Dewy, Cheatham & Howe
I belonged to the Portland, Maine Camera Club. One of the older members, Mr.
Leyland Whipple died at the age of 80+. He was a great one for tabletop photography,
making highly detailed renditions of streets, buildings and such out of card
stock and carefully painting them to look as realistic as possible. He started writing
a history of photography, illustrated with his watercolor renditions of early photo
studios and the equipment used.
When he died, I attended the auction at his little log cabin. I bought boxes of
miscellaneous photo equipment such as complete early Leica camera sets and large
view cameras. One of the boxes contained a little building with the Dewy,
Cheathem & Howe logo on the window. This was probably made in the 1940s or a
little later. So, the name has been around a while.
I also received his photo albums he had taken in England during WWI when he was
in a gunnery battalion. He was a great one for traveling around and documenting
everything he saw. I've carefully scanned everything so they won't ever be lost.
He was pretty much alone when he died, with no relatives to collect his personal
papers or photo gear. All the money received from the auction went to the Camera
club where most of his close friends gathered.
He was a tiny man, but very bright and interested in the world up to the end. He
played violin in the Portland Symphony. He worked as a chemist, but during WWII worked
in a machine shop as an inspector in Portland, Maine.
His music and photo hobbies trained him to pay attention to details. Everything he did was
very well done. His specialty was bromoils and gum bichromate processing, involving
many fussy steps to produce, to my eye, a blurry and off color print. That was the style
of the 1920's though. Very artsy and made to be viewed through squinty eyes. When we joined
the club and brought in very sharp 16x20 prints made with 4x5 equipment, he could do
nothing but admire the "modern" techniques with no chance of competing. His eyesight was
failing too. I wish I could have known him in his prime.
Leyland Whipple died at the age of 80+. He was a great one for tabletop photography,
making highly detailed renditions of streets, buildings and such out of card
stock and carefully painting them to look as realistic as possible. He started writing
a history of photography, illustrated with his watercolor renditions of early photo
studios and the equipment used.
When he died, I attended the auction at his little log cabin. I bought boxes of
miscellaneous photo equipment such as complete early Leica camera sets and large
view cameras. One of the boxes contained a little building with the Dewy,
Cheathem & Howe logo on the window. This was probably made in the 1940s or a
little later. So, the name has been around a while.
I also received his photo albums he had taken in England during WWI when he was
in a gunnery battalion. He was a great one for traveling around and documenting
everything he saw. I've carefully scanned everything so they won't ever be lost.
He was pretty much alone when he died, with no relatives to collect his personal
papers or photo gear. All the money received from the auction went to the Camera
club where most of his close friends gathered.
He was a tiny man, but very bright and interested in the world up to the end. He
played violin in the Portland Symphony. He worked as a chemist, but during WWII worked
in a machine shop as an inspector in Portland, Maine.
His music and photo hobbies trained him to pay attention to details. Everything he did was
very well done. His specialty was bromoils and gum bichromate processing, involving
many fussy steps to produce, to my eye, a blurry and off color print. That was the style
of the 1920's though. Very artsy and made to be viewed through squinty eyes. When we joined
the club and brought in very sharp 16x20 prints made with 4x5 equipment, he could do
nothing but admire the "modern" techniques with no chance of competing. His eyesight was
failing too. I wish I could have known him in his prime.