Monday, February 1, 2010

Montana roundup ...

Though some of you may wonder if I post too much railway stuff here as it is, I'm going to start off February with a few days of railroad-related photography, art, and advertising. I think it's appropriate for a place like Montana, since the railroads shaped the patterns of so much of our state's settlement. And visually, a lot of this stuff is pretty cool.

This first one is among my favorites, a promotional poster produced by the Northern Pacific back in 1924. Titled "Montana Roundup," the image is a colorized photo taken by a woman named Jessamine Spear Johnson, whose family ranched down in the Kirby area. Kirby is in eastern Big Horn County, south of Busby and near the Rosebud Battlefield ... very pretty country down there, and it looks like the area where this shot might have been taken. (Not really part of the Northern Pacific's service area, but I guess that's OK ... )

6 comments:

  1. Kristin Goodloe- goodloes@comcast.netJune 26, 2011 at 10:19 PM

    Do you know anything else about Jessamine Spear Johnson. I have a very large piece of artwork by her, I've been looking for someone with information.

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  2. Kristen,

    Unfortunately I don't have much additional information about Jessamine Spear Johnson, and I don't know that a definitive biography has been prepared ... she'd be a great subject, though!

    If you'd like to do some additional research, my first suggestion would be to contact the Big Horn County Historical Society in Hardin, and perhaps the local historical society in Sheridan, Wyoming. Best of luck!

    Mark

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    Replies
    1. Dear Mark, I'm Jessamine's granddaughter and am working on a book about her and her photography. Anyone with questions can contact me at tjavitz@gmail.com

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  3. I have a copy of the Lullaby and a black white photograph of the same. I am going under the impression that it is the original photo signed by her. Does it have any monetary value?

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