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Schuyler Colfax Baldwin (1822-1900)

Pioneering Kalamazoo Photographer


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S.C. Baldwin, c.1855. Kalamazoo Valley Museum

Photographs taken in Kalamazoo before 1850 are rare. But one enterprising young daguerreotypist from New York thereafter changed the way West Michigan residents saw themselves and their environs. The photographic images captured by Schuyler C. Baldwin between 1851 and 1900 survive to this day as important artifacts, indeed some of our finest examples of how life looked in nineteenth century Kalamazoo.

Schuyler Colfax Baldwin was born in Troy, New York, in March 1822, and raised in Pompton, New Jersey. He was the grandson of a Revolutionary War hero, General William Colfax, and a cousin of Schuyler Colfax, who would later become vice president during Ulysses S. Grant’s administration.

Baldwin began his career in photography in 1849, when he opened a second-floor studio at 218 River Street in Troy, New York. In 1851, Baldwin made the journey westward to Kalamazoo, where his sister and brother-in-law, Rev. Dr. Samuel and Mary (Williams-Baldwin) Graves, were living. Dr. Graves was a Baptist minister and chair of Greek and Systematic Theology at the Kalamazoo Theological Seminary and Literary Institute, now known as Kalamazoo College.

Upon arrival in Kalamazoo, Baldwin announced he would soon be opening “one of the most magnificent galleries to be found in the Union” (Gazette). Schuyler Baldwin was to become the first permanent full-time daguerreotypist in Kalamazoo County.

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Kalamazoo Gazette, 7 November 1851

“Daguerrean Establishment”

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Mary Belinda Heydenburk, Kalamazoo. Cased daguerreotype by S.C. Baldwin c.1860. Kalamazoo Valley Museum

In November 1851, Baldwin purchased the “Daguerrean Establishment” of part-time daguerreotypist and jeweler Samuel K. Selkrig, located in the rooms above the S.S. Cobb & Co. general store at 114–116 East Main Street in Kalamazoo. Early photographers (especially daguerreotypists) depended on an abundance of natural light to illuminate their subjects, so Baldwin was particularly pleased with the gallery’s unique features, especially its “combined northern sky and side light, measuring nearly 200 square feet… the best Daguerrean Room in the State” (Gazette).

Before opening his gallery to the public, Baldwin displayed examples of his work downstairs at Cobb’s store and next door at A.J. Sheldon’s Bookstore. “Mr. B’s pictures have an exquisite clearness and brilliancy,” proclaimed a writer for the Kalamazoo Gazette in late November 1851. “We are glad that so competent an artist has located himself amongst us.” By the end of the month, Baldwin’s gallery was open for business, and customers were “awaiting their ‘turn to set’” (Gazette) for a once-in-a-lifetime artistic portrait.

Baldwin was an unusually mobile individual; he never married. Early advertisements made it clear that he intended to establish a permanent operation in Kalamazoo, yet he ventured back to his “extensive gallery” in Troy nearly every summer throughout his lifetime. Still, Baldwin often returned to Kalamazoo with new equipment and updated techniques that allowed him to further his craft. In 1851, Baldwin advertised a “new German instrument” made “expressly for copying Daguerreotypes and paintings.” A year later, he announced that he had returned from New York with “many valuable improvements in the art” (Gazette).

“Pictures of Superior Excellence”

The scope of Baldwin’s work varied considerably throughout his career, and the quality of his work progressed as new innovations in photography came about. By nature, daguerreotype portraits required exceedingly long exposure times, often several seconds to a minute or more, which meant that his subjects had to sit perfectly still for excruciatingly long periods of time. By employing the latest processing techniques, however, Baldwin confidently advertised that he was able to offer “pictures of superior excellence,” including images of infants “in two to five seconds.” Baldwin even offered to record “likenesses of the sick and dead at their residence,” something that perhaps seems morbid by today’s standards, but was a common practice in the mid-nineteenth century.

Baldwin’s lens not only captured “the beauty and fashion of the town” in fine contemporary portraiture, but his work featured a variety of subjects that ranged from local street scenes and buildings, to portraits of Native Americans, to scenes in Northern Michigan hunting camps, to wintertime views of Niagara Falls.

“Remember, any person of ordinary ingenuity can learn in one day to take pictures, but it requires years of experience to take and finish them so they will remain forever unchangely bright.”

—Schuyler C. Baldwin, Kalamazoo Gazette, 4 November 1853

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Bronson Park photo by S.C. Baldwin c.1880s. Kalamazoo Valley Museum

“The Best Pictures Taken in Kalamazoo”

After two years in business, Baldwin was doing well by the fall of 1853. He had already taken more than 4,000 photos in and around Kalamazoo, and his gallery was well stocked with a full line of materials and supplies for “traveling artists,” including plates, chemicals and cases “for sale at Detroit prices” (Gazette).

To supplement his studio work, Baldwin offered to teach his unique photographic techniques to others and encouraged “young men wishing to engage in one of the most lucrative and delightful occupations ever followed by human genius” to contact him for personal instruction. Baldwin claimed that “any young man of ordinary ingenuity” could “master [photography] thoroughly in from two to four weeks” (Gazette).

