1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Wilson. Uh. And, 4 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: as is often the case, sometimes when you work on 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: one show, you spiral off and start seeing other things 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: that are vaguely related to the topic of that show 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: that you really want to do an episode on. It 8 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: happens to us all the time, and sometimes I can 9 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: put those off for a while and I'm like, I 10 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: don't feel um like a burning need, like I gotta 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: do this now, But I don't know why this one 12 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,840 Speaker 1: not the same deal. I wanted to do it right away. 13 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,480 Speaker 1: So while I was working on our recent live show 14 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: that we did about spirit photography, I of course stumbled 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: across a whole bunch of other interesting photographers from history 16 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: that I wanted to talk about. But this one in 17 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: particular really stood out. And initially it was because of 18 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: a very striking and really fun sell portrait that she 19 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: made in the late eighteen hundreds. But here's what really 20 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: struck me about today's topic, Fannie Johnston and her work. 21 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: She has tied to so many people and events that 22 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: we have talked about on this show before that she's 23 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: kind of like a history nexus point. She was really 24 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: well connected and she was able to make a very 25 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: nice living for herself as a photographer. She had a 26 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: very long career that spanned the late nineteenth and early 27 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: twentieth centuries. So Fanny was born Frances Benjamin Johnston on 28 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: January fifte eighteen sixty four. Parents were Francis Antoinette Benjamin 29 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: and Anderson Donophan Johnston. She was born in Grafton, West Virginia. 30 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: The Johnston's moved to Rochester, New York, when Fanny was 31 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: still very young so they could be nearer to her 32 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: maternal grandmother. By the mid eighteen seventies, the Johnston's had 33 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: moved to Washington, d c. Anderson was working at the 34 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: Treasury Department as a bookkeeper, and Fanny's mother, Frances, was 35 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: a journalist. She wrote for the Baltimore Sun and other 36 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: DC are in newspapers. The Johnston's really supported Fanny. They 37 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: encouraged her to study art when she showed an interest 38 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: in it. She was in a position of really rare 39 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: privilege for a young woman of her era. Her family 40 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: could afford to support her while she studied, and they 41 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: were a hun percent willing to just let her figure 42 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: out her own path and her own desires. Yeah, does 43 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: not appear at any point in time that they were like, 44 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:25,519 Speaker 1: are you gonna get married? Are you going to find 45 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: a husband? Are you going to be a mom? They 46 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: really were like, great, go study art wherever you want. 47 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: In three, Fanny graduated from Notre Dame of Maryland Collegiate 48 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: Institute for Young Ladies, and after her undergraduate work, she 49 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: traveled to Paris to attend the Academy Juliem, where she 50 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: studied art, particularly drawing and painting. She's been several years 51 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: in Paris and then returned home to Washington, d c. 52 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: In five, she joined the Art Students League, which was 53 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 1: an organization that offered ongoing development as well as studio 54 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: space and a sense of community. Fanny also started working 55 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: in journal is um, first as an illustrator for news stories, 56 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: but sometime in the late eighteen eighties you'll sometimes see 57 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: it listed as eighteen eight Fanny discovered the field that 58 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: would become her life's passion, and that was photography. She 59 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: started studying photography at the Smithsonian Institution under the mentorship 60 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: of Thomas Smiley, who was a Scottish American photographer who 61 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 1: served as the Smithsonian's first staff photographer and first photography curator. 62 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 1: And that first camera she owned came from George Eastman 63 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,239 Speaker 1: of Eastman Kodak. The story of how that happened is 64 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: a little bit fuzzy. Fanny would help people later in 65 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: her life that she wrote to Eastman asking some questions 66 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: about the camera and then he sent her one as 67 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: a gift. More likely than not, she had connections to 68 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: the Eastman's through her mother's side of the family. Yeah, 69 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: she kind of liked to tell it, almost as though 70 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: she was a random, anonymous person just sending him a 71 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: letter and asking some questions, and that he generously sent 72 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: this back. But it does seem, especially because the Eastman 73 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: family was also from Rochester, that they were somehow connected 74 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: to her mother's side. Fanny's formal art training was something 75 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: that informed her work with a camera and gave her 76 