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.

List

Gallery

Information

Showing 31 - 40 of 44 Records

Relevance Title (A-Z) Title (Z-A) Year (0-9) Year (9-0)
10 25 50 100
Active filters
Subject Topic Merge: Agriculture   Remove all  

44 still image
Miniature of Hill Crest, Ames Hill, Vt.
Hill Crest, Ames Hill, Vt.
Image nop
    • Date Created: 1912
    • Description: Hillcrest Farm, owned by Dr. Herbert Barry, buildings in distance, horse in foreground, on Ames Hill Road in Western Brattleboro. See image bmlthayerT40 also.
    • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
    Miniature of Baptist Church and Parsonage in Jamaica, VT Landscape
    Baptist Church and Parsonage in Jamaica, VT Landscape
    Image nop
      • Date Created: 19--
      • Description: See images bmlthayer T220, T261, T266, T284 also.
      • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
      Miniature of Three unidentified people gathering sap with buckets and horses
      Three unidentified people gathering sap with buckets and horses
      Image nop
        • Date Created: 19--
        • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
        Miniature of Two men in front of sugar house with horse in the background
        Two men in front of sugar house with horse in the background
        Image nop
          • Date Created: 1909
          • Description: Same place as image bmlthayerT1071.
          • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
          Miniature of Barnyard with Edith Thayer feeding pigs
          Barnyard with Edith Thayer feeding pigs
          Image nop
            • Date Created: 19--
            • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
            Miniature of Hill Scenery, Jamiaca, Vt.
            Hill Scenery, Jamiaca, Vt.
            Image nop
              • Date Created: 1911
              • Description: Some kind of crop in the foreground.
              • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
              Miniature of Marion Fairbanks feeding chickens at the C.K. Steadman place, Williamsville, Vt.
              Marion Fairbanks feeding chickens at the C.K. Steadman place, Williamsville, Vt.
              Image nop
                • Date Created: 19--
                • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
                Miniature of Horses with gathering tank in front of sugar house
                Horses with gathering tank in front of sugar house
                Image nop
                  • Date Created: 1909
                  • Description: Possibly Alva Jones or Arrin Bolster's sugar house.
                  • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
                  Miniature of Woman in bee suit with a swarm of bees, Newfane, Vt.
                  Woman in bee suit with a swarm of bees, Newfane, Vt.
                  Image nop
                    • Date Created: 19--
                    • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
                    Miniature of Hill Scenery, West Brattleboro, Vt.
                    Hill Scenery, West Brattleboro, Vt.
                    Image nop
                      • Date Created: 1911
                      • Description: A large agricultural field and farm buildings in the distance, in Western Brattleboro, near Sunset Lake Road.
                      • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs