Photography and design. Some old, mostly new, all original creative projects.
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From a collection of old photographs in and around the Teton Valley in Idaho, taken sometime in the early 20th century, probably between 1905-1915. This photo in particular is a portrait of a little girl in a pioneer dress, holding a bunny. The chair looks a little more modern than the above time bracket, but not by much.
This is an incredible image, that shows a Native American woman on a horse, pulling a travois and child. There are not many other details in the image to suggest a time and place, other than the (relatively) modern building and corral in the background. I image 1900’s-1910’s given the timeframe of other photos in this batch, but other than that it is anyone’s guess.
By 1913, the Union Pacific railroad had completed a line from Aston, Idaho to Victor, five years after offering the first “Yellowstone Special” on June 11. 1908. The rail dead-ended in Victor, and steam trains were turned around there on a wye (a triangle shaped junction that allowed a trail to back up and turn around.) Passengers heading to Jackson, Wyoming then took a carriage, or later, a bus, over the Teton pass, which by then was still a difficult, though not impossible, journey. The photo above shows the inaugural train - UP #684 - with a second engine and at least 6 passenger cars, probably somewhere between Driggs and Victor. The photo below, given the position of the boxcar with people standing on it in both photos, is probably taken on the top of a car on the track, either before or after the first train rolled through. The population shown in the photo below most likely represents the sum total of residents in the Driggs/Victor corridor.
More information about the UP Victor line (circa 1965) here.
Hopefully more photos like this will follow. I inherited/took over management of 2500-3000 negative, prints, and positives depicting life in the Teton Valley of Idaho. Most of the photos focus on Driggs and Victor, Idaho during the turn of the 20th century through the 1950’s, although some of the photos are taken from around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and up towards the Yellowstone National Park area. Some are identified, many are routine family portraits, but most show a lifestyle (hunting, trains, Native Americans, farming, cowboys) that is quickly disappearing.
This photo shows a young man, in pseudo-Boy Scout garb, just back from hunting with his hounds and one lucky sheep dog. He has bagged a coyote or a wolf, and the boy strikes a majestic pose, assured in the knowledge that he has help reduce the Teton Valley’s biodiversity.