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: something of a head start in that field compared to 77 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: other photographers. She also was very aware of this and 78 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: a little bit proud of it. She had a sense 79 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: of composition and light value that really enabled her to 80 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: frame incredibly beautiful photos. Through her Lens. Her Parisian training 81 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: also gave her a degree of cash and esteem that, 82 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: along with her connections through Smelly and her family, put 83 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,359 Speaker 1: her on really good footing to start her career. She 84 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: started that career right away. Not long after starting her 85 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: study with Smelly, Fanny also started working as a professional 86 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: freelance photographer. By eighty nine, she was publishing her own 87 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: articles with full photographic illustration for publications like Cosmopolitan, Harper's Weekly, 88 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 1: and a lot of other periodicals. The first of these 89 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: was a piece called Uncle Sam's Money that ran in 90 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: Demorris's Family magazine, and it showed the process of producing currency, 91 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: including both coins and bills. In eighteen ninety one, Fanny 92 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: Johnston had her first show, mounting an exhibit at the 93 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: Washington d c Venue the Cosmos Club, which was quote 94 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: a private social club for women and men distinguished in science, literature, 95 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: the arts, a learned profession or public service, which was 96 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: founded in eighteen seventy eight and still exists today. She 97 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: soon started having showings of her work in New York 98 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: City as well. In eight two and eighteen ninety three, 99 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:32,840 Speaker 1: Fanny was one of the official photographers of the World's 100 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: Columbian exhibition in Chicago. While Fanny continued her freelance journalism 101 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: photography in the mid eighteen nineties, she also opened her 102 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: own photography studio. The studio she set up specifically to 103 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: take portraits, and it was behind her parents house on 104 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: V Street in Washington, d C. It was really portrait 105 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: commissions that made up the bulk of her income for years. 106 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: Her family was well connected and that meant that the 107 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:00,600 Speaker 1: high society of Washington, d C. Which included some very 108 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: powerful people, would go to her for their portraits. These 109 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: connections in turn fed her journalism career. She got great 110 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: assignments from editors who knew that she could get access 111 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: to people that the average photographer might not be able to. Yeah, 112 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,279 Speaker 1: this is kind of a good example of like how 113 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: a position of privilege can really help someone when we're 114 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: not conscious of it. It really was a case for 115 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: like her family's positioning and how many people they knew 116 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:31,799 Speaker 1: and how many people like them were feeding both sides 117 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: of her career like one to the other. In the 118 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 1: late eighteen nineties, Fannie worked for George Grantham Bain, who 119 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: was a photographer who had started the Bain News Service, 120 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,359 Speaker 1: which was a photosyndicate that served periodicals throughout the country. 121 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: I have seen the numbers as more than fourteen of 122 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 1: like the major newspapers in the country. We're using photos 123 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:53,479 Speaker 1: from his service. Fanny also gained access to the White 124 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 1: House around this time as a regular photographer. That was 125 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: a job she initially got on assignment through demorists, and 126 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: she took photos in the White House beginning in the 127 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: Benjamin Harrison presidency, and she continued assignments they're right up 128 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: through the Theodore Roosevelt administration. Coming up, we'll talk about 129 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: some of Fanny's most famous photographs, which are self portraits, 130 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: but first we will pause for a quick sponsor break. 131 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: As we mentioned before the break, some of Johnston's most 132 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: famous photographs were taken during the eighteen nineties, and these 133 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: were self portraits showing her in a variety of different guises, 134 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: and they served as an interesting commentary on the way 135 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: women were seen and how they perceived themselves as the 136 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: Victorian era came to a close. This is also one 137 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: of these portraits that caught my eye initially when I 138 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: stumbled across her. In one self portrait, she looks every 139 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: bit the society lady. She's posing in a fur in 140 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: a wide brim hat that is trimmed with ribbon and 141 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: several ostrich plumes, and her elbow rests on the arm 142 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: of the chair that she's sitting in, and her gloved 143 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: hands sort of waches up to her face, with her 144 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: index finger resting on her jaw and the rest of 145 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: her fingers tucked under her chin. And another photo which 146 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: is quite famous, she's very unladylike for the time period. 