Gale, Otis Seldon (1849-1933)
/Lewis Dowe’s Portrait Photograph of Otis Seldon Gale
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
LEWIS DOWE was born in 1838 in Hanover, New Hampshire and died in 1919 in Portland, Oregon. He arrived in Petaluma in September of 1875 and set up his photography studio in the rooms formerly occupied by photographer Hugh Anderson. Dowe worked in Petaluma as both a “view” and portrait photographer until he departed the town in March of 1882. (For additional information on this photographer and to view all portraits by him in the collection, click on his name in blue above.)
THE SITTER:
Name: Otis Seldon Gale
Description: This cabinet card portrays Otis Seldon Gale as a middle- aged man with a receding hairline and a bushy goatee. Gale is dressed formally in a dark suit, white shirt, and dark bow tie tucked under his collar. Looped through the top button of his vest is a chain which most probably ended in a watch resting in his vest or jacket pocket.
Biographical Note: Otis Seldon Gale was born in Scotland County, Missouri and moved with his parents to California at the age of 5. He was raised in Bodega and married Mary Hester Towner in 1869. Otis and Mary moved into Petaluma in 1887 and lived at 223 Howard Street. Gale worked for the B. F. Cox Express and Draying Company and for the Carlson Currier Silk Mill. He died in New York while living with his daughter, Eliza Maude Gale Atkinson (1882-1968), but he was buried in Cypress Hill Memorial Park in Petaluma.
Family Affiliation: Otis Seldon Gale was the eldest son of Petaluma pioneers, Lorenzo Dow Gale (1828-1907) and Eliza Ann Wilfley Gale (1830-1916). He was named after his uncle, Otis Gale (1832-1927) who lived in Santa Rosa. See the companion portrait of his wife, Mary Hester Towner Gale (1851-1931).
Bibliography:
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: cabinet card, approximately 11 x 16 cm
Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: In this three-quarter view portrait the sitter looks to the viewer’s right. He is seated in a striped studio chair which can be partially seen in the bottom left of the composition. The photographer’s imprint appears along the bottom edge.
Description, back: Handwritten in black ink in cursive at the top left of the back of this cabinet card are, “Mr Otis Gale” and “Howard St”.
Date: September 1875 - March 1882
Condition: This cabinet card is in very good condition.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1979-80-01
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