Window on the West: The Frontier Photography of William Henry Jackson [Anglais] [Relié]

Although this dense volume offers a sweeping view of the rapidly changing American West between 1869 and 1893, it provides few insights into Jackson and his photography. The details of life in the West that made Lawlor's recent American Sisters: West Along the Wagon Road, 1852 so compelling are nearly absent here. In chronicling the work and career of the self-taught photographer and explorer who popularized images of the Western frontier, the author provides only sketchy biographical information. For example, Lawlor makes a vague reference to a "broken heart" that drove Jackson from his job working in a photography gallery to bullwack on the Oregon Trail; a few paragraphs later the author refers to a bride "of less than one month" whom Jackson leaves for his first Western photographic expedition, offering little more than the wife's name. Lengthy digressions on subjects as diverse as the Industrial Revolution, the history of photography and the effect of train travel on the frontier prove less interesting because they omit Jackson almost entirely. Jackson's dramatic black-and-white images capture the grandeur, scale and mystery of the West, but, except for a few anecdotal gems (including the story about a Jackson photo that inspired a poem by Longfellow), this volume will be utilized best as a research tool. Ages 10-up. (Dec.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Grade 5-8-Lawlor describes the artist's life and work, but also goes further, investigating the historical and social background that made his photos relevant and the crucial part they played in shaping national attitudes. The book is arranged neatly around phases of Jackson's varied career. He photographed for railroads, explored and surveyed with the Hayden Expeditions, published the first photographs of the Yellowstone Valley, and captured the rapid changes of the West in pictures of American Indians and mining towns. Lawlor gives extensive background about the land and events that shaped Jackson's West. With clear and engaging prose, she covers topics as diverse as industrialization, the Gilded Age, railroad developments, photographic techniques, racial prejudice, and the decline of the American Indian lifestyle. The text frequently diverges from Jackson's life for several pages at a time in order to provide background, but the information ultimately provides a richer appreciation of the photographer's experiences. Jackson himself is represented through descriptions of his life, excerpts from his diaries, and dozens of reproductions. Few intimate details or strong emotions related to Jackson's personal life emerge, but his fascination with the West and his dedication to his art come through consistently. The photographer's experiences touched upon many key developments in the history of the American West, and Lawlor successfully brings the era to life within the framework of this man's remarkable career.
Steven Engelfried, Deschutes County Library, Bend, OR
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Lawlor shares the danger and promise of the American West as it was presented through the lens of William Henry Jackson to a nation rebuilding after the Civil War. The Vermont-born photographer was 26 when he fell in love with the West and began to record its vast expanse. Soon his photos became best-selling postcards that helped attract courageous Easterners to the unspoiled land. Along the way, he met geologist and surveyor Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden and became part of a series of federally funded expeditions to map, photograph, and sketch the territory for Congress. Jackson's images are balanced by Lawlor's eloquent text, which folds in details about everything from the wonder of Yellowstone's geysers to the debasement of the Native Americans. This is much more than a look at early photography; it's a memorable, bittersweet valentine to the Old West. Time line and bibliography. Randy Meyer

Presents the photographs taken by William Henry Jackson from 1869 to 1893, discussing his life and how his work captured and introduced the American West to the public.