147 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: She sits in front of a fire on what looks 148 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: like a box. Her right ankle is crossed over her 149 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: left knee so that reveals her petticoat and stockings. She's 150 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: wearing a plaid blouse with leg of mutton sleeves and 151 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: a dark cap on her head. Her right elbow is 152 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: balanced on her right knee and she's leaned forward at 153 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: an angle to do this. She has a cigarette and 154 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: her right hand and then her in her left hand, 155 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: which is that her hip. She has a beer stein. 156 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,679 Speaker 1: She appears to be deeply interested in something to the 157 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: left of the frame from the viewer's angle, and there 158 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,199 Speaker 1: are six photographic portraits on the mantel behind her, all 159 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: featuring male subjects. She titled this photo New Woman. It's 160 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 1: the striking self portrait that Holly referenced back at the 161 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: top of the show. Yeah, I really love that picture 162 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: me too. It's one of those things that it's staged, 163 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: obviously because it's a self portrait, but it she's so 164 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: good at it that it does look like you've kind 165 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: of caught someone in the middle of a moment where 166 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: they're completely unconscious of when they look. She looks like 167 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: she is super engaged with something, like she's leaned way forward. 168 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 1: It looks like she may be about to say something 169 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: or tell someone off. It's just that's a really great 170 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: photo and very much not appropriate for a lady of 171 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: the day. She also made several portraits in which she 172 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: is gender bending fully dressed in men's wear and sporting 173 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: a false mustache, and in some of the portraits where 174 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: she's dressed as a man, another woman appears who is 175 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: also dressed in the same style full men's wear with 176 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: a mustache, and a third woman in more traditional ladies 177 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 1: wear for the period also appears in those pictures. So 178 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: these are another self portraits, including one in which she's 179 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: going about her work in the studio, offer a unique 180 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: spectrum of identities for one woman, and it's possible that 181 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 1: her chameleon like nature was helping her make her way 182 00:09:56,679 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: in a profession that was really dominated by men. She 183 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: succeeded in this field in spite of it being so 184 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:08,560 Speaker 1: dominated by men. She clearly understood the social rules regarding 185 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: the expectations of dress and behavior for women. She was 186 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: also comfortable stepping way outside those boundaries. Yeah. Again, that's 187 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: one of those things that I think most children that 188 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: had not been born to the privilege of having parents 189 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: going yes, explore yourself, would never have gotten to that 190 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: level of confidence where they would be able to do 191 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 1: those things, particularly in this era. Unsurprisingly, Johnston was outspoken 192 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: about the need for women to redefine their options and 193 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:39,079 Speaker 1: their identities outside of the predefined roles of mother, wife, 194 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: and homemaker. She wrote an article for The Ladies Home 195 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: Journal which was titled what a Woman Can Do with 196 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: a Camera, and this article urged women to consider photography 197 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: as a profession and a means to support themselves. The 198 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: article opens with quote, in order to solve successfully the 199 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: problem of making a business profitable, the woman who either 200 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,079 Speaker 1: must or will earn her own living needs to discover 201 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: a field of work for which there is a good 202 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: demand and which there is not too great competition, and 203 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: which her individual tastes render in some way congenial. She 204 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: goes on to mention that for some women that quote 205 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: restricted fields of typewriting, stenography, clerking, bookkeeping, et cetera, would 206 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: prove wearing and uncongenial to them. Fanny also listed the 207 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: qualities that she believed were necessary for successive photography. In 208 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: those included good common sense, unlimited patients to carry her 209 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: through endless failures, equally unlimited tact, good taste, a quick eye, 210 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:41,439 Speaker 1: a talent for detail, and a genius for hard work. 211 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 1: She felt that a woman who was hard working and 212 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: energetic could find success, and that quote small beginnings could 213 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 1: reap large results. So this article is not a bunch 214 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: of cheerful fluff about how all you need is determination. 