GEORGE DECKER
PORTRAIT ARCHIVE BY PHOTOGRAPHER
Decker, Shirley Gertrude Kelly (see Decker & Decker)→
/SHIRLEY DECKER
Decker & Decker
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Petaluma Argus-Courier, July 2, 1931, p.3.
DECKER & DECKER studio was opened in Petaluma in January 1925. It replaced the Giroux Studio located at 170 Main Street in the Wickersham Building. Decker & Decker was owned and operated jointly by Shirley Gertrude Kelly (Kelley) Decker and her husband, George Alex Decker. The year the studio was opened, the local papers reported on its progressive and up-to-date features. The new studio featured a bright electric sign that illuminated the facade of the studio, state-of-the-art interior lighting, and professional picture framing. Shirley and George proudly reported to the Petaluma community that they kept up-to-date on photographic technology. The local papers reported in July 1931 that they attended the Photographers’ International Association of America Summer School in Winona Lake, Indiana, and the Photographers’ Convention in Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio. In June 1942, they purchased the Gainsborough Studio at 129 Kentucky Street, in the Schluckebier building, “next to the telephone building”. They transferred to this new location, updating their equipment and installing modern fluorescent lighting. When George died in November 1943, Shirley continued to own and operate the studio until she sold it to her former employee, Anna Grimm, and her husband, Kenneth in 1954.
Shirley Gertrude Kelly (Kelley) Decker Nelson was born February 26, 1895, in Washington state and died August 14, 1991, in Santa Rosa, California. She studied design prior to marrying George Decker in Los Angeles, California, on August 16, 1923. She was the joint owner and operator of Decker & Decker studio with her husband from January 1925 until his death in November 1943. Ascertaining their division of labor is problematic; however, their advertisements market them as equal partners. Both their names appear in their advertisements, and “Double Decker” was used as a cleaver logo. Shirley specialized in color portraits. Advertisements announcing “A Portrait Complete - In Color by Shirley Decker” were published in the 1930s. She was also known for her ability to insert missing individuals into group portraits by manipulating negatives. This skill was referred to as “photograph copy work”. Shirley was a Soroptimist International of Petaluma charter member and served as secretary and president.
On May 25, 1947, Shirley married another photographer, Theodore J. Nelson, who owned and operated the Nelson Studio on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. She departed Petaluma to live with him in Santa Rosa but, for eleven years, commuted to Petaluma to continue operating her Decker & Decker Studio. Shirley was buried in Petaluma’s Cypress Hill Memorial Park.
George Alex Decker was born January 8, 1888, in New York City and died November 2, 1943, in Petaluma. He began as a pharmacist in New York but moved to Los Angeles, California, where he married Shirley Gertrude Kelly on August 16, 1923. According to the Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, George and Shirley arrived in Petaluma after spending four years on the coast which included time in San Francisco and Berkeley. The couple opened their Decker and Decker studio in January 1925, and George worked there until he died in 1943. He was buried in Petaluma’s Cypress Hill Memorial Park.
Active in Petaluma: George and Shirley operated the Decker and Decker studio together between January 1925 and George’s death in November 1943. After his death, Shirley continued to operate the studio by herself until she sold it to Anna and Kenneth Grimm in 1954.
Bibliography: Los Angeles Times, Aug. 17, 1923, p. 18. Petaluma Argus-Courier, Aug. 15, 1911, p. 11; Aug. 8, 1925, p. 1; Dec. 5, 1926, p. 8; July 2, 1931, p. 6; July 3, 1931, pp. 3 and 6; Jul. 26, 1931, p.10; Sept. 10, 1931, p. 8; June 6, 1937, p. 2; Feb. 28, 1947, p. 2; Jan. 9, 1940, p.10; May 8, 1942, p. 1; June 25, 1942, p. 2; June 26, 1943, p. 5; November 3, 1943, p. 3; Nov. 5, 1943, p.4; June 9, 1945, p. 4; March 14, 1947, p.3; May 25, 1947, p. 2; June 10, 1947, p. 8; Nov. 17, 1955, p. 10. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, Jan. 22, 1925, p. 1; May 25, 1925, p. 7; Jul. 27, 1925, p. 8; Aug. 19, 1925, p. 3; Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), Nov. 5, 1943, p. 5; August 15, 1991, p. 16. Santa Rosa Republican, Nov. 5, 1943, p. 5. https://digital.sonomalibrary.org/about/photographers. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/219508204/george-alex-decker . https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/219728752/shirley_nelson . https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/81597727/person/152223290985/facts?_phsrc=NMa3&_phstart=successSource.
