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.
