One cannot but acknowledge that there are arts which are on their way out and that it is photography which has given them the death-blow!

Antoine Claudet, French photographer, 1865

In 1853, painted portraits were still the norm. In that year, the Nashville City Directory listed only two daguerreotype photographers. However, portrait painters were eventually forced to adapt to the changing technology as photography grew in popularity. Many took up photography while others used their talents to hand-color the traditional monochrome images. Photographers such as William Thuss, George Dury, W. S. Mahon, A. Larcombe, Rodney Poole, and the Calvert brothers established studios in Nashville. By 1890, there were over forty photography studios in the city.

Broadside dated September 25, 1869 Library Broadside Collection. ID: 42286.

Public announcements and advertisements for various goods and services were often printed on a large sheet of paper called a broadside. Early photographers traveled around the state and set up shops for short periods of time. Newspaper ads and broadsides alerted local citizens to their arrival and location.

Sales booth for Thuss Photographers, undated. Tennessee Historical Society Picture Collection. ID: 26595.

William Gustav Thuss (1854-1943) came to Nashville around 1875. He partnered with a number of different photographers over the years. Thuss and his younger brother, Andrew Joseph Thuss (1866-1956), left the partnership of Thuss, Koellein & Giers in 1889 to take over the former Theodore M. Schleier Photography Studio at 230½ North Cherry Street.

Self-portrait of George Dury, ca. 1860 Nell Savage Mahoney Papers. ID: 30124.

George Dury (1817-1894) emigrated to the United States from Munich and settled in Nashville in 1850. A renowned portrait painter, his subjects included Queen Therese of Bavaria, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, and Mrs. James K. Polk. George Carl Dury, son of George Dury, founded the first photographic supply business in Nashville in 1882. Dury’s remained in operation until 2020.

Larcombe’s Rock City Photograph Gallery, 1871-1875 Calvert Brothers Studio Glass Plate Negatives. ID: 3700.

A. Larcombe was first listed in the 1857 Nashville City Directory as an ambrotypist. “A. Larcombe, photographer, 49 Union Street'' is listed for the last time in 1871.

W. S. Lively’s Photography Studio, McMinnville, Tennessee, 1900 Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection. ID: 12400.

William Spencer Lively (1855-1944) opened his studio in McMinnville around 1875. In 1900, he was among the founders of the Kentucky-Tennessee Photographers Association. Lively also started the Southern School of Photography in McMinnville in 1904.

Left image: Portrait of Peter Ross Calvert (1855-1931) Tennessee Historical Society Picture Collection. ID: 26129.
Right image: Calvert Brothers Studio, Nashville Calvert Brothers Studio Glass Plate Negatives. ID: 3579.

Peter Ross Calvert and his brother Ebenezer were English immigrants who operated a studio at the southeast corner of 4th and Union in Nashville.

H.W. Allen and his family, 1899. Calvert Brothers Studio Glass Plate Negatives. ID: 37491.

Calvert Brothers Studio did extensive business with Nashville’s African American community. They took this photograph of Henry W. Allen and his family.

Portrait of Ray Perkins, 1899. Calvert Brothers Studio Glass Plate Negatives. ID: 3926.

Since the invention of the portrait photograph, Tennesseans have embraced the medium both for its practical and artistic purposes. Today, the portraits of those Tennesseans provide an historical record of the Volunteer State. We invite you to discover this history through the thousands of portraits housed at the Tennessee State Library & Archives.