
Contributors
Among prominent contributors were
Sadakichi Hartmann
Carl Sadakichi Hartmann (November 8, 1867 – November 22, 1944) was an American art and photography critic, notable anarchist and poet of German and Japanese descent.
Biography
Hartmann, born on the artificial island of Dejima, Nagasaki, to ...
, often writing under the name Sidney Allan; and New Jersey professor of art Warren R. Laity.
['']The Central New Jersey Home News
The ''Central New Jersey Home News Tribune'' is a Daily newspaper serving Middlesex County, New Jersey. The paper has an average daily weekday circulation of about 49,000. The newspaper is the result of the 1995 merger of ''The Home News'' of ...
'', Tuesday 15 Sep 1936, p.13
References
{{Italic title
Photography magazines
Magazines published in Massachusetts
Visual arts magazines published in the United States
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Consumer magazines
Defunct magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1898
Magazines disestablished in 1931
Photography in the United States