photographer: Harper & Co.
Waco, Texas
Thomas Jefferson Harper
(1858-1941)
1858 Aug 20
Des Arc, AR, state records, Thomas Jefferson Harper is born to William
Addison Harper and Lucy Ann Rich
1893 Jun 09
Texarkana (TX) Daily Democrat, Texas Photographers and Photo History, T J Harper as photographer in Texarkana, TX
1894 Jul 28
Monroe (LA) Weekly News Star, Texas Photographers, T J Harper as photographer
1894 Sep 29
Rayville (LA) Rayville Richland Beacon News, Texas Photographers, T H Harper as photographer from Monroe
1894 Nov 03
Rayville (LA) Richland Beacon News, Texas Photographers, T J Harper as photographer from Monroe
1894 Dec 26
Farmersville (LA) Gazette, Texas Photographers, T H Harper and Brother as photographer from Monroe
1895 Jan 26
Rayville (LA) Richland Beacon News, Texas Photographers, T J Harper as photographer from Monroe
1893, 1895
Monroe, LA, Louisiana Digital Library, cabinet card example dated to 1893-1895; others at same source are dated circa 1895
1896
Galveston, TX, city directory Thomas J Harper, photographer working
for J B Willyerd; rms 2215 market
1897
Houston, TX, city directory, Harper & Co NOT listed
1898, 1899,
Galveston, TX, city directory Harper & Co, Thomas J Harper as
photographer at 2215 Market
1899, 1900
Houston, TX city directory, Harper & Co of Galveston, TX,
photographers 507 ½ Main, JC Bartlett, mgr
1900 Jun 03
Galveston, TX, US census Thomas J Harper as photographer; res 2215
Market
1901
Galveston, TX, city directory Harper & Co, Thomas J Harper as
photographer at 2215 Market
1902, 1903, 1905, 1907
Houston, TX, city directory, Harper & Co. 507 ½ Main
1902
Waco, TX city directory, Harper & Co at 107 ½ 5th ; J C Bartlett, P B
Donaldson as photographers; T J Harper NOT listed; (Harper is
apparently living in Houston at this time) This appears to be the only
year Harper & Co. operated in Waco, TX. Directories for the years
before and after are unavailable, so possibly the firm opened in 1901
and closed in 1903. Ennis, TX, is just 70 miles north of Waco, TX.
1903
Austin, TX, city directory, Harper & Co NOT listed
1905
Austin, TX, city directory, Harper & Co NOT listed
1903, 1905
Galveston, TX, city directory Harper & Co, (Thomas J Harper of Houston
TX) photographers 2215 Market; Miss H Gros, Mngr
1906
Galveston, TX, city directory NO photographer Harper, or Harper Studio
listed; Miss Henrietta Gros is now running an art-crafts studio at
2215 Market; res 1210 22n
1907
Houston, TX, city directory, Harper & Co, Thomas J Harper,
photographers, 2006 w 3rd
1908
Houston, TX, city directory, Harper & Co, Thomas J Harper,
photographers, 507 ½ and 602 ½ Main; res 1843 Tale;
1909, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1917 (all available)
Temple, TX, city directory, NO photographer Harper or Harper Studio
Listed
1909
Dallas, TX, city directory, Thomas J Harper as photographer at 336
Elm; res 507 s Akard
1910 Apr 21
Dallas, TX, US census Thomas J Harper as photographer; res 507 s
Akard
1910
Dallas, TX, city directory - Pages missing.
