1892-9 Set of 4 stereoscopic photos young ladies & clothing

Photographed and Published by B.W. Kilburn Littleton N.H.

1. #7474 ‘After the bath’ (1892) – small marks on back
2. #11912 ‘We will all be smiles tonight’ (1897) - small corner creases, small marks on back
3. #11913 ‘Reducing the surplus’ (1897) – small marks on back
4. #12885 ‘Their last victim’ (1899) – crease on left photo, stain on back

7 X 3.5“.

(Red text is an electronic watermark that is not physically part of the photo for sale).

Kilburn Brothers and B. W. Kilburn Co

Their first stereoscopic views were produced in Edward Kilburn's studio in the McCoy Block in Littleton. The location proved to be too small for their popularity. The business remained family-centered and was largely focused on local subjects and talent. Benjamin's daughter Elizabeth and her husband William Jackson were employees who helped to develop the quality product associated with Kilburn views.

 By 1868, a second larger viewshop was built at the Chutter Block location on Main Street. After the Boston Fire of November 1872, a new factory was built on Cottage Street with more room to expand. Both of these larger viewshops were but one block from the Littleton railroad station. Young salesmen carried Kilburn views onto the trains and south to an ever-expanding audience. Today the site of the third viewshop is a state historic landmark. They quickly became the world's most extensive manufacturer of stereoscopic views.

Edward Kilburn retired from the partnership about 1877, although the product continued to be identified as Kilburn Brothers until the late 1880s. John P. Soule, a famous stereo-photographer from Washington Street in Boston, was closely associated with the Kilburn Brothers. A significant number of his negatives were shipped to the Kilburn business of Littleton in 1881. Benjamin was active in the National Photographic Association.

The new B. W. Kilburn & Company brought many changes in stereoscopic technology and audience. By 1890, Benjamin's second son-in-law, the attorney Daniel Clark Remich, had joined the board of the firm, as well as James M. Davis, agent for a growing army of door-to-door salesmen. Davis would in later years direct the day-to-day decisions of the firm. As General Manager, located first in Philadelphia and later in New York and St. Louis, he used his cable address "Artistic" to direct production, send photographers to distant lands, and hire a sales force to distribute the views.

WIKIPEDIA