CHAPTER 1
FRANK A. RINEHART—OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER
The reason Rinehart left Denver and his association with William Henry Jackson can only be left to conjecture. He had met his wife, Anna, in Denver. She was originally from Milwaukee, so perhaps she wanted to be closer to her family. Or, perhaps, he became aware of the opportunities in Omaha. It was a fortunate move in that he soon became the pre-eminent photographer in the city. He apparently had an affinity for attracting the most prominent persons in the area to having their portraits made. He probably had a good mixture of selling and artistic skills.
Then came the opportunity of a lifetime, the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. He negotiated a contract whereby he was the official and exclusive photographer. Individual roll film cameras were recently introduced to the public and threatened the exclusivity of Rinehart's work. His contract required that anyone bringing a camera to the Exposition pay a $1.00 fee, half of which went to Rinehart. His duties required that he photograph the progress of the construction of the buildings at the Exposition plus photographing the special events associated with the Exposition. Then, came the crowning event! The Indians living West of the Mississippi were brought in as an "exhibit".
A studio was built on the grounds where Rinehart could photograph the Indians in groups and individually. Much credit has been given to Rinehart's employee, Adolph Muir, Some saying Muir was really the photographer of the Indians. In reality, Muir was the employee of Rinehart and did take some of the photographs but under the direction of Rinehart. When it came to the decisions as to the settings, negotiations with the various Indians plus the marketing and sales of the images, Rinehart was in charge. Muir, no doubt was an able and talented associate, working well with Rinehart, but he cannot be given credit for the success of the project. Later Muir did go on to be a major aide to Edward Curtis on his treks to photograph the Native American Indians in their natural settings. A fascinating book by Timothy Egan, "Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life & Immortal Photographs" of Edward Curtis wonderfully describes the hard work and dedication, plus the strong desire to help others to understand the Native American people at the time when they were truly on the edge of distinction.
Rinehart was born in Lodi, IL in 1862. According to an article in the Omaha World Herald on April 15, 1976, his original name was Franz Reinehardt. At the age of 16 he left for Denver to seek his fortune. There is evidence he was a photographer for the railroad. Soon after he became associated with Jackson, the prominent Denver photographer. The studio receptionist was a young lady, Anna, who had followed her sister to Denver from Milwaukee. Anna's sister worked as a reporter for the Rocky Mountain Times. Rinehart and Anna were married producing two daughters, Ruth and Helen. Ruth became a teacher, dying of Myocarditis on August 1, 1943. Helen married George Marsden. Helen died on October 23, 1921. One George Steffens became associated with Rinehart in 1917. When Rinehart moved his studio from the Wead Building located on the southwest corner of 18th & Farnam to the Brandeis Department Store at 16th and Douglas about 1936, Steffens was replaced by George Marsden. Rinehart left the business in about 1920. Anna continued the operation in partnership with Marsden. Anna died August 26, 1955, leaving the business in the hands of Marsden. This author continued the business until closing it in the late 1960's.
Fortunately for Rinehart the dry plate was in production and readily available. Not that many years before he had to take a glass plate coating it with collodian, then apply silver nitrate. After that, he could make his exposure, process it through the developer, chemically "fix" the image, thoroughly wash the negative and finally make the print. Now, thanks to the dry plate, the process was substantially shorter but still tedious.
Air conditioning was non-existent. Nebraska summer heat can be oppressive and non stop even at night. Keeping the chemistry at the right temperature was a constant battle. Then, too, the human element in dealing with this heat made for more difficulty in not only doing the physical work but also the everyday relationships to include convincing the Indians to be photographed. The dignitaries had tight schedules to keep and some of the Indians were superstitious about having their images transferred to a photograph. Some Indians had to be bribed. Mrs. Rinehart was the briber. It was said that one of the most effective bribes were marshmallows.
There have been questions as to the costuming of the Indians for the photographs. Some have noticed that an Arapahoe is wearing Souix ornamentations or holding Cheyenne artifacts. Several things account for these discrepancies. Rinehart probably had extra costumes and artifacts available so as to create what he thought would be more interesting photographs. He made little or no effort for authenticity. Secondly, there was a great deal of trading among the tribes themselves. With all the various tribes in this relatively small area in Omaha, there was plenty of opportunity for trading.
There was no large staff to assist Rinehart outside of Adolph Muir and Mrs. Rinehart. Photographing the Indians, the events staged at the Exposition, the dignitaries who attended, production of prints made available for sale to the public, keeping supplies on hand as well as keeping the management of the Exposition apprised of his progress, there is little doubt it was very physically and emotionally stressful period.
Rinehart had been under contract to the U.S. Bureau of American Ethnology to provide a complete set of the photographs of the Indians. He then copyrighted a different set for his personal use. He realized some income from the sale of the photographs he made of the views of the Exposition, activities and dignitaries.
After the Exposition closed, he made postcards and other prints marketing them in several venues. Additionally, he licensed various companies who used the portraits for calendars and various advertising campaigns. At the 1900 Paris Exposition he exhibited the collection and came away with a gold medal.
Although his physical, emotional and financial conditions declined severely several years later, Rinehart's contribution to the photographic history of this country is huge and we owe him a debt of gratitude and respect.
Rinehart died on December 7, 1928 of "chronic endocartis. Interstitial Nephritis" at the age of 67 years, 10 months and 11 days according a document from the Office of the Superintendent of the Springfield, MA cemetery. He was cremated and...
