Hand-colored photograph of Esmond G Barnhill’s Florida
Esmond G. Barnhill (1894-1959) specialized in hand-painted photography in Florida. Born on March 4, 1894 in Saludi, South Carolina, Barnhill established his first photography business in St. Petersburg FL during 1913 at the age of 19. Specializing in postcards and greeting cards, his photography business was still relatively small and he basically photographed, published, hand painted, and distributed most of his work himself. His first postcards were printed in Germany, but in later years most of his postcards were printed by the Albertype Co. of New York.
Barnhill expanded to sell hand-painted landscape photographs taken in and around St. Petersburg, eventually moving further into the Florida countryside. All the views of Barnhill we have seen are Florida landscapes, some as small as 2×3 “, some as large as 11×14”. Some Barnhill images are mounted on a signed / titled mat board, very similar to the other top photographers. However, most of the Barnhill images that we have seen have not been framed or are framed in newer frames. Our guess is that a large amount of Barnhill’s original unsold inventory has turned up recently and is slowly being released to the market today. The price of Barnhill’s photographs is generally higher in Florida than anywhere else in the country.
Apparently, Barnhill had always been interested in American Indian culture. At some point he met with Edward S. Curtis, the famous photographer of the American West when he was in his teens. While working with Curtis, Barnhill learned how delicate “Golden“Photographic process using uranium dyes and he experimented with this process from 1914 to the mid-1920s. It is quite evident in the color schemes used in a large number of his images.
During World War II, Barnhill established an Indian trading post in Wisconsin Dells, which he operated during the summer months until 1959. Several years later he opened “Indian Springs Museum“.
Esmund G. Barnhill died in 1987 at the age of 93.
Recommended reading: You can try to locate a book on the secondary market titled “The Golden Age of Florida Memories: 1890-1930 “by Larry Roberts. This book includes a chapter on hand-colored photographs of Barnhill and Harris Florida.