San Francisco County
Biographies
Taber, photographic
artist.—The mention of this name introduced a familiar subject to the lovers of
high art the world over, for there is no one who has not admired the fine
results of his artistic skill, either in the faces of noted people or
representations of the finest scenery in the world.
Mr. Taber is a
native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and came here in search of gold in
February, 1850. For three years he
prosecuted mining, and returned to New England in 1854. There he studied photography, and mastered
all the minutiae of the profession. The
atmosphere of New England lacks the purity of the heavens in California, and in
1864 Mr. Taber returned here, impressed with the belief that better results
could be obtained than in any other climate.
For several years he was the chief operator in the Bradley & Rulofson Photograph Gallery. In 1871 Mr. Taber established the “Taber
Gallery” at No. 12 Montgomery street, a location at
once central and easily reached from any section of the city. There his rooms have formed the most
interesting and eagerly sought for feature of this city for tourists and those
who are in search of the beautiful, or who desire to perpetuate their own
features in the most enduring and artistic style. From the opening of his gallery until now his
business has constantly increased and to-day requires fourteen large rooms to
accommodate all the departments of the magnificent business.
Mr. Taber did
not achieve his unprecedented success at a single bound. First, he had to possess a natural gift not
only for creating the highest artistic effects, but of so popularizing them as
to make them sought after by the largest number. Then the closest personal application was demanded, and constant supervision over the minutest details
of the operating departments. There was
peculiar fitness in his artistic organization, and great executive ability, and
these have been exercised from year to year.
He has wasted no time or money on “new things” which were valueless, but
all improvements have been adopted by him, and very many are due to his own
industry and investigation. To-day his
name is well known in all the galleries of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Chicago and Boston; but equally familiar is it in the leading galleries of
London, Paris and Berlin.
Mr. Taber has
not gone in for specialties, except to make every piece of work bearing the
imprint of “Taber” specially excellent. Nevertheless his ivorytype
and porcelain miniatures receive very marked commendation; and his crayon
portraits are so eminently superior that they cause very many of the prominent
people East to send commissions to him, and scarcely a tourist is satisfied to
return beyond the mountains without carrying a souvenir of his or her visit in
the shape of a fine photography by Taber.
Mr. Taber has
been an industrious collector of views.
These embrace every subject of interest from Mexico to Alaska, and the
bare negatives of the multitudes of scenes represent a fortune in value. There is no collection to compare with it in America,
and the person who can obtain a fair number of these has a living illustration
of most of the places of interest and persons of note on the Pacific
slope. They have everything delineated
with such trueness as was never done by scenic painter, and can visit the
places photographed as often as they like.
Transcribed by Donna L. Becker
Source: "The Bay of San
Francisco," Vol. 2, pages 93-94, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.
© 2005 Donna L. Becker.