Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream

Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream - Paperback

$39.95
$39.95
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Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream
  • Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream
Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream - Paperback

Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream - Paperback

by John E. Carter
$39.95
$39.95

Book Overview

For millions of Americans, Solomon D. Butcher's photographs epitomize the sod-house frontier. His images from western Nebraska constitute the most extensive photographic record of the generation that settled the Great Plains. Their faces are imprinted on our minds: jaunty bachelors and earnest husbands (Civil War veterans of both armies), spinster sodbusters, determined mothers, cowhands, farmhands, and former slaves--all in search of land of their own. This first book devoted to Butcher and his photos presents a unique visual chronicle of that epoch, firmly establishing Butcher's place in frontier photography.

In a substantial introduction, John E. Carter traces the variegated career of this Virginia-born photographer who was himself an immigrant to the Nebraska plains. Combining critical analysis with biography, Carter situates Butcher in western history as well as in the history of photography and assesses his achievements in both. Exploring the nature of Butcher's works and their scope, content, and significance, Carter offers a perspective for evaluating the historical evidence found in his work and new insights into the evolution of Butcher's style and subject matter.

In this new paperback edition, more than 125 photographs are superbly reproduced in duotone from high-resolution scans of glass negatives. This edition also includes a new afterword by Carter, tracing the fascinating history of the photographs themselves after Butcher sold them to the Nebraska State Historical Society in 1912. Everyone interested in the plains pioneers or historical American photography will prize this splendid book.
ISBN9780803260382
Author John E. Carter
PublisherBison Books
GenreHistory and Arts
FormatPaperback
PublishedApril 2016
LanguageENG- English
Pages160
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

History Nonfiction Photography

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About John E. Carter

Richard E. Jensen is the editor of The Pawnee Mission Letters, 1834-1851 (Nebraska 2010) and two volumes of Voices of the American West (Nebraska 2005). R. Eli Paul is the editor of The Nebraska Indian Wars Reader, 1865-1877 (Nebraska 1998). John E. Carter is a senior research folklorist at the Nebraska State Historical Society and the author of Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream (Nebraska 1985). James A. Hanson is the editor of Museum of the Fur Trade's publications and the author of When Skins Were Money: A History of the Fur Trade. Heather Cox Richardson is a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts and the author of Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre.

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