Porter C. Thayer Photographs
This archive contains 1300 photographs made by Porter C. Thayer,scanned from silver gelatin prints, held in the collection of the Brooks Memorial Library. The prints were made in 1980 from the 5x7 glass plates negatives created by Porter Thayer. These images are also available on microfilm at the Brattleboro library.
Porter Thayer was born Porter Charlie Thayer on January 6, 1882 on Main Street in Williamsville, Vermont. He grew up in the red house called the Tillotson Place in the Parish section of Newfane, Vermont.
He photographed Windham County, Vermont, beginning in 1906 through around 1920. Like most Vermont men of his generation he was a farmer, specifically an apple orchardist, managing his 50 acre apple orchard on Baker Brook Farm in Newfane. He turned to his apple business after ending his photographic career.
The postcard craze that most likely reached Vermont by about 1905, was perhaps the impetus for Porter Thayer starting up a photographic business. His diaries tell that he sold 1,197 postal cards during a six-month period at the height of his career. The cards were for sale as souvenirs to summer tourists at small general stores, local inns, boarding houses and hotels. Local folks purchased his photographs as well, especially around the Christmas season, to send to distant relatives. A Brattleboro, Vermont directory of 1909 lists Porter as advertising that he would come to anyone’s home and make images for a reasonable fee. Around 1911 he recorded that he had 720 customers. Eventually he photographed in all the towns within a 25 mile radius of his home in Newfane.
Porter Thayer perfectly fits the archetype of the town photographer. He traveled the narrow dirt roads in his buggy, behind his faithful mare Lady, who accompanied him daily. He could apparently take extended naps while Lady brought him safely home, as she always knew the way. He used two cameras: a 5 x 7 and a 6.5 x 8.5 view camera and made glass dry-plate negatives. He traveled with stacks of postcards to be delivered at stores along the way to his days work.
Working continually through seasons and years, Porter Thayer left an archive that is a cultural treasure for southeastern Vermont. The quality of his work shows that he was able to combine business needs with aesthetic ones. During the time period Porter worked, Vermont was extremely poor and rural, yet held a close-knit population that shared the labors of life. Farmers helped one another to survive in a subsistence and barter economy. For women, men, and children, life meant constant work. Thayer’s images describe the work and the tools involved. His landscape images reveal this working landscape, which today is mostly hidden by trees. The fruits of his labor as a photographer have grown in importance, as both the landscape and culture of Vermont has shifted into modern spheres of living.
Written by Jessica Weitz and Forrest Holzapfel, 2010.
Showing 21 - 30 of 1264 Records
Farmhouse, either the Phillips, Cook or Pratt house
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Image nop
- Date Created: 1911
- Description: Believed to be same household as images bmlthayerT199 and T200.
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Farmhouse with people in front, either the Phillips, Cook or Pratt house
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Image nop
- Date Created: 1911
- Description: Believed to be same household as images bmlthayerT198 and T199.
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Mr. Nichol's Campsite with Four People and a Dog, in Halifax
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Image nop
- Date Created: 1911
- Description: See image bmlthayerT204 also.
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
The Gorge, Halifax, Vt.
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Image nop
- Date Created: 1911
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Main Street, Halifax Center, Vt.
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Image nop
- Date Created: 1911
- Description: Shows Congregational Church, looking South on Main Street.
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
J.A. Muzzy & Co. Store on Main Street in Jamaica, Vt.
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Image nop
- Date Created: 19--
- Description: See images bmlthayer T235, T251, T262 also.
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Main Street Looking West, Jamaica, Vt.
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Image nop
- Date Created: 19--
- Description: Hearse carriage visible on the righ and store on the left in image.
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Main Street with Post Office Visible, Jamaica, Vt.
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Image nop
- Date Created: 19--
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Sawmill with Workers and Draught Horses in Front, Jamaica, Vt.
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Image nop
- Date Created: 1912
- Description: See image bmlthayerT291 also.
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Interior of Mrs. Eddy's Room, Jamaica, Vt.
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Image nop
- Date Created: 1912
- Description: Same image as bmlthayerT298.
- Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs