c. 1890 CYANOTYPE PHOTO ALBUM - CHICAGO & ELMHURST IL - NEW LEBANON NY SHAKER COMMUNITY

This stunning circa 1890 photo album with early Kodak photos, is complete and in good overall condition. It belonged to Cyrus and Elizabeth (King) Bentley of Chicago and Elmhurst, IL. It includes approximately 300 Cyanotype photographs.

The album was purchased from a dealer who bought it from Cyrus and Elizabeth's grandson Richard, who reported that Cyrus Bentley was the photographer. While the photos are not formally identified, one can recognize the Bentleys' Elmhurst summer home (whose grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and which currently houses the Elmhurst Public Library) and the Chicago home of Elizabeth's parents (at the corner of Rush and Huron streets in Chicago).

Also included are 15 Cyanotypes of Shaker women from the Mount Lebanon, NY Shaker Society. The original purchaser/dealer was told that a close relative lived at Mount Lebanon and that the Bentleys visited her there. (Cyrus Bentley, Sr. was born in Lebanon Springs, NY, which is close by). One photo has tape repairs with a note that says "May be Sister Eleanor Potter (1812-1895). Lived entire life from age 5 in New Lebanon." Potter was known for receiving and transmitting spiritual messages (see "The Shaker Spiritual Notices of Eleanor Potter" by Jane Crosthwaite).

Other photos show a woman playing with a dog and a woman with a box camera (who may be Elizabeth King Bentley), house painters holding paint brushes, interior house shots, and two large photos of a distinguished gentleman (possibly Cyrus Bentley or Elizabeth's father Henry King).

Condition: The album measures 9" x 11" and has a leather spine and tips, and gilded edges. Many of the photos are round and measure 2.5" in diameter. They are known as the Kodak #1, the first kind of snapshot photo which came out in 1888. Other photos measure either 3.5" x 4.5" or 4.5" x 6.5." A few photos have small tears, and some pages have corner wear.

History: Cyrus Bentley (1861-1930) was the corporate attorney for McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. He later helped form the International Harvester Company and worked with J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. He was also good friends with Cyrus McCormack, Jr. Elizabeth Bentley founded a sanatorium for children suffering from tuberculosis. The photos were apparently taken between their marriage in January 1889 and the birth of their first child in August 1892.