Edstrom, Arthur (1871-1942)

Charles McMillan’s Portrait Photograph of Arthur Edstrom

THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:

Photographer:  Charles McMillan

Photographic Studio: Charles McMillan opened his photography studio in 1891 at the corner of Sacramento and Virginia Streets in Vallejo. He was also reported to have a studio in Vallejo at 314 Georgia Street. Carl Mautz, Biographies of Western Photographers, 2018 edition, p. 150.

THE SITTER:

Name: Arthur Edstrom

Description: In this cabinet card, Arthur Edstrom appears as a young man dressed in a wool jacket and a white shirt with a banded collar. His jacket has small lapels and is buttoned up to just below the point of his necktie’s large knot. His necktie is printed with a white, zigzagged, diagonal line and adorned with a star-shaped tiepin.

Biographical Note: Arthur Edstrom was born November 21, 1871 in Verde, Humbolt County, California. Between 1897 and 1901, he participated in several Santa Cruz real estate transactions with his brother, Edwin Charles Edstrom, Jr. From 1917 to 1918 he was a grinder in Sacramento, California. He died May 4, 1942 in Galena, Cherokee County Kansas. There is no evidence that Arthur ever lived in Petaluma; however, his brother, Edwin, worked as a merchant in the town, and his father lived his later years and died in Petaluma.

Family Affiliation: Arthur Edstrom was the brother of Edwin Charles Edstrom Junior and the second son of Eliza Kent Edstrom and Edwin Charles Edstrom Senior.

Bibliography: Evening Sentinel, (Santa Cruz, California) April 1, 1897, p. 3; June 27, 1901, p.3. Santa Cruz Surf, April 3, 1897, p. 2; April 5, 1897, p. 3.

THE PHOTOGRAPH:

Format / Size: cabinet card, approximately 10.75 x 16.25 cm

Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock

Description, front: This is a three-quarter view, head-shot portrait of a young man mounted on a dark card. The photographer’s imprint is printed in gold along the bottom.

Description, back: Handwritten in cursive in black ink along the top edge is, “Arthur Edslrom”. Below this handwritten in cursive in pencil is “Edstrom 14A9”.

Date: This portrait dates to 1891 or sometime soon thereafter; Charles McMillan set up his photography studio in Vallejo, California in 1891, and the sitter portrayed is a young man born in 1871. This portrait may have been taken at the same time as the portrait in this collection of the sitter’s brother, Edwin.

Condition: This cabinet card has several spots along the right and top edges and has moderate foxing throughout.

Owner:  Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1983-32-10

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