Upcoming Exhibit at the Jeffcoat Museum to Focus on the Studio's History

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum in Abilene, Kansas is proud to announce a new exhibition highlighting the history of three generations of photographers in the Jeffcoat Studio family business.

Before the turn of the twentieth century, Lucy Fritz Jeffcoat trained herself in camera operation and retouching photographs.  She quickly found work for several photographers in the Abilene area.  Lucy was also the mother of four children, so she did most of her photographic work from her home.  Her son, Paul, became interested in the photographic process at a young age.  He began delivering his mother’s retouched photographs and was fascinated with the developing process.

Paul went into business as the Jeffcoat Photography Studio in 1921.  At the time, the studio was located in a small second story room in downtown Abilene.  The business soon outgrew this space, and Paul built a new building for the business in 1925.  This building still stands today, and is the current home of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum.

Paul saw his business through the Great Depression, and was able to supplement his income by partitioning his building and renting half of his property to other area businesses.  Over the years, the north side of the building would be occupied by an optometrist, an insurance agency, and a shoe repairman.  The sound of pounding hammers repairing shoes could be a bit distracting during portrait sessions, but having these businesses next door helped the Jeffcoat Studio immensely. 

Paul passed the trade of photography down to his son, Bill.  Throughout his life, Bill was interested in documenting life and events in his hometown of Abilene.  Bill photographed several parades, visits from President Eisenhower, and of course, family portraits.  He enjoyed photography outside of his professional work, walking around Abilene and snapping pictures of anything that caught his eye.  His father, Paul, saw this differently.  He once told his son not to take photographs unless he could make an income from the image.  Bill would continue taking snapshots, choosing to develop his film at night to keep it a secret from his father.

Though the Jeffcoat Studio was primarily a portrait studio, the Jeffcoats were able to document the history of the Abilene area, creating images that will last several years to come.  The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum’s newest exhibit, The Family Behind the Lens: A Retrospective of the Jeffcoat Studio, begins on September 1 and runs through November 20.

You can learn more about the history of the Jeffcoat Studio and the history of Abilene by visiting the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum at 321 N. Broadway Street in Abilene.  For hours of operation or to schedule a private viewing, contact the museum at (785) 263-9882 or jeffcoatstudio@att.net.  Be sure to visit the museum’s website at jeffcoatstudio.com and their Facebook page at facebook.com/jeffcoatstudio.

Memories of the Prairie Lecture Series: Presentation Explores Kansas Frontier Photographer

The Dickinson County Historical Society in Abilene, Kansas along with the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum will host "Kansas Through the Lens of F.M. Steele," a presentation and discussion by Jim Hoy on Saturday, June 23 at 7:00pm at the Dickinson County Heritage Center located at 412 S. Campbell Street in Abilene.  Members of the community are invited to attend the free program, and can contact the Dickinson County Historical Society at (785) 263-2681 for more information.  This program is made possible by the Kansas Humanities Council.

In 1890, frontier photographer Francis Marion Steele set out from Dodge City to record cowboys, American Indians, wildlife, wheat harvesting, grain farming, sugar-beet factories, railroad building, community celebrations and festivals, small-town life, and studio portraits.  Hoy's presentation examines how Steele's work provides visual documentation of the Kansas character.

Jim Hoy is a professor of English and director of the Center for Great Plains Studies at Emporia State University.  He is an authority on the folklife of ranching, a topic on which he has lectured throughout the world.  Hoy's publications include ten books and over one hundred articles, and he is co-author of "Plains Folk," a syndicated newspaper column.

"Francis Marion Steele arrived in Dodge City in 1890 and immediately set out onto the prairies in a dark-room-mounted buggy to take photographs of cowboys," shared Hoy.  "After the end of the open range he photographed everything from wheat farming to railroad construction to small-town life, providing in the process documentation of Kansas and the southwestern plains in the transition from the open range to crop agriculture."

"Kansas Through the Lens of F.M. Steele" is part of the Kansas Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau featuring presentations and discussions about Kansas and what it means to be a Kansan over time and across generations.

The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based humanities programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities.  For more information about KHC programs contact the Kansas Humanities Council at (785) 357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.

Spotlight on Abilene Residents: The Smiths

The following was written by Bill Jeffcoat about Mr. and Mrs. Sam Smith and their daughter, Mary.  Jeffcoat also goes into detail about the photographic process at the time this photograph was taken.  It is a rather interesting image considering the work that was required to capture it.  The caption and image are both courtesy of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum:

A home portrait by P.H. Jeffcoat, 1920s.

An attorney, this couple had one daughter, Mary, who graduated from KU in journalism. She got a job in Boston with the Christian Science Monitor newspaper. Some years later moving to New York City, she started her own magazine on hand weaving which was very successful. She never married and she is buried along with her parents in the Abilene cemetery.

For this view, flash powder was used for lighting. Flash globes or strobe lights were not around then. Flash powder was tricky to use as it had to be ignited at the same time the shutter on the camera opened and closed. In the 1920s, not too many couples could afford to have home portraits taken. The Smiths were able to afford it.