1910
Houston, TX, city directory Harper & Co studio at 507 1/2 Main
(operated apparently by Walter Swindowsky
1911, 1912
Houston, TX, city directory Harper & Co, Charles & Walter Swindowsky,
photographers, 507 ½ Main; Thomas J Harper NOT listed in directory
1911, 1912, 1913
Dallas, TX, city directory, Thomas J Harper as photographer at 1504 ½
Elm; res 2112 s Ervay
1913
Houston, TX, city directory Harper & Co NOT listed; Thomas J Harper
listed at rms 1504 McKinney av (Probably NOT the photographer);
Swindowskys NOT listed
1920 Jan 09
Dallas, TX, US census T J Harper as photographer; res 319 Winnetka
1930 Apr 03
Dallas, TX, US census Thomas J Harper as photographer; res 2401 Knight
Street
1940 Apr 18
Dallas, TX, US census Thomas J Harper as photographer; res 2401 Knight
Street; daughter working in studio
1941 Mar 10
Dallas, TX, state records, Thomas J Harper dies at age 82
The earliest document showing T J Harper as photographer is the 1896
Galveston, TX, city directory. He opened branch studios and employed
other photographers to operate them, all under the name “Harper and
Co”. The Harper studios located in Galveston and Houston remained in
operation until about 1912.
T J Harper apparently relocates to Dallas, TX, between 1908 and 1909.
He remains there operating a photo studio until his death in 1941.
The difficulty with dating a cabinet hard from Thomas Jefferson Harper
is that most of his cabinet cards are stamped only with “Harper and
Company” or "T J Harper" but no actual street address.
If the card is stamped with Galveston or Houston, it was probably
finished between1896 and 1912. But if the card says Dallas it was
probably finished between 1908 and 1941, and quite likely only the
early years of that period..
Note that is IS POSSIBLE that the cabinet card (top left
corner) was done by William Lee Harper who was operating out of Ennis,
TX. Waco, TX, is only about 70 miles from Ennis, TX, while Houston,
TX, where T J Harper lived, is over 200 miles away. However in all
examples found so far, William L Harper cards are stamped only
"Harper" while Thomas J Harper cards are always imprinted "Harper and
Co" or "T J Harper".
And it IS POSSIBLE that this is another Harper altogether.
The example at the right is NOT a cabinet card but is an example of the work done at the Harper studio, 1706 1/2 Elm Street, Dallas, TX, in the late 1920's, It is owner dated 1928. It is presented in a folder/easel style mounting.
example from contributor J Etie
photographer: Harper and Co1706 1/2 Elm Street, Dallas, TX
example from J Etie
11 Mar 1941
photographer: Harper and Company
Galveston and Houston, TX
example from Ancestry.com
photographer: Harper and Company
2215 Market Street, Galveston, Tx
and
507 1/2 Main Street, Houston, TX
& Ennis, TX
example from Langdon Road
photographer: Harper and Company
2215 Market Street, Galveston, Tx
and
920 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX
example from M Snow
Note that the same rattan chair was used in the two baby pictures at
the left. Both were possibly finished between 1896 and 1906 when there
was a Harper studio at 2215 Market in Galveston, TX.
It can be shown that there was a Harper and Co. studio at 507 1/2 Main
in Houston, TX, from 1899 to 1912. So the cabinet card stamped with
both addresses must have been finished between 1899 and 1906.
No documents have been found yet to show when Harper had a studio in
Austin, TX. Only a few Austin, TX, city directories are
available.
photographer: Harper
Texarkana, TX
example from auction site
It is not known at this time which Harper had a studio in Texarkana,
TX. Since the location is so far from the usual cities where the
Thomas and William Harper usually operated, it may be another Harper
entirely.
photographer: T J Harper
J M Willyard, operator
Bryan, TX
example from Charlie Perlitz
Probably finished around 1896 when Willyard was managing the Harper
and Co Studio in Bryan, TX.
Not the one you were looking for? Here's the photographer's INDEX by name. Listed here are all the Cabinet Card photographers of the 19th century found in LOST GALLERY. This is a work in progress. For a look at the original postings go to LOST GALLERY.
New examples and additional information are always welcome. Any
additional information will help narrow the time that these precious
antiques were made.
All submissions should be free of glare and
shadows. Do not crop. Leave a border around each card. The edges are
sometimes an important clue to the age of the card.
Some examples on this page have been enhanced or restored for clarity
and presentation here.
This page is free for educational and research purposes only but, as
always, if the original owner of any of these examples objects to the
use on this page, just let me know and they will be immediately
removed.