215 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: Fanny really broke down exactly how the industry worked and 216 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: what fields were good for beginners. Portraits she felt were 217 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: best saved for when you got a little more experience, 218 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,600 Speaker 1: but taking pictures of homes, animals, and children outdoors, and 219 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: staging photographic copies of paintings were all good places for 220 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 1: beginners to make some money. And she really made the 221 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 1: point that while someone wanting to go into the field 222 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: could get training for taking photos, running a business was 223 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,439 Speaker 1: a whole other skill set. She was very clear about this, 224 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,840 Speaker 1: and she thought it was best learned through experience. She 225 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 1: also felt that professional photographers had to stay on top 226 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: of the latest advancements of the art. She then included 227 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: practical information about cameras and lenses and tips for taking 228 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: photos to help a newcomer get started. She concludes by 229 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 1: insisting that women have to charge an appropriate amount for 230 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: their work. Quote good work should command good prices, and 231 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 1: the wise woman will place a paying value upon her 232 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: best efforts. She explains that this is really where tact 233 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: is necessary and remains steadfast throughout the Photography is the 234 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: perfect career for an ambitious woman. I feel like the 235 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,959 Speaker 1: good work should command good prices, should be like still today, 236 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: framed and hung everywhere I walk. Yep. She was not 237 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:15,480 Speaker 1: one of those all work for exposure women. She was 238 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 1: very savvy. It was like, I made this art for you, 239 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: you will pay me now. Uh. That article appeared in 240 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:24,680 Speaker 1: Ladies Home Journal in September of eight, and it was 241 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: much talked about even a year later. The same article 242 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: was quoted almost entirely in another article, this one appearing 243 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: in the periodical The Photo Beacon, which was of course 244 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: aimed towards photographers, and uh, this iteration of it makes 245 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 1: clear that Fanny's advice is good for not just women 246 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: but all photographers. In the October volume in which it 247 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:49,360 Speaker 1: appears at states quote her counsel on the management and 248 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,840 Speaker 1: arrangement of a portrait studio, on the treatment of sitters, 249 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: and on the business side of photography is so sound 250 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: and so applicable not only to those who were about 251 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: to enter professional life, but also to those who are 252 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: already in business, that we reprint it in full as 253 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: an interesting side note as we consider Johnston's writing, which 254 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: is full of ideas of empowerment for women. Johnson identified 255 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: as Bohemian and not as any kind of activist from 256 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: the suffrage movement or anything else that was related specifically 257 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 1: to the rights of women. Obviously, we don't mean bohemian 258 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: in the sense of someone from Bohemia, or in the 259 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 1: more pejorative connotation that it took on for a while 260 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: in connection with the romani Fanny was using it in 261 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: that romanticized sense that tied it to unconventional artists, and 262 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: that usage came into popularity in the mid nineteenth century 263 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: with the staging of the play La Vita la Boem 264 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: in Paris, which was an adaptation of the On Remorgay 265 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: novel Sende la la Bohem. And coming up, we're going 266 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:52,920 Speaker 1: to talk about an event that has been featured many 267 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: times on the show. Uh comes up over and over 268 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:58,160 Speaker 1: because it too was an excess point in history. We're 269 00:14:58,160 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: gonna get to that right after we first have a 270 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: spaw her break. The nineteen hundred exposition Universe in Paris 271 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: has come up a number of times on the show. 272 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: I feel like everybody who is anybody in nineteen hundred 273 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 1: was in Paris for that that show, And here it 274 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: is again. Fanny Johnston attended and entered a number of 275 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 1: photographs into competition. There. She won a gold medal for 276 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: a series of photos she took of public schools in 277 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: the Washington, d c. Area, and she also took home 278 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: a grand prize for her series of photos of the 279 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. So these photos over time 280 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 1: have become the focus of heated discussion because they show 281 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 1: black and Native American students really through a white Victorian lens. 282 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: We've talked about some folks that studied at that school 283 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: in the podcast before in the context of their era. 284 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 1: These images, which were commissioned by the school were intended 285 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: to show European audiences that the United States was progressive 286 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: and it's educational systems which were integrating black and Native 287 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: American students into white society, but that meant stripping them 288 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: of their own culture in the process. This is a 289 