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Dammand (Dammond*), Robert Peterson
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Petaluma Argus-courier, Apr. 8, 1902, p.2.
ROBERT PETERSON DAMMAND (Dammond) was born September 6, 1855, in Horsens, Denmark, and died on January 27, 1936, in Glendale, California. He emigrated to the United States in 1880, settling in Story City, Iowa. During the 1880s, Dammand worked as a photographer in Des Moines, Iowa. He partnered with C. J. Daugherty at 500 East Walnut Street, and together they produced a series of stereographs entitled “Views of Des Moines & Vicinity”. He later moved to Southern California, setting up studios in San Diego and Escondido. By December 1898, Dammand returned to Iowa, setting up a studio in Oskaloosa.
By November 1901, Dammand moved to Petaluma, took up residence on D Street, and located his photographic studio opposite the American Hotel in the Steiger Building on Main Street. Beginning in 1902, Dammand ran advertisements in the local Petaluma papers that claimed, “Go to R. P. Dammond, opposite American Hotel, he will make you anything you want from a stamp to a life size portrait. He does the cheapest and best work in town.” Dammand produced a variety of cabinet cards depicting individuals as well as group portraits. In May 1902, the Petaluma Daily Morning Courier reported that he photographed the members of the Y division of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. In late July 1905, Dammand departed Petaluma to set up a studio in Richmond, California.
Petaluma Photography Studio: R. P. Dammand (Dammond), Petaluma Photo Parlors CAL. In September 1901, the Petaluma Daily Morning Courier reported that J. W. McMillan had “disposed of his photograph business to R. P. Dammand of San Diego.” J. W. McMillan was not a photographer. His “photograph business” presumably sold box cameras and other photographic equipment. From November 1901 until April 1902, Dammand advertised his studio in the Petaluma Daily Morning Courier as “opposite the American Hotel”. This location was also described as over “Steiger’s store”. In May 1902, Dammand purchased Earl Burton Hough’s photograph parlors on Petaluma’s Main Street in the Phoenix Block. Beginning in June 1902, the wares of the jewelry store owned by C. V. Mount were displayed in the studio. Throughout April and May 1905, Dammand advertised his gallery in the Petaluma Argus-Courier as “over the Racket store”. Throughout June and July 1905, it was advertised as “over Atwater’s store”, and customers were advised to come soon because Dammand intended to depart Petaluma on or about July 15.
Active in Petaluma: November 1901 to July 1905
Bibliography: Primary Sources https://archive.org/details/biographicalhist00wsdu/page/330/mode/2up?view=theater, (Biographical History of Shelby and Audubon Counties, Iowa, Chicago, W. S. Dubar & Co., 1889, p. 331). Oskaloosa Herald (Oskaloosa, Iowa), December 1, 1898, p. 4.
Petaluma Argus-Courier: April 8, 1902, p. 2; June 06, 1903, p. 4; April 12, 1905, p. 6; April 15, 1905, p. 7; July 01, 1905, p. 3; July 5, 1905, p. 3. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: Sept. 28, 1901, p. 5; Nov. 9, 1901, p. 5; May 26, 1902, p. 4; May 30, 1902, p. 4; June 19, 1902, p. 4; Aug. 1, 1905, p.1; July 3, 1905, p. 3; July 24, 1905, p. 4. Richmond Daily Independent, September 7, 1911, p. 4; July 22, 1915, p. 4; December 6, 1916, p.3. Secondary Sources Carl Mautz, Biographies of Western Photographers, 2018 edition, p. 117. For information on Daugherty and Dammand’s partership, see: https://luminouslint.com/z01/photographer/1_Daugherty_and_Dammand/A/ . https://sandiegohistory.org/collections/san-diego-photographers-1874-1964/. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47486159/robert-peterson-dammand. Harlan Tribune (Harlan, Iowa), Aug. 17, 1956, p. 2.
