Rider, [ George W. ]

[ Broadside , Photography ] 25 Cent Portraits. From 500 to 600 of the Finest Daguerreotypes are produced daily by RIDER, No 87 Westminster St. [ caption titles ]

[ Providence, RI ]: [ self published ] circa 1855-56. 5 x 7 7/8 inches. Printed on very thin wove paper. Creasing, staining, but no loss of meaning.

The text of the broadside reads as follows: "RIDER, No. 86 Westminster St., Who is winning for himself Fame and Fortune, by a new instanteous German process, and the Picture Machine, which he has obtained at a very heavy outlay. Rider connects this new discovery with machinery which enables him to make, with perfect ease 600 Portraits daily, each one requiring almost invariably but one sitting. This new improvement in the Art, was introduced in New York two years since, by Rider, from which he has made the incredible number of 600,000 Likenesses of the people; the quickness of his process enables him to work equally as successful, if not more so, in cloudy as in clear weather, and the perfection in which they are finished and colored will render them as durable one hundred years hence, as at the time of their taking.

Rider keeps constantly on hand the best assortment of Daguerreotype Cases kept at any establishment this side of New York City, and he will set the best of Pictures in them for less than half charged at any other Daguerreotype Establishment. All lovers of Art should give Rider a visit." Good. [28349]


John Craig's Daguerreian Register helps us to identify this daguerrist as George W. Rider: "Rider, George W. : Active as a daguerreian in Providence, R.I., and Boston, Mass. From 1855 to 1857 he was listed in Providence. In 1855-1856 he was listed at both 87 and 175 Westminster Street. Stamped on the brass mat of a ninth-plate daguerreotype, 'G.W. Rider's Daguerreotypes/ No. 87/ Westminster St., Providence'. Probably the same G.W. Rider listed in Boston, Mass., 1858-1860. There he was listed as 'Rider, Artists Institute, 258-1/2 Washington Street'. He advertised 'ambrotypes, photographs, LIFOTYPES, MIZZOTYPES, at the sign of the big camera'. He lived at the same address."

Craig also notes a "Rider: Listed as a daguerreian at 7-1/2 Division Street, New York City, N.Y., 1851-1852, in partnership as Weiser (T.B.A.) and Rider." which may account for the reference in the broadside for the process having come from "New York City".

Rider's boasting is hyperbole since at 10 minutes a sitting, he would need 100 hours to do the work of 600 portraits in a day to say nothing of proper casing and preparation. Maureen Taylor in her excellent article "Nature Caught at the Twinkling of an Eye": The Daguerreotype in Providence (Rhode Island History, Vol 42, Number 4, Nov 1983) notes that daguerrian competition by this time in Providence was intense and that many businesses didn't survive long. She also notes that Rider published a Daguerreotype Almanac for 1856 to supplement his business in which he noted "all customers would be allowed to sut until they get a perfect picture without regard to time or expense to the proprietor. His motto echoed this pledge: 'Never give up; it is better to hope than once to despair'"

Not listed in OCLC. Rare, as are most daguerrian broadsides from this period.

ITEM SOLD