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: deeply flawed ideology. It's, like I said, something that's come 290 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 1: up on the show before, that mindset in addition to 291 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: the Hampton Normal School specifically, and if you want to 292 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: really dig into these pictures and how they've been perceived 293 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: over the years, there's a really interesting analysis of these 294 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: photos and how they've been viewed at three different times 295 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: when they've been on display. That that article came out 296 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 1: in the summer of two thousand eight in an issue 297 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: of History of Photography. We will have a link to 298 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: it in the show notes, but the abbreviated version is 299 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 1: that at the nineteen hundred Paris exhibition they were just 300 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 1: as we mentioned, a sort of self congratulatory promotional material. 301 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 1: The second exhibition mounted at the museum of Modern Art 302 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty six tried to decontextualize them from any 303 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 1: discussion of race and just treat the photos simply as art, 304 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,120 Speaker 1: which is very problematic in its own way. Uh. And 305 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,080 Speaker 1: in two thousand and a Williams College Museum of Art 306 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:06,480 Speaker 1: exhibition mounted by contemporary artist Carrie may Weems focused on 307 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 1: the controversial nature of the photos and their history, and 308 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: the nature of racism in education and how it is 309 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: perceived both from the white perspective and from the black 310 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 1: and Native American perspective. While Paris exhibition was going on, 311 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 1: Paris was the host city for a concurrently running event, 312 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,960 Speaker 1: which was the International Congress of Photography. For that gathering, 313 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,959 Speaker 1: Fannie insured that the matter of women in the field 314 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,159 Speaker 1: was up for discussion. She put together an exhibition of 315 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: art photos by women and also lectured on the topic 316 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: of women in photography. Yeah, I had read uh one 317 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: description of it that she had put together this exhibition. 318 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,359 Speaker 1: She was one of only two women that actually were there. 319 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,719 Speaker 1: But she had arranged really at like great personal effort 320 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: to have the work of women, both novices and professionals 321 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,680 Speaker 1: exhibited at this show, and that those crates full of 322 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: photographs arrived before her, and the people there that were 323 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: repping it could not wait for her because they were 324 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: really curious what this collection of women's photos looked like. 325 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:06,880 Speaker 1: So they had already opened all of the crates when 326 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,199 Speaker 1: she got there, just because they wanted to see them. 327 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,480 Speaker 1: There was such a great sort of curiosity about how 328 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,200 Speaker 1: this whole thing was going to work and what this 329 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:18,640 Speaker 1: idea of women in photography was. In September nineteen o one, 330 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: UH President William McKinley was photographed by Fanny at the 331 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: Pan American Exposition. We have talked about this on another 332 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: recent episode. This was the last photo that was ever 333 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,320 Speaker 1: taken of McKinley, because he was shot the next day 334 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: and then died some days later. In nine five, fanny 335 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,359 Speaker 1: story links up with another past podcast subject, which is 336 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: the Lumier brothers. As Johnston made her way around Europe 337 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: that year, she stopped in France to visit with them, 338 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,439 Speaker 1: and she got up to speed on the color photo 339 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: process they had developed. She also took some charming photos 340 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:54,120 Speaker 1: of their father, Antoine Lumier, including one in which he's 341 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 1: painting another man's portrait. I don't know why I really 342 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: love these pictures. They're just very sweet. He's just like 343 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: a eat French elderly man. In one he's like out 344 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,440 Speaker 1: in a vineyard looking around. In another, he's just painting. 345 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,199 Speaker 1: He seems very relaxed. I just love those pictures for 346 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: some reason. Uh. In nineteen o nine, Fanny was hired 347 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: for a job that ended up shifting her career away 348 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: from portraiture and into new subject matter. At that point, 349 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,359 Speaker 1: she was hired by John M. Career to take architectural 350 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: photos of the new Theater in New York. And at 351 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: this point, Johnston was also growing a little tired of portraiture. 