*This photographer’s name appears in newspapers and on his photographs’ imprints at times as “Dammand” and at other times as “Dammond”. Research has not ascertained an official date for this change; it may be that the versions were used interchangeably.
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Featured
Dowe, Lewis
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Petaluma Weekly Argus, Sept. 17, 1875, p.2.
LEWIS DOWE was born in 1837 in Hanover, Grafton County, New Hampshire, and died in 1919 in Portland, Oregon. During the Civil War, Dowe served as bandmaster in the Fifty-Second Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He departed Sycamore, Illinois, and arrived in Petaluma around 1875. In September 1875, he set up his photography studio in the rooms formerly occupied by photographer Hugh Anderson (b. 1826; d.1900; active in Petaluma Jan. 1872 - Dec. 1873) located at 649 Main Street. Both Dowe and his wife were musicians. Dowe was the leader of the Petaluma Brass Band and Petaluma’s Coronet Band, and his wife taught piano lessons. The couple lived on D Street, and were socially active in Petaluma throughout their seven-year residency. In October 1879, the Petaluma Weekly Argus noted that the Dowes had installed a telephone line between their home and photography studio.
“Elocutionist Jessie Shirley,” From the collection of the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum
Dowe worked in Petaluma as both a “view” and portrait photographer. December 22, 1876, the Petaluma Weekly Argus-Courier reported that Dowe had taken many exquisite “views” of the Petaluma landscape and pictures of the town, “….just the thing to send East to your friends. On the back of the cards upon which these views are mounted is a short description of the city of Petaluma, its population, resources, etc.”. In 1879 Dowe created a stereoscopic image of Jessie Ernestine Shirley (Smith) the precocious elocutionist and daughter of Petaluma’s Baptist Church, Reverend Philemon Perin Shirley. The were most probably sold to members of the community to raise funds for the church. The Petaluma Courier reported on November 17, 1880 that Dowe created a “life-size” portrait of General Vallejo, stating, “It is as perfect as can be, and shows the old soldier to the best advantage.”
In March 1882 Dowe departed Petaluma, and as early as March 15, George Ross (1832-1893), a fellow Petaluma photographer, purchased Dowe’s negatives. Ross advertised in Petaluma newspapers between March 15, 1882, and October 1887 that he would make copies from Dowe’s negatives “on the most advantageous terms”. Dowe continued his profession in San Francisco, and it was reported in his obituary that his work was destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Dowe’s obituary, published in the The Oregon Daily Journal, stated, “He was reputed to be the first man on the coast to manufacture dry plates and portable cameras.”
Petaluma Photography Studio: 649 Main Street, Petaluma, California
Active in Petaluma: September 1875 to March 1882
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. 119; https://digital.sonomalibrary.org/about/photographers. https://luminous-lint.com/app/photographer/L__Dowe/A/. The Petaluma Courier, Nov. 13, 1878, p. 3; Jan. 24, 1878, p. 3; Oct. 22, 1879, p. 3; October 29, 1879, p. 3; Nov. 17, 1880, p. 3; March 8, 1882, p. 3; March 15, 1882, p. 3; Aug. 9, 1882, p. 3. Petaluma Weekly Argus, Sept. 17, 1875, p.3; Sept. 24, 1875, p. 3; Dec. 24, 1875, p. 3; May 26, 1876, p. 2; Dec. 22, 1876, p. 2; April 19, 1878, p. 3; Oct. 25, 1878, p. 3; May 16, 1879, p. 3. The Oregon Daily Journal, Nov. 30, 1919, p.18. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109664028/lewis-dowe
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