Saturday, November 15, 2014

The Floating Studio



This photo is a postcard that advertises the photography "Floating Studio" owned and operated by H. O. Schroeter, which operated on the Green River and Rough River from 1890 till 1920.

In “Green River of Kentucky” Helen Bartter Crocker wrote, “one of the most colorful characters on the river was a successful photographer named H. O. Schroeter.  He was called the Artist of the Emerald Wave.  He and his family lived on his floating studio which had a parlor, sitting room, dining room, bedrooms, kitchen and artist’s studio.”  Schroeter claimed the reason his prints did not fade was that he washed them in the mineral-rich Green River.  He placed them in a fish box alongside the studio.  He and his sons, Emory and Clifford, did most of the photography on the boat but occasionally went ashore to a customer’s home.

Below is another photo of the Schroeter floating studio. It appears that a second story had been added to the boat.  Henry O'Neil Schroeter was born to Swiss immigrants in Evansville, IN and settled in Hartford.


5 comments:

  1. Are there any records of people having photos taken there? I have a Schroeter & Borst Floating Studio No. 2 photo but do not know the peoples names in it.

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    1. We just discovered a whole album from the 1800s of my grandmas family taking some there as well as at JOS Sprauer in Indiana. Pretty cool!

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  2. My photo is stamped by the floating studio name and Green River, Ky.

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  3. I have a photo that is stamped with "Schroeter". the photo measuring about 1 1/2 inches by 1 3/4 inches is glued on heavier card-stock type paper that measures 2 7/8 inches wide and about 3 1/2 inches tall. I am trying to date the photo to determine which relative this is. Really great photography for the time. An advice is appreciated.

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  4. My advice is to go to the Ohio County Library - the genealogy section - and talk with the staff. They are likely to have some information to help you.

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