352 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: She felt like it had become too stressful and the 353 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: field was very competitive, and so she didn't really feel 354 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: like she had the freedom to get any sort of 355 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 1: artistic fulfillment from it any longer, and so architecture was 356 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: kind of a nice change of pace. After the New Theater, 357 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,399 Speaker 1: Fanny also started exploring other photography opportunities outside of working 358 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,399 Speaker 1: with people as her subjects. She turned her eye and 359 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: lens to gardens. From nineteen ten on, her work as 360 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: very garden focused. She gave lectures about them, she researched 361 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 1: historic gardens, she took in Numera doable photos of them 362 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 1: well into the nineteen thirties. As part of her ongoing 363 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 1: interest in gardening and architecture, she had a studio in 364 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: New York from nine thirteen to nineteen seventeen and that 365 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: specialized in garden and home photography. Yeah, those lectures she gave, 366 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: she made these incredible glass plate slides for them that 367 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,639 Speaker 1: she hand tinted. They're really incredibly beautiful. Um. One of 368 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: the articles in our our show notes is the Smithsonian 369 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: article where they talk about them, So if you're interested 370 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,480 Speaker 1: in that, check it out. Um. But that photography studio 371 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: that Tracy just mentioned was shared with another photographer and 372 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: kind of her partner in it, Maddie Edwards Hewitt, and 373 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 1: the two women had met at the Pan American Exposition 374 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 1: in Buffalo, New York in nineteen o one. Family, of course, 375 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: was already pretty well known by that point. She was 376 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: essentially a famous photographer, and the two women became both 377 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:51,960 Speaker 1: colleagues and close friends. At that point. Hewett's husband was 378 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 1: a photographer and she was helping him, but she wanted 379 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,880 Speaker 1: to transition to doing more photography work herself, and Hewitt 380 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: was eventually entrusted by Johnston with the development of her photos, 381 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 1: and there's been a lot of speculation over the nature 382 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: of Fanny and Maddie's relationship over the years. The two 383 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: women exchanged letters almost from the moment that they met, 384 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,119 Speaker 1: and Maddie's in particular. Maddie also wrote more of them, 385 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:19,159 Speaker 1: often include language about just how deeply she loves Fanny 386 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:21,880 Speaker 1: and how she dares not hope that Fanny loves her back, 387 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:25,639 Speaker 1: including passages like quote, I am not foolish enough to 388 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 1: expect you to love me in this way. Only it 389 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: was so sweet and meant so very much that I 390 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,720 Speaker 1: could not but tell it over and over. There are 391 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 1: detractors who believe that Hewett's words were not unusual in 392 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: tone for women of the early DS. This is something 393 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: we've discussed a whole lot of time on the show, 394 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:46,920 Speaker 1: that the correspondence of women is often much more sort 395 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:51,160 Speaker 1: of romantic in nature, not necessarily always indicating that there 396 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: is a romantic relationship, but just an emotional closeness. But 397 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 1: in this case, it really really does sound like Maddie 398 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 1: was definitely roman to glee in love with Fanny. I 399 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 1: will say we have more than her letters, and we'll 400 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,679 Speaker 1: talk about why in a minute, but we're we're not 401 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:10,480 Speaker 1: as clear on Fanny's feelings in return. Yeah, So, in 402 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: nineteen o nine, when Maddie Edwards Hewitt divorced her husband, 403 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 1: she moved to New York with Fanny. The same year, 404 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: Fanny started focusing her lens on architectural subjects. From nineteen 405 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:24,600 Speaker 1: thirteen to nineteen seventeen, both women became well known for 406 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,639 Speaker 1: their work in architectural photography. This partnership was severed in 407 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,200 Speaker 1: nineteen seventeen the two women had a falling out. Hewitt 408 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:36,200 Speaker 1: bought out Johnson's interest in the business for five hundred dollars. 409 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:40,080 Speaker 1: Both of them continued to have successful careers independently after 410 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,239 Speaker 1: this point, thanks to all the connections that they had 411 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: made while running their joint studio. Yeah. Um, Fanny kept 412 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,439 Speaker 1: Maddie's letters, but it doesn't appear that as many of 413 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: Fanny's letters to Mattie were preserved. So that's why it's 414 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: we don't have an abundance of quotes from her on 415 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:58,640 Speaker 1: her feelings on the matter, and we're kind of having 416 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: to fill in some blame there. Fanny's work had often 417 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,119 Speaker 1: had a documentary quality at this point because she was 418 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: working in gardens and architecture. But starting in the nineteen 419 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:11,199 Speaker 1: twenties that became an even more prominent part of her 420 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: work when she started a project that would go on 421 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: for more than seventeen years. Johnston started systematically photographing and 422 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: documenting early American buildings and gardens, and this all started 423 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: when Fanny was contracted to photograph the Chatham Estate in Virginia, 424 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,320 Speaker 1: as well as Fredericksburg and Old Falmuth. And that effort 425 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: took two years, and when it was done, Fanny decided 426 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: