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C. R. Savage photographs, 1847-1918

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS P 24 Series 4
Images of C.R. Savage Photographs
Images of C.R. Savage Photographs

Scope and Contents

Contains photographs produced by Savage, dating from between 1847 and 1918. Also includes photocopies of selected photographs.

Dates

  • 1847-1918

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research. Items kept in cold storage; access requires 24 hours advance notice.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from C.R. Savage photograph collection must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical History

From the Collection:

C.R. Savage (1832-1909) was a photographer of the American West in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

C.R. Savage, born August 16, 1832, in England, became one of the foremost 19th century landscape photographers of the western United States, as well as a renowned studio portrait photographer, with his studio in Salt Lake City, Utah. The idea to emigrate from England to Utah undoubtedly began shortly after his 1848 baptism and membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Savage's immigration in 1856 to New York marked the beginning of his known interest in establishing a photography business. On assignment from the Church he traveled to Florence, Nebraska. His family subsequently joined him in 1860 and Savage established a primitive studio in Council Bluffs, Nebraska. Finally, the family made their way across the country arriving in Salt Lake City on August 29, 1860. The next day he made business arrangements with Marsena Cannon, a daguerreotype photographer and owner of a studio on East Temple. In 1862, with Cannon's departure to St. George, Utah, Savage formed a partnership with George Martin Ottinger. Savage & Ottinger legally dissolved their firm in 1870, and that same year Savage formed the Pioneer Art Gallery, and in 1875, needing more space, he replaced it with the Art Bazaar.

On June 26, 1883, his Art Bazaar burned to the ground, with all of his negatives. After his death on February 3, 1909, another fire in 1911 destroyed all of the negatives from the last twenty-five years of his career. Although his sons continued to operate the business, the Art Bazaar closed its doors permanently on December 31, 1926.

Extent

4 boxes

Language of Materials

English