Lawson, Thorsten

THORSTEN LAWSON purchased the “Healy Ground Floor Gallery” located in downtown Petaluma at 818 Main Street in June 1905. In an article discussing the transaction, the Petaluma Daily Morning Courier reported the following information: Lawson had recently arrived from Europe; Mr. Pollock, “an expert operator of San Francisco,” would be assisting in the business; a massage parlor would be connected to the new gallery; the hours of business would be from five to ten each evening; and the proprietor and his wife were both experts and “…will, no doubt, receive their share of the patronage”. The Lawson photography gallery operated in Petaluma for only eight months. Lawson and his wife sold their gallery to Charles S. Brown of Modesto in February 1906 and unfortunately departed for San Francisco where Lawson was robbed in March, and the couple lost all their possessions on April 18 in the Great San Francisco earthquake.

Petaluma Argus-Courier, October 23, 1905, p. 3

Active in Petaluma: June 1905 - February 1906

Bibliography: Petaluma Argus Courier, June 28, 1905, p. 6; October 23, 1905, p. 3. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, June 17, 1905, p. 4; February 26, 1906, p. 4; March 3, 1906, p. 1; May 31, 1906, p. 1; August 28, 1906, p. 4. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, July 1, 1905, p. 1; March 3, 1906, p. 1.

Unfortunately, the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum owns no portraits attributed to Thorsten Lawson, his wife, or Mr. Pollock.