that she wanted to continue to use her camera to 427 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,679 Speaker 1: document historic buildings and help preserve the architectural history of 428 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: the US. She started exhibiting her architectural photos and in 429 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:48,439 Speaker 1: nineteen thirties started the Pictorial Archives of Early American Architecture 430 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,720 Speaker 1: at the Library of Congress. In nineteen thirty three, the 431 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,639 Speaker 1: Carnegie Corporation started issuing a series of grants, six of 432 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,600 Speaker 1: them over the course of a few years, to keep 433 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: that project going and expand its scope. From nineteen seven 434 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: to nineteen forty four, she took thousands of photos of 435 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 1: more than seventeen hundred sites across nine states. They were Virginia, Maryland, 436 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 1: North and South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. 437 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 1: And she didn't only capture grand mansions in impeccable historic gardens, 438 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,920 Speaker 1: although those were in there for sure. She also made 439 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 1: a concerted effort to get images of buildings and spaces 440 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 1: that did not get the benefit of constant maintenance and care, 441 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 1: as she sort of saw their fragility in the face 442 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:35,040 Speaker 1: of neglect. And the sizeable collection that she amassed eventually 443 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:37,119 Speaker 1: came to be known as the Carnegie Survey of the 444 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,000 Speaker 1: Architecture of the South, and that remains in the collection 445 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,880 Speaker 1: of the Library of Congress. During this time, Bannie's work 446 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,679 Speaker 1: was also published in several books as photographic illustrations to 447 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: the text. In nineteen thirties, she contributed to Colonial Churches 448 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,920 Speaker 1: in Virginia with text by Henry Brock. In ninety eight, 449 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: Plantations of the Carolina Low Country, written by Samuel G. Stoney, 450 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: came out with Banni's photos in it. In nineteen forty one, 451 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: her work got top billing for early Architecture of North 452 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,800 Speaker 1: Carolina at Pictorial Survey by Francis Benjamin Johnston. This included 453 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,159 Speaker 1: an architectural history written by Thomas Waterman. Yeah though that 454 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,159 Speaker 1: book she is listed as the author of that book. Um. 455 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 1: Once that photographic survey of the South she had been 456 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: working on was completed, Fanny moved away from Washington, d C. 457 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: To the South. She made a new home for herself 458 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 1: and her two cats named Herman and Vermin, which I 459 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: find quite charming in New Orleans, Louisiana, starting in nine. 460 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,359 Speaker 1: By ninety six, she had found her permanent home in 461 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,760 Speaker 1: the city at Bourbon Street, that is just a block 462 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,159 Speaker 1: away from the Lulluri mansion in the French Quarter. I 463 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: think there are people who would argue about whether Washington, 464 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,480 Speaker 1: D C. Is also the South, but New Orleans is 465 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: definitely much farther south. I call it the deeper South 466 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:55,160 Speaker 1: for sure. The seed for this move was planted when 467 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,440 Speaker 1: Johnson was doing her field work for the survey. In seven. 468 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:02,639 Speaker 1: While taking photographs in Louisiana, she told her reporter that 469 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 1: New Orleans surpassed other cities quote in rare beauty of iron, 470 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: work of outdoor and indoor arts and crafts, in a 471 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: romance of aspect and spirit of character and charm that 472 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: are unique in America. She fell in love with New Orleans. 473 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: And I can't blame her, because I sure do adore 474 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: that's any very understandable. Uh, it is really pretty. And 475 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 1: during this same period that she had moved and she 476 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,080 Speaker 1: was kind of into retirement, Johnston was inducted into the 477 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,440 Speaker 1: American Institute of Architects as an honorary member for the 478 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: work that she had done for so many years in 479 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: preserving the record of architectural history with her photographs and 480 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: her advancing age. Fanny, who had a career that spanned 481 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: six decades, spoke of her work in almost a cavalier manner, 482 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: as though it was just all effortless guess work and 483 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: good luck on her part, which is very funny to me. 484 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: But she had been known to be utterly meticulous in 485 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: setting up shots and in creative staging techniques to capture 486 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,120 Speaker 1: images in her own unique a. She also kept meticulous 487 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: notes while she was in the field as a journalist, 488 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,360 Speaker 1: including her personal thoughts and feelings right alongside the more 489 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,159 Speaker 1: technical notes that were related to her photos. On May sixteenth, 490 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty two, Fanny Benjamin Johnston died. Her body was 491 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: transported to Washington, d c. For burial in Rock Creek 492 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:22,159 Speaker 1: Park Cemetery. In nineteen fifty three, her remaining papers and 493 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,560 Speaker 1: documents were sold to