H Marshall Gardiner – hand-colored photographs

H. Marshall Gardiner (1884-1942) was born on September 18, 1884 into a family of photographers headed by his father, W. H. Gardiner. Apparently, some sources list his first name as “Harry“, other sources list it as”Enrique“. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, his family immigrated to the United States around 1890. Once the family settled W. H. Gardiner He opened two photography studios, one in Detroit, Michigan during the winter months and a second on Mackinac Island, Michigan during the more tourist-oriented summer months. Recognizing the potential of Florida’s rapidly growing tourist trade, circa 1894-95 H. Marshall Gardiner he moved his family from Detroit to Daytona, Florida, which proved much more suitable for the family’s photography business during the colder winter months.

H. Marshall Gardiner he learned many of his photographic techniques from his father before striking out on his own at a relatively young age. While her father generally used wet collodian negatives, technology had advanced as far as H. Marshall Gardiner he was able to use dry gelatin plates in his early years. And in later years he was able to use the less expensive and much more convenient roll film.

Another very important lesson gardener learned from his father was that one of the keys to running a successful photography business was setting up shop in a resort. Early in your career gardener traveled to Bermuda. There she filmed a series of beautiful Bermuda scenes which he hand-colored and sold to the Bermuda tourist trade. Sold there for a considerable period of time, these Bermuda scenes provided a nice stream of income as the years went by. They’ve proven so popular that we’ve even seen some with pre-printed signatures (rather than hand-signed), suggesting significant enough sales volume to justify the hefty expense of pre-printed mats.

Around 1910 he first traveled to the island of Nantucket, off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. She was about 26 at the time and Nantucket’s year-round population was just over 2,500, not enough to support a year-round photography business. in Nantucket gardener opened a joint photography and art supply store. Working as Nantucket exclusive agent for Eastman Kodak, his business expanded to include the only photo finishing service on the island. However, with such a small year-round population, even the addition of a gift shop to supplement the hand-painted photographs, general photography and portrait services, and art supplies couldn’t sustain it on Nantucket year-round. .

So during the winter months he helped out with the family’s photography businesses in Daytona and Mackinac Island. And after the death of his father in 1935, gardener took over the family business in Daytona full time.

H. Marshall Gardiner he was married twice. His first marriage was to a Nantucket.”Macy’swho was descended from one of the founding families of Nantucket. She died after eight years of marriage and later married Bertha’s Coffin Chasedescended from another founding family of Nantucket.

H. Marshall Gardiner’s hand-painted photographs are very similar to those of wallace nut and the other leading New England photographers. That is, most are matted, usually on white mat boards that have a brand mark around the image, signed “H. Marshall Gardiner“lower right below image, and titled lower left below image. And most are framed in thinner frames, also in the style of wallace nut.

From the perspective of a collector of hand-colored photographs H. Marshall Gardiner produced works in three main places…Nantucket…Florida…Y Bermuda. and the convenience of by Gardiner work with collectors is generally classified in that order.

H. Marshall Gardiner’s The hand-painted photographs of Nantucket are undoubtedly his most desired works. Money usually lives on Nantucket and both full-time and part-time residents, as well as visitors and tourists, love to collect by Gardiner Hand-painted photographs of Nantucket. Scenes with buildings and people are usually the most desirable. Seascapes and location-specific exterior scenes are also highly collectible. His more generic exterior scenes are probably the least collectible of his various views of Nantucket. Although for a brief period of time, around 2000-2002, prices exceeded $1,000 for rare Nantucket scenes in prime condition, the high-end market has softened somewhat and today Gardiner’s finest scenes Nantucket are generally in the $250-$500 range. apparently the gardener The Nantucket market on eBay was powered by only a small handful of collectors, and once they acquired a desired title or left the market, peak prices began to drop again online. The more common Nantucket titles and those that are damaged can fetch much less.

by Gardiner Florida hand-painted photographs are becoming more and more collectible for both Florida hand-painted photography collectors and general collectors. most of by Gardiner Florida scenes are more generic (palm trees, coastline, hanging moss, streams, sand, etc.). Location specific images will generally fetch higher prices than more generic Florida scenes and you can usually expect by Gardiner Hand-colored photos of Florida to bring in in the $100-$250 range.

And his Bermuda scenes, while the least collectible of Gardiner’s three main categories, are still highly prized by collectors. However, as we have seen less “Bermuda“collectors who”Florida” Prayed “Nantucket“Collectors, prices for Bermuda scenes will generally range from $75 to $150 at our auctions.

by Gardiner postcards are also highly collected. Unlike his hand-painted photographs, which today can command a premium price, his Nantucket postcards are much easier to locate and much more affordable. And if you like photography H. Marshall Gardiner, you will be able to find many more views on postcards than in hand-colored photographs. most of by Gardiner The postcards were produced by the Detroit Publishing Company using their “Phosint“Patented printing process. Although some postcards can be found in black and white, their most popular and numerous postcards are those in color. Generally H. Marshall Gardiner postcards will cost between $2.50 and $10.00 each, although some may command slightly higher prices.

H. Marshall Gardiner died December 4, 1942 and is buried on his beloved Nantucket

RECOMMENDED READING: For more information on H. Marshall Gardiner we would recommend a book by your daughter, Geraldine GardinerSalisbury noble H. Marshall Gardiner’s Nantucket Postcards: 1910-1940.