LA Huffman

LA Huffman, aged about 25

Laton Alton Huffman , better known as L. A. Huffman (born October 31, 1854 in Castalia , Iowa ; † December 28, 1931 in Billings , Montana ) was an American photographer who used his pictures to depict the time of the conquest and nature in North America , especially documented in Montana and North Dakota .

Early years

L. A. Huffmann was born on October 31, 1854 on a farm near Castalia, one of two children of Chastina M. Baird and Perrin Cuppy Huffman. This made it possible for Huffman to come into contact with photography for the first time when the family moved to Waukon , Iowa in late 1865 and Perrin Cuppy opened a photo studio. His early youth shaped Huffman's predilection for the prairie and the lives of settlers and cowboys. At first he earned some money by going to the so-called claim office in North Dakota for the settlers who claimed land under the Homestead Act , where the claims had to be filed. Or he worked as a supervisor on the railroad, always on his own horse. Eventually he returned to Montana and learned the techniques of photography in his father's studio. At the age of 21 he opened his first own photo studio in Postville , a place not far south of Waukon. After financial failure and an unrequited love for an older teacher, L. A. Huffmann moved to Moorhead , Minnesota , in 1878 , where he found employment with F. Jay Haynes , who would later become the photographer of Yellowstone National Park and the Northern Pacific Railroad . But in the fall of the same year, Huffman moved on again. He first traveled through Kansas and then to the Montana Territory , where he delivered a letter from Senator William B. Allison , who was friends with Huffman's father, to Nelson Appleton Miles at Fort Keogh .

Career as a photographer

Post photographer at Fort Keogh

When he arrived here, he filled the vacant post of post photographer, which was not paid. However, he was given a large studio that was also his home, he was given access to the officers' club, and he was able to travel around and sell his photographs. In the years 1879 to 1881 he lived most of the time himself in the prairie, went around on horseback with his photography equipment and documented in particular herds of buffalo and their hunt, as well as nature scenes. In 1880, Huffman and Eugene Lamphere founded H Lazy L , the first ranch in the Rosebud Valley . When the area was later converted into a reservation for the Cheyenne Indians , they sold their ranch. The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad in September 1881 changed life in the west as settlers could now get into the country faster. Huffman's pictures document this change as well as scenic nature shots, which made up a large part of his income. His mobility also enabled Huffman to photograph various Indian tribes in their villages, which later resulted in friendships with Indian chiefs such as Two Moons or American Horse II . All of these early recordings were made using a 5x8 ” stereo camera . It was not until 1884 that he switched to conventional cameras with only one lens .

The own studio in Miles City

In 1881 he gave up his post as a postal photographer and opened his own studio in Miles City . The arrival of the railroad brought a strong increase in visitors to the area, as the Yellowstone National Park area was very popular with tourists and the forests were good for hunting. In addition to his work as a photographer, Huffman was a member of the school board in Miles City in 1885 and one of three county commissioners a year later . In 1893 he even became a member of the House of Representatives from Montana, where he introduced one of the first bills for irrigation projects. However, he only ran his studio until 1890, when he closed it due to the difficult economic situation and earned his living in other cities and states. Among other things, he had a studio in Chicago , but by 1896 he was back in Montana, where he opened a shop in Billings and then moved back to Miles City, where he only had a studio until 1905.

After an active photographer career

In the following years he only devoted himself to selling his pictures, which he created from his old glass plate negatives. Now the first hand-colored prints were made by Huffman , which were used, for example, as motifs on postcards and became coveted collector's items. He carried out this activity until the end of his life.

Death and legacy

LA Huffman was visiting their daughter Ruth in Billings with his wife when he had a heart attack on the street. He passed away a few minutes later. He was transferred to Miles City and buried in the family grave there.

Although Huffman was able to earn enough money with photography during his lifetime and also had prominent friends who valued his work, his work only found out about his work with the illustrated books The frontier years: L. A. Huffman, photographer of the plains (1955) and Before Barbed Wire: LA Huffman, Photographer on Horseback (1956) by Mark H. Brown and WR Felton received his public recognition. In 1976 he was the only photographer to be inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma . In 1982, his heirs donated 1,695 films and negatives, as well as 200 original photographs, to the Montana State Historical Society , through which the collection can now be viewed.

literature

• Mark H. Brown; W. R. Felton: The frontier years: L. A. Huffman, photographer of the plains , 1955, Bramhall House, New York
• Mark H. Brown; W. R. Felton: Before Barbed Wire: L. A. Huffman, Photographer on Horseback , 1956, Henry Holt and Company, ISBN 978-0-517-02942-8
• Larry Len Peterson: LA Huffman: Photographer of the American West , 2nd Edition, 2005, Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, ISBN 978-0-87842-514-3

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Short Biography of Perrin Cuppy Huffman

Web links

• Information on Huffman's life and work