the Library of Congress. Over the 494 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: course of her career, she had photographed five US presidents, 495 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:32,439 Speaker 1: as well as Booker T. Washington, Andrew Carnegie, Mark Twain, 496 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: and dozens of other prominent people. She was also the 497 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:40,120 Speaker 1: wedding photographer for former podcast subject Alice Roosevelt in nineteen 498 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:42,359 Speaker 1: oh six. Yeah, and I will say those are very 499 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 1: beautiful portraits. She really was extraordinarily good at her job. 500 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,560 Speaker 1: She also photographed Susan be Anthony late in her life, which, uh, 501 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,679 Speaker 1: it's a very interesting profile photograph. And again it strikes 502 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,000 Speaker 1: me as slightly interesting that she was not particularly interested, 503 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,119 Speaker 1: it seemed, in the suffrage movement in terms of being 504 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:03,399 Speaker 1: an active participant, but she took a very beautiful picture. 505 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 1: One of the people deeply associated with it. Uh, that 506 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:11,199 Speaker 1: is Fanny Johnston, who I find fascinating in a variety 507 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,879 Speaker 1: of ways. Her photographs I could look at for ever, 508 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:19,280 Speaker 1: because they really are quite interesting. Um. I have two 509 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:22,719 Speaker 1: pieces of listener mail, and they are unrelated except they 510 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: both came from Hawaii, Okay, which, like New Orleans, is 511 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 1: another place that I'm deeply in love with. Um. The 512 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: first one I cannot make out the name. It starts. 513 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: I think with the J it could be June or Julie. 514 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 1: It's a little bit of smearing and it writes Aloha 515 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: Holly and Tracy. I just thought you might enjoy this 516 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 1: Disney Hawaii postcard made from coal wood. Love the show 517 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: and glad it's appropriate for my two young history buffs. 518 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: Would love more Hawaiian content with a looha, and it's 519 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: a cute little uh as as it said, wouldn't postcard 520 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 1: from al Lanni, which is the Disney resort on Oahu. 521 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: It's so sweet. I of it. The second one is 522 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: from our listeners, Kristen and Todd, and they sent a 523 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: parcel and it excited me. You're right Aloha Holly and Tracy. 524 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: My husband and I listened to the episode on the 525 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,880 Speaker 1: History of Vodka sometime ago and have been meaning to 526 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 1: send this to you. Like Holly, vodka is my spirit 527 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: of choice, so I really enjoyed this episode. We live 528 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,520 Speaker 1: on Maui and have two distilleries on the island. Both 529 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: are delicious in my opinion. We have sent you some 530 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: to try, along with a few other goodies. Fun fact, 531 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: the word pow, which is the name of one of 532 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: the vodkas means finished or done in Hawaiian, so when 533 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 1: you finish recording, you can paw Hannah, which means like 534 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,680 Speaker 1: that's like the time when you relax after you're done working. 535 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: So Kristen and Todd sent us two kinds of vodka, 536 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 1: one from Pow and another called Ocean, which is an 537 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: organic vodka that I have tried before when I was 538 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: in Hawaii, and I am deeply thankful and everyone in 539 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 1: the office was wildly jealous as I opened that particular part. 540 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 1: So Tracy, next time you're in the office, will have 541 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:00,000 Speaker 1: to make a little cocktail at the end of the 542 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:04,520 Speaker 1: day and enjoy the bounties of Kristen and Todd's um generosity. 543 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,160 Speaker 1: And also, just again, I love I love hearing from 544 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,560 Speaker 1: our listeners, especially when it's a place that I have 545 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,479 Speaker 1: not been in a little bit and I'm kind of 546 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:15,320 Speaker 1: longing to get back to so hopefully soon. Oh man, 547 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: Hawaii is the best. Thank you so much. It is 548 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: so sweet. I um, we say it all the time. 549 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 1: I'm sorry if you're tired of hearing it. Every time 550 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,320 Speaker 1: we get gifts from people. I'm just kind of blown away, 551 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: and it's very humbling and moving because I don't make 552 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:31,520 Speaker 1: the time to send things to people I know and 553 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:35,920 Speaker 1: love and that I'm like related to. So it's it's 554 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: really very meaningful and it's something I'm very deeply thankful for. 555 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 1: Uh So, thank you, thank you, thank you again. If 556 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us, you do so 557 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at House of Works dot com. We're 558 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: also everywhere in social media as Missed in History, and 559 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: our website is missed in History dot com. You can 560 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 1: subscribe to the show. We would love for you to 561 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: do that. You can do that on the I heart 562 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 1: Radio app, at Apple podcast or wherever it is you listen. 563 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:04,960 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 564 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. 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