Whitney, Arthur Leslie (1858-1914)

Isaiah West Taber’s Portrait Photograph of Arthur leslie Whitney

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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.

Studio Location: 8 Montgomery St., San Francisco, California

THE SITTER:

Name: Arthur Leslie Whitney

Description: In this head-and-shoulder portrait, Arthur Leslie Whitney is dressed in a checkered wool jacket with large lapels, a white shirt with an upturned collar, and a necktie that is clipped at his throat with a metal band. Meticulously groomed, he looks steadfastly into the distance. His hair has been side-parted, carefully combed and curled to flip at his temple and over his forehead.

Biographical Note: Arthur Leslie Whitney was born in Minnesota and at age three traveled with his parents to California. Arthur graduated from Petaluma High School in 1876 and later attended California State University to study literature. In 1881 he moved to San Francisco to work for his brother’s firm, C. E. Whitney & Company. On November 23, 1882 he married Anna Belle St. John (1864-1958) in what was described as Petaluma’s great society event of the season. Following the death of his father, Senator Albion Whitney, in 1884, Arthur and his wife returned to Petaluma, and Arthur became the manager of the family’s Petaluma store at the corner of Main Street and Western Avenue. In 1886 they commissioned the construction of their home at 312 Sixth Street which later came to be known as the Denman house. Later in their life, Arthur and Anna moved to San Mateo where Arthur had established the lucrative Leslie Salt Company.

Family Affiliation: Arthur Whitney was the son of the early Petaluma pioneers, Senator Albion P. Whitney (1825-1884) and Susan Durgin Eastman Whitney (1832-1917). His siblings included: Calvin Eastman Whitney (1851-1891), Cleora “Millie” Melissa Whitney Hewlett (1854-1930), Nancy Jane Whitney Morrow (1855-1938), Leona Merrill Whitney (1864-1866), Marcella “Ella” Whitney Wheaton (1866-1915), Albion Harvey Whitney (1870-1907), and Clara Whitney Spear (1873-1954). He married Anna Bell St. John (1864-1958), the daughter of Isabel Grigsby St. John Denman (1837-1917) and step-daughter of early Petaluma pioneer, Ezekiel Denman. Together Arthur and Anna Bell had two children: Arthur St. John Whitney (1884-1949), and Leslie Denman Whitney (1887-1944).

Bibliography: Cassiday, John, “Arthur L. Whitney & Co,” An illustrated history of Sonoma County, California. Containing a history of the county of Sonoma from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, 1889, pp. 617. Petaluma Weekly Argus, May 5, 1876, p. 3; June 23, 1876, p. 3; Nov. 24, 1882, p.3; March 5, 1884, p. 3; March 29, 1884, p. 4; Dec. 26, 1885, p. 2; Petaluma Argus-Courier, June 11, 1914, p. 5.

THE PHOTOGRAPH:

Format / Size: cabinet card, approximately 10.75 x 16.5 cm

Medium: gelatin or collodion photographic print mounted on cardstock

Description, front: The portrait of this cabinet card is framed within a vertical oval.

Description, back: Handwritten in pencil is “Arthur Whitney”.

Date: The photographer’s imprint on the bottom front edge of this card allows us to assume that this portrait was created between 1884 and 1886.

Condition: This portrait is faded and slightly soiled.

Owner:  Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1981-835-29

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