It didn’t take long until I found another copy of “the photograph”.
A lead suggested that I search for records and photographs at the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post in Peoria, Illinois. The GAR was the fraternal organization made up of Union Army veterans from the Civil War. Mark Bassett had been a member. The post was known as “Col. John Bryner Post, No.67“, with its historic Greenhut GAR Memorial building constructed in 1909, a year before Bassett’s death. Today, the building has been restored and is a rentable venue for functions run by the Central Illinois Landmarks Foundation.
The GAR Hall led to the Peoria Public Library
The original lead suggested that the Greenhut GAR Memorial building might have an archive of GAR-related items, including “the photograph”. But after speaking with them, it then led to the Local History and Genealogy Department of the Peoria Public Library. They soon responded with a photograph unlike anything I had seen before with “Photo File: GAR” penciled on the back,
Peoria Library copy of ‘the photograph” – Local History and Genealogy Collection, Peoria Public Library, Peoria, Illinois
The Peoria copy of “the photograph” was different from all of the rest. It had an unusual tonal range, suggesting it was printed on a different kind of medium. The library does not have any information regarding the acquisition of the photograph or its provenance. One clue is that the print is contained in a special custom folder from Venard Studio, which was active in Peoria from around 1914 to the 1970s. I believe it is a platinum print. The print’s medium is unusual with its carbon-black contrast and tone. Commercially made platinum photographic paper was available from Kodak through 1916, which times perfectly to the making of this copy. It is not known who the person who wrote the identities of all the men on the surface was. On inspection, it does not match Anne Bassett’s handwriting
A clue to who made the Peoria copy
Mark M. Bassett – Circa 1900-1910
Local History and Genealogy Collection, Peoria Public Library, Peoria, Illinois
Another clue offered up by the Peoria Library was a portrait of Mark Bassett made late in life in Peoria by Bach Studios, which was run by Emil and Otto Bach. Bach Studios closed its doors in 1914. In 1915, for one year only, Otto Bach worked for Venard Studios. I believe that Annie Bassett sought out Otto Bach to have a copy made of her original photograph.
After Mark Bassett died in 1910, his wife, Annie, wrote to T. R. Zachary in a letter dated September 14, 1911, giving him the names of all the men in “The Photograph.” Zachary had inquired about getting another copy of it for a friend in North Carolina who was interested in Zachary’s story of the events resulting in the picture being made. Not wanting to lend out her original photograph for fear of losing it, and knowing that Zachary was planning on having a copy made from the print Mark Bassett had already given him, Annie indicated she wanted an additional copy herself as well, writing:
“For I want a copy—and do not want the original picture, which I still have; it is too rare a relic to run risk of getting lost.”
Matches the LOC and CHM copies of the photograph
Compared to the Library of Congress version, the Peoria image is slightly cropped. It displays the same creases and imperfections found in the Chicago History Museum and Library of Congress copy photographs. It also has increased contrast, a result of the copying process. The increased contrast helps enhance the print’s sharpness, showing more detail of the creases and imperfections found on the original photograph.
This leads to the conclusion that they were all made from the same original albumen print.
Mark Bassett’s original print. What happened to it, and does it still survive today?
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