Cook, William Blodgett
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Petaluma Argus-courier, Mar.7, 1900, p.1.
WILLIAM BLODGETT COOK was born in Ohio in 1861 and worked as a photographer in many California cities, including Placerville, Auburn, Colusa, and Willows. Cook worked in Petaluma for two brief periods at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, Aug. 14, 1903, p.4.
It was reported in the Petaluma Argus-Courier on March 7, 1900, that “W. B. Cook of Colusa, an old friend of Rev. Allen, has purchased the business of Roy Crawford, photographer.” The name Cook gave to this studio, which was located at 850 Main Street opposite the American Hotel, has yet to be determined, and no photographs have been found that were taken at this location. He advertised his services throughout the spring and early summer of 1900. Obviously aware of competition from more famous photographers from San Francisco, Cook’s advertisements proclaimed, “One lady whose photo graces the Taber and Bushnell studios said that the best work she ever had done was that executed for her last week by Mr. Cook.” In late June 1900, Cook left Petaluma to manage photo studios in both Colusa and Woodland, California.
The Petaluma Daily Morning Courier on August 14, 1903, reported that Cook had returned to Petaluma to operate the Healy Ground Floor Gallery photographic parlors on Main Street while E. R. Healy attended to the interests of his goldmines. Interestingly, it was stated that he was compelled to leave Woodland on account of malaria. The Petaluma Daily Morning Courier reported that Cook’s household goods were transferred from Woodland to Petaluma’s Blackburn house on B Street on August 20, 1903. Cook remained in Petaluma, managing the Healy Studio for only a short time. It was reported in the Woodland Daily Democrat on February 26, 1904, that he had left Petaluma to return to his ranch west of Woodland.
Petaluma Photographic Studio: It appears Cook did not rename his studio; in his advertisements, he simply refers to it as the studio formerly owned by Roy Crawford, the “Crawford Gallery”. It was located at 850 Main Street, opposite the American Hotel. Cook worked at the Healy Ground Floor Gallery between August 1903 and February 1904.
Active in Petaluma: March 1900 to June 1900; August 1903 to February 1904
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. 114. Petaluma Argus-Courier, March 7, 1900, p.1; March 10, 1900, p. 3; March 19, 1900, p.3; March 29, 1900, p. 4. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, March 12, 1900, p.3; March 19, 1900, p.1; June 27, 1900, p. 1; Aug. 14, 1903, p.4; Aug. 20, 1903, p.1. Woodland Daily Democrat, July 27, 1903, p.4; Jan. 7, 1904, p. 1; Feb. 26, 1904, p. 4.
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