Feature Image Above: Cabinet card of unidentified Maricopa man by Frank A. Hartwell Ca 1891. Collection of Jeremy Rowe Vintage Photography – Vintagephoto.com.
On Sunday, March 13, 34 vintage photographic, 21 Civil War and 11 postcard dealers from around the world traveled to the 39th annual District of Columbia Antique Photo Show at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott Hotel. Most arrived a few days before to either 70-degree sunshine on Thursday or to a blizzard and six inches of snow late Friday and Saturday.
The show moved from its original home, the Rosslyn Holiday Inn, because the hotel was demolished for development. This was the first in-person event for most participants since the last D. C. photo show on March 4, 2020, just days before the Covid shutdown.
In addition to East Coast dealers, the show drew collectors from as far away as California, international collectors from Argentina and Canada, and curators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian, and other institutional collectors. I’ve been lucky (or passionate) enough to have attended over half of the D. C. photo shows. I have made many good friends and brought home lots of favorite acquisitions for my collection over the years. I highly urge anyone who is interested in collecting to look in on this show next year.
Most of the photographic offerings were small historic images including cased images like daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes; mounted photographs like cartes-de-visites, stereoviews, and cabinet cards; plus vernacular snapshots, albums, postcards, and photo-related ephemera.
From the start, there was frenetic activity with dedicated collectors going room-to-room searching for gems for their personal collections before the show opened. In the ballroom, dealers sold and traded to other dealers during set-up. Collectors and curators queued up along the hallways before the show opened. The excitement is always contagious. Hundreds of photographs changed hands from entry level images for a few dollars apiece to rare ethnographic, occupational and outdoor scenic daguerreotypes selling for thousands of dollars. I’ve included a few images of the show and shared some of my acquisitions that I hope you will enjoy.
The next D. C. Photo Show, for its 40th anniversary will be held at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott Hotel on March 13, 2023.
Here are a few acquisitions from the D. C. Photo Show.
Ca 1860s 1/6 Ambrotype copy of painting “Good Companions” oil on canvas by John Frederick Herring Sr. 1847. Collection of Jeremy Rowe Vintage Photography – Vintagephoto.com.
Tintype of a Talbot Romain Errtee ‘Button’ Tintype Camera ca 1830s. Collection of Jeremy Rowe Vintage Photography – Vintagephoto.com.
Mounted photograph of George W. Ames General Merchandise, specific location unknown, by William S. Altenburgh, Phoenix. Collection of Jeremy Rowe Vintage Photography – Vintagephoto.com.
Stereograph instructional set – Basketmaking, ca 1930s photographer unknown. Collection of Jeremy Rowe Vintage Photography – Vintagephoto.com.
Jeremy Rowe
Contributing Writer
Jeremy Rowe has collected researched and written about historic photography for over 30 years. His collecting has focused on 19th and early 20th century photographs – ranging from daguerreotypes and cased images to mounted photographs, real photo postcards, and vernacular images with an emphasis on Arizona and the Southwest, Lower Manhattan, and the open-ended category of “images that strike me.”
Jeremy has curated exhibitions and served on the boards of the Daguerreian Society, National Stereoscopic Association, Daniel Nagrin Film, Theater and Dance Foundation, In Focus, and Ephemera Society of America. Jeremy is currently working with the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs to establish a National Stereoscopic Research Collection and Research Fellowship.
Jeremy has written numerous publications about historic photography, including Arizona Photographers 1865 – 1920 a History and Directory, Arizona Real Photo Postcards a History and Portfolio, and Arizona Stereographs 1865- 1930.
Jeremy has three degrees from Arizona State University and is an Emeritus Professor. He is currently a Senior Research Scientist at New York University and travels between New York City and Arizona.