Anderson, Hugh S.

Petaluma evening argus, Feb. 18, 1873, p. 1

HUGH S. ANDERSON was born in 1826 in Scotland and died in 1900 in San Francisco, California. He worked as an ambrotype and paper photographer in the California cities of Eureka, Hydesville, and San Francisco before opening his “Sunbeam Gallery” in Petaluma. According to the Petaluma Weekly Argus, Anderson operated his gallery in Petaluma as early as January 1872. The announcement stated, “Those desiring to visit the gallery to inspect his work or have themselves counterfeited may rest assured of receiving every attention from the hands of the gentlemanly proprietor.” Between February 1873 and October 1873, Anderson advertised his gallery in the Petaluma newspapers as located “At the Old Stand, Opposite H. C. Taft & Co.’s”. By 1876, Anderson had departed Petaluma and was working in San Francisco for the prominent photographer William Shew. By 1879 he had opened the “Mission Gallery” at 506 Valencia Street in San Francisco. Later in his life, Anderson worked as a photographic supply salesman and a manufacturer of cameras.

Petaluma Photographic Studio: Anderson operated his “Sunbeam Gallery”, “At the Old Stand, Opposite H.C. Taft & Co.’s”, 649 Main Street. On December 12, 1873, an advertisement in the Petaluma Weekly Argus proclaimed that the “Sunbeam Gallery” was “still in the field” and that A. W. Fell & Company would provide the “best style of the art, at Anderson’s set prices”; however, just seven days later, an advertisement proclaimed that Nobel & Fell were the successors to Anderson’s “Sunbeam Galley”.

Active in Petaluma: January 1872 - December 1873

Bibliography: Carl Mautz, Biographies of Western Photographers, A Reference Guide to Photographers Working in the 19th Century American West, Expanded and Revised Edition, 2018, p. 100; Peter E. Palmquist and Thomas R. Kailbourn, Pioneer Photographers of the Far West, Stanford University Press, 2000, pp. 82-84; Peter Palmquist, “Hugh S. Anderson,” Daguerreian Annual, Lake Charles, LA, Daguerreian Society, 1991, pp. 247-51; https://digital.sonomalibrary.org/about/photographers; Petaluma Evening Argus, Feb. 18, 1873, p. 1; Petaluma Weekly Argus, Jan. 27, 1872, p. 3; Dec. 5, 1873, p. 2; December 12, 1873, p. 2; Dec. 19, 1873, p. 2; December 26, 1873, p. 1. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66923374/hugh-anderson. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/california-cdv-cabinet-card-album-111807812

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