Denman, Isabel Grigsby St. John (1837-1917)(2 of 2)
/Isaiah West Taber’s Portrait Photograph of Isabelle Grigsby St. John Denman
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
Photographer: Isaiah West Taber (1830-1912). Taber opened his first photography studio in 1854 in Syracuse, New York. In 1864 he moved to California and worked at the Bradley and Rulofson studio at 429 Montgomery Street in San Francisco until 1873. By the end of the decade, Taber was creating portraits at his own studio at 8 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. He continued to produce portraits at his new studio location at 121 Post Street between 1893 and 1906. His studio and all its contents were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Isaiah West Taber: A Photographic Legacy, introduction by Gary F. Kurtz, Windgate Press, Sausalito, California, 2004, Appendix A: Portraits by Taber .
Photographic Studio: Taber Studio, 8 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California.
THE SITTER:
Name: Isabel Grigsby St. John Denman
Description: This is a boudoir-sized cabinet card of Isabel Grigsby St. John Denman in her middle age. Her dark hair is parted down the middle, slightly waved, and pulled back. She wears a black, front-buttoned dress with an elaborate black lace jabot and underlying black ribbon. Pinned at her neck is a large cameo and in her right ear can be seen a matching earring.
Biographical Note: Isabel Grigsby St. John Denman was a long-time member of St. John’s Episcopal Church’s Women’s Auxiliary and a member of the Antietam Relief Corps and the Easter Star. Isabel lived at 312 6th Street in Petaluma.
Family Affiliation: Isabel Grigsby St. John Denman was married to Adin Cady St. John (1822-1876) and together they had four children one of them was Anna Belle St. John Whitney, the wife of Arthur Whitney, son of the Petaluma pioneers, Senator Albion P. Whitney and Susan Eastman Whitney. Isabel later became the second wife of the early Petaluma pioneer, Ezekiel Denman.
Bibliography:
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: Boudoir card, approximately 13.5 x 21.5 cm
Medium: gelatin or collodion photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: This is a head-and-shoulders portrait of Isabel Grigsby St. John Denman within a vertical oval surround. Along the bottom of the card is the imprint of the San Francisco photographer, Isaiah West Tabor.
Description, back: Handwritten in pencil in cursive is, “Mrs. E. Denman”, “Isabell Grigsby St. John Denman” , and “Mother of Anna Bell St. John Whitney”.
Date: The photographer’s imprint on the bottom front edge of this card allows us to assume that this portrait was created between 1883 and 1886.
Condition: There is minor foxing on the periphery of this cabinet card.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1992-IDI-03
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