Byce, Lily Caroline Gray (1867-1934)
/E.R. Healy Ground Floor Gallery’s Portrait Photograph of Lily Caroline Gray Byce and her two sons, Malcolm Lyman Byce and Wilbur Elwood Byce
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
EDWIN RUTHVEN HEALY (1856-1923) and ADA “ADDIE” GOSSAGE HEALY (1860-1923). Edwin and Ada Healy were a married couple, and both were listed in California directories as a photographer. It has been assumed they worked together; however, ascertaining their division of labor is problematic. The “E. R. Healy Gound Floor Gallery” was opened in 1896 at 816 Main Street, Petaluma, California. It was later relocated to 818 Main Street and sold in June, 1905. In 1906 the Healys moved to Berkeley, California. (To view all portraits in this collection taken at the E. R. Healy Ground Floor Gallery and for additional information on Edwin and Ada Healy, click on their names in blue above.)
THE SITTERS:
Names: Lily Caroline Gray Byce, Malcolm Lyman Byce, Wilbur Elwood Byce
Description: Lily Caroline Gray Byce is portrayed standing behind her two sons, Malcolm and Wilbur “Elwood”. She wears a light-colored, printed postpartum smock with huge, doubled-bell sleeves. Her shoulder caps and the edges of her sleeves are white lace, and around her neck and down both sides of her chest is a dark, wide ribbon, the function and identity of which has not been identified. Her dark hair has been pulled to the back of her head and twisted tightly into an elongated, top-knot bun. Her elder son, Malcolm Lyman Byce (1890-1919) stands to her right. He is dressed in a dark suit and a white shirt with large, lace, cuffs and collar. Around his neck is an extremely large plaid bow. This manner of dressing little boys is often called the “Little Lord Fauntleroy” style, which was very fashionable at the time for the children of upper-middle-class families. With the affectionate gesture of an older brother, Malcolm touches the feet of his infant sibling, Wilbur, who is wearing a white gown and sitting on a blanket-covered studio prop.
Biographical Note: Lily C. Gray Byce was born in London, England, in 1867. She married the founder of the Petaluma Incubator Company, Lyman C. Byce, in 1888, and they lived at 226 Liberty Street in Petaluma for many years. She was an officer of the Ladies’ Commandery Club, President of the Sonoma County Federation of Women’s Clubs, and long-time supporter of Petaluma’s International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, a Masonic youth service organization associated with the Order of the Eastern Star. Lily was buried in Petaluma’s Cypress Hill Memorial Park.
Family Affiliation: Lily Caroline Gray Byce was the wife of Lyman C. Byce (1852-1944) the founder and owner of the Petaluma Incubator Company. Lyman C. Byce has been credited, along with Petaluma dentist, Isaac Dias, with the creation of the Petaluma poultry incubator. Lily C. Gray Byce and Lyman C. Byce were the parents of Malcom Lyman Byce and Wilber Elwood Byce. Also see the portrait of Mrs. Daniels. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/114611785/lily-c-byce
Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier, Nov. 7, 1924, p. 3; Feb. 4, 1929, p. 4; March 3, 1934, p. 1; March 5, 1934, p. 3.
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: cabinet card, approximately 20.5 x 27 cm
Medium: gelatin or collodion print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: This is a beautifully composed portrait of a mother and her two children. Mrs. Byce and her elder son, Malcolm, are standing and the infant Wilbur “Elwood” is seated on a fabric covered table. Behind them is a faintly painted studio backdrop of a domestic interior. The photographer’s imprint is embossed along the bottom.
Description, back: Handwritten in cursive in pencil on the upper right is, “Mrs. Byce”, and to the right is written in brackets, “Malcolm” and “Elwood”. Handwritten in the center is, “Mrs. Lyman Byce” below which is written, “Sons Malcom and Elwood”.
Date: 1896 or 1897
Condition: On the front there is extensive foxing throughout and black spots on the middle left. On the back there are 8, small, square, spots on the perimeter of the card which are most probably remnants of the tape used originally to adhere the photo to an album page.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1994-60-03
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