Rodd, Mary Jane Blackburn Faith(1858-1940)(5 of 8)
/Skelton Stanford noble’s Portrait Photograph of Mary Jane BlackBurn Faith Rodd
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
SKELTON STANFORD NOBLE was born in Missouri c. 1833. He worked as a photographer in many California cities before arriving in Petaluma. He worked in Petaluma with Albert Webster Fell in the Noble & Fell partnership beginning in December 1873. In May 1874 the partership was dissolved and Noble continued to operate the studio by himself until 1875. Noble’s sole ownership is evident in the Sunbeam Gallery imprint which changed from “Noble & Fell’s Sunbeam Gallery” to “S. S. Noble, Sunbeam Gallery”. Evidently in possession of an enlarger, Noble advertised between July and December 1874 his ability to produce “full-sized” portraits, announcing, “For life-sized pictures go to S. S. Noble, of the Sunbeam Gallery". After departing Petaluma, Noble operated photo studios in Sierra City, Nevada City, and Cambria. (For a bibliography on this photographer and to view all the portraits by him in this collection taken when he was the sole owner of the Sunbeam Gallery, click on his name in blue above.)
THE SITTER:
Name: Mary Jane Blackburn Faith Rodd
Description: Description: In this head-and-shoulders portrait, Mary Jane Blackburn Faith Rodd looks over her left shoulder and gazes into the distance. Her hair is drawn to the back of her head where it is gathered in shoulder-length sausage curls several of which cascade down her right shoulder. A bow appears above her right ear from which hangs a long pendant earring. She wears a light-colored form-fitting blouse. Around her neck she wears a stiff white ruff and a striped fringed scarf which has been tied in a bow. A second portrait of Rodd that is most probably from the same sitting is in this archive.
Biographical Note: Mary Jane Blackburn Faith Rodd was born in Petaluma on Third and D Streets. She was educated in Petaluma and studied the piano under Sarah Lucinda Lewis Lippitt (1832-1919). Later in life, she resided at 229 Keokuk. She was affiliated with the Petaluma Druidic Circle, No. 6 and the Neighbors of Woodcraft. She was buried in Petaluma Cypress Hill Memorial Park.
Family Affiliation: Mary Jane Blackburn Faith Rodd was the daughter of early prominent Petaluma pioneers, Charles Blackburn (1821-1897) and Jemima Jane Richardson Blackburn (1825-1905) who made the overland journey to Petaluma by ox team in 1852 from Oskaloosa, Iowa. Mary Jane was the sister of Martha Blackburn (1849-1856), John Selvay Blackburn (1851-1903), Hester C. Blackburn Elphick (1869-1944), Lillian M. Blackburn (1865-1949) and Franklin L. Blackburn (1869-1931). Mary Jane’s first husband was George Faith (1851-1880). Together they had one son, George Blackburn Rodd (1880-1924) who took the name of Mary Jane’s second husband, Samuel Rodd (1849-1929). Samuel and Mary Jane were married in 1883, and they had one daughter, Dorothy Clark Rodd Barber Wallace (1884-1963). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106979435/mary_jane_rodd.
Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier, July 26, 1937, p. 2.; July 27, 1939, p. 4. April 26, 1940, p.8. Santa Rosa Republican, April 26, 1940, p. 2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106979435/mary-jane-rodd.
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: carte de visite
Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: This portrait is framed within a vertical oval.
Description, back: Handwritten in pencil in cursive along the top edge is “Mary Jane Blackburn (Rodd)”. In the center appears Skelton Stanford Noble’s Sunbeam Gallery imprint.
Date: May 1874 to 1875
Condition: Both sides of this carte de visite are heavily soiled.
Owner: The Carol Cook Collection, digital copy by permission.
Reproduction rights: The Petaluma Museum Association makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to the digitized images here reproduced. These images are intended for personal or research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Association. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.