H. H. Bennett: Trailblazer and Commercial Photographer, 1865–1907

Abstract

This article examines photographer H. H. Bennett's contributions within the context of the history of photography. Bennett is a fascinating historical character because he used his own inventions to explore different areas of the discipline under the umbrella of commercial photography, and he contributed to what would become media photography with his stop-action techniques. Recognizing Bennett's work enriches the practice and social histories of photography, in which he is often dismissed as only a landscape photographer who ran a commercial enterprise. Before the arrival of Life and National Geographic, stereographs like Bennett's showed middle-class Americans the world, encouraged tourism, and served as early reportage efforts. Most of these were landscape images to encourage tourism, but some were early efforts in reportage.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the reviewers for their feedback, and Dr. Vincent Filak, his colleague, for Filak's suggestions during multiple stages of writing and editing.

Notes

¹ Relative, for example, in comparison to landscape photographers such as Timothy O'Sullivan and Carleton Watkins and portraitists such as Clarence White.

² Examples of rural community photographers receiving scholarly attention include O. N. Pruitt of Mississippi (Hudson, 2007) and Peter Henry Emerson of East Anglia, England (Fuldner, 2017).

³ Based on a review of literature, web search, and archives. The names of major surveys excluding Bennett are not discussed in this article, but those that do are mentioned.

⁴ The Wisconsin Historical Society describes this as “the most iconic image taken by photographer H. H. Bennett.” Retrieved from https://shop.wisconsinhistory.org/productcart/pc/Leaping-the-Chasm-Journal-p2827.htm. For Hoelscher (2008), it is “an icon of the state” (p. 31).

⁵ The Steerage can be seen here along with its description as a “masterpiece.” Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/33.43.419/

⁶ The signature is difficult to read, but the author believes the last name was McNeil. “HH” was used instead of “H. H.” For more information, see item in bibliography.

⁷ The obituary did not name the source nor the other photographers.

⁸ Statement based on a review of Bennett's archives, including business communications and stories about Bennett.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Timothy Roy Gleason

Timothy Roy Gleason is a professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and is the director of Interactive Web Management. E-mail: [email protected]