Peabody, Henry Greenwood, 1855-1951

Henry Greenwood Peabody (1855-1951), photographer, lecturer, and publisher of educational slides and films, produced thousands of images documenting the American landscape. Peabody was born in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1876. It was while a senior at Dartmouth that Peabody first became interested in photography, producing views of the Dartmouth campus and scenes along the New England coast. After leaving Dartmouth, he spent an additional year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studying architecture, electricity, and physics. After working for the Western Electric Company for a few years, he set up a studio first with Alexander Hesler in Chicago, and then in Boston in 1886, where he remained until his wife's death in 1898. In Boston, he specialized in marine, landscape and architectural photography. He served as the official photographer for the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Great Northern Railway, photographed the Americas Cup races, and won numerous photographic awards. In 1899, he traveled to Mexico as photographer to the American Architectural Expedition; his photographs were published in "Spanish-Colonial Architecture in Mexico" by Sylvester Baxter. In 1900 Peabody accepted a position with the Detroit Publishing Company, the largest postcard publisher in the United States. He served as field photographer on both the east and west coasts until 1908. Shortly after joining the Detroit Publishing Company, Peabody relocated to Pasadena, and his primary focus shifted to the landscape of the American West. He also traveled to England and France in 1908 to photograph cathedrals and other architectural monuments. He published the "Swastika Educational Series," series of lantern slides, film slides, and films with accompanying narratives, that focused on national parks in the American West. He also delivered illustrated lectures that covered sites in California and the American West. Peabody's later years were spent selling photographic equipment and photographing the landscape around his home in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. He died at his home in Glendora, California, one month shy of his ninety-sixth birthday.

From the description of Henry G. Peabody Collection of Photographs and Negatives [graphic], 1859-1993, (bulk 1890s-1900s). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 228769950

Biographical Note

Henry Greenwood Peabody (1855-1951), photographer, lecturer, and publisher of educational slides and films, enjoyed a remarkable career spanning nearly sixty years. Peabody produced thousands of photographs, slides, and films documenting the American landscape, worked in virtually every photographic process, delivered lectures describing the scenery that he so lovingly photographed, and published books that visually described the landscapes and scenery in which he specialized.

Peabody was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of a minister. He attended Washington University in St. Louis, the Pennsylvania Military Academy, and Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1876. It was while a senior at Dartmouth that Peabody first became interested in photography, producing views of the Dartmouth campus and scenes along the New England coast.

After graduation, Peabody spent a year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studying architecture, electricity, and physics. He then went to work briefly as an engineer for the Western Electric Company in Chicago and New York. In 1879 Peabody set up a studio with Alexander Hesler in Chicago. While there, he met and married Dora Phelps, and the two relocated to Boston where Peabody opened a studio in 1886. He specialized in marine, landscape and architectural photography. He also served as the official photographer for the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Great Northern Railway, photographed the Americas Cup races, and published Representative American Yachts and The Coast of Maine . In 1899, he traveled to Mexico as photographer to the American Architectural Expedition; his photographs were published in Spanish-Colonial Architecture in Mexico by Sylvester Baxter. Peabody won numerous awards for his photography.

After Dora's death in 1898, Peabody needed security for his only child Mildred, and accepted a position with the Detroit Publishing Company, the largest postcard publisher in the United States. From 1900-1908 he served as field photographer on both the east and west coasts. Famed landscape photographer and company founder William Henry Jackson selected Peabody for this position because of the high regard in which he held Peabody's outdoor work. Because of copyright arragnements, many of the images Peabody created for the Detroit Publishing Company have been wrongly identified as those of Jackson.

Shortly after joining the Detroit Publishing Company, Peabody relocated with his young daughter to Pasadena, and his primary focus shifted to the landscape of the American West. He also traveled to England and France in 1908 to photograph cathedrals and other architectural monuments for the Horace K. Turner Company of Boston.

From about 1910 to the end of his career, Peabody produced photographs and slides of the American landscape for educational purposes. He published series of educational lantern and film slides and educational films (the "Swastika Educational Series") with accompanying narratives that focused on national parks in the American West. He also delivered illustrated lectures that covered the Grand Canyon, the California Missions, Yosemite, and Mexico. By the early 1930s, he was making audio recordings designed to synchronize with the slide shows; he called these his "talking films" and they were included in his educational offerings.

Peabody spent his later years selling photographic equipment and photographing the landscape around his home in the San Gabriel Valley. He died at his home in Glendora, California, just one month shy of his ninety-sixth birthday. His life, according to one historian, "embraced the whole cycle of photography from its earliest days as a novelty to the era when every man could be his own camera expert. He exerted a vital influence on the profession and on the acceptance of photographs in the public interest. Among critics and collectors his work stands high in artistic merit" (Ralph W. Andrews, Photographers of the Frontier West . Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, 1965, p. 169.).

From the guide to the Henry G. Peabody Collection of Photographs and Negatives, 1859-1993, (bulk 1890s-1900s), (The Huntington Library)