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Kalamazoo Gazette, 19 May 1854

But his practice of supplying transient photographers with training and supplies likely backfired when a traveling daguerreotypist named S.W. Bryan settled in Kalamazoo and began to offer services similar to Baldwin’s, only “a little cheaper.” Not to be outdone, Baldwin hired H.A. Wallace and deployed “Baldwin’s Daguerreotype Car,” a horse-drawn wagon with a daguerreotype studio on board. During the spring of 1854, Wallace offered daguerreotypes “taken in Baldwin’s Car” at prices “the same as those of inexperienced operators.” In spite of his competitors’ advances, Baldwin consistently advertised “cameras, stock, and chemicals always on hand for traveling artists” (Gazette).

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Main Street looking east, Kalamazoo, c.1860s, (stereoview) photographed by S.C. Baldwin. Kalamazoo Public Library, uncataloged.

Baldwin’s Premium Gallery

Kalamazoo Gazette, 24 April 1857, p.3.

Baldwin returned to New York during the summer of 1854 and left H.A. Wallace in charge of his Kalamazoo operation, along with operator James E. Selkirk. Wallace remained with Baldwin for another year or so before resigning in the spring of 1856. At that point, Baldwin then hired Elmer A. Boughton and began offering ambrotypes, the latest innovation in photography and considerably less expensive to produce.

Baldwin and Boughton displayed daguerreotypes at the 1856 Kalamazoo County Fair and won first premium, but their customers were by then beginning to favor the less expensive ambrotypes. By the time the 1857 Kalamazoo County Fair rolled around, Baldwin had discontinued taking daguerreotypes altogether and instead exhibited a fine collection of ambrotypes. Once again, Baldwin was awarded a first premium.

Soon, tintypes and paper photographs replaced the earlier processes. By the end of the decade, “a dozen large photographs” could be had at “Baldwin’s Premium Gallery” for just $6.00. According to Baldwin, “old pictures of deceased friends [could be] enlarged into photographs, life size if needed, and painted with water or oil colors” (Gazette). Baldwin reminded his customers that he had “for eight successive years received the first premium for the best pictures taken in Kalamazoo” (Gazette).

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Lower Hall, Kalamazoo College, 1860, (stereoview) photographed by Schuyler C. Baldwin. History Room Photograph File P-1023.

A Decade of Change

Elmer Boughton remained with Baldwin until about 1860, while Baldwin continued to claim first premium awards at the Kalamazoo County Fair. He was awarded first premium for best photographs in 1860, and best ambrotype and best photograph in 1861.

The fair was canceled in 1862 “on account of the war troubles and the consequent disturbance, especially among the farmers of the county” (Gazette). When the draft call came the following June, Schuyler Baldwin dutifully registered, along with numerous other local men between the ages of 20 and 45. Baldwin was 41 years of age at the time and single, though the full extent of his active military service (if any) and subsequent participation in the Civil War is not known.

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Carte de visite photographs by S.C. Baldwin c.1860s. (left) Agnes Barney (n.d.), (center) photo back w/ “Baldwin & Prior” revenue stamp dated 1864, (right) unidentified, but possibly Jane Johnson, by Baldwin & Prior (1866). Courtesy, Western Michigan Archives and Regional History Collection

After employing various photographers during the decade that followed, including H.S. Prior (1864–66) and Calvin S. Montague (1867), Baldwin returned to Kalamazoo in June 1868 after an extended stay in New York fearing that he had “neglected his business.” Baldwin issued a public apology for leaving it “in the hands of unskillful operators,” then announced a new association with Edgar H. Perry and Gayton A. Douglas, “men both favorably known as operators of enlarged ideas and experience in the art.” Baldwin promised that “henceforth none but the most skillful [would] be employed” (Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph).

By 1870, Baldwin had stepped away from his photo gallery business to explore other subject matter. By that time, Edgar Perry and Gayton Douglas were operating Baldwin’s former Main Street portrait studio on their own as Perry & Douglas, while Baldwin was conducting business independently out of his Academy Street residence. Edgar Perry later sold the old gallery at 114–116 East Main Street to Wallace S. White, who would lead Kalamazoo’s “next generation” of local photographers.

“Mr. S.C. Baldwin has some very fine views of Barnum’s circus procession.”

Kalamazoo Gazette, September 7, 1884

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Barnum Circus Parade in Kalamazoo, 1884, (stereoview) photographed by Schuyler C. Baldwin. Local History Room

“Photographed in the Highest Style of the Art”

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Believed to be Schuyler C. Baldwin with his stereographs, c.1878. Grand Rapids Public Library

As time progressed, Baldwin’s interests shifted away from portrait work and more toward architecture and landscape photography. He solicited work from those who wished to preserve views of “public buildings and gentlemen’s residences in this town or country,” and promised they would be “photographed in the highest style of the art” (Gazette).

Stereoscopic photography came about during the 1850s and became especially popular after the Civil War. During the late 1860s and 1870s, Baldwin captured hundreds of stereoscopic views of Kalamazoo, Saugatuck, Grand Rapids, and other surrounding communities. Admired for their uniqueness and clarity, Baldwin’s images are highly sought after by private collectors, although numerous examples do exist in various institutional collections. Holdings of Baldwin’s photos are found in the New York Public Library, University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library, Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University, Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historical Collection, Grand Rapids Public Library, Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections, and of course, Kalamazoo Public Library.

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Kalamazoo Public Library Delivery Room, c.1898. Schuyler C. Baldwin, photographer. Local History Room, uncatalogued.

“Schuyler C. Baldwin, the veteran photographer, left yesterday for Adrian, where he will spend the winter.”

— Kalamazoo Gazette, 8 January 1890

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Kalamazoo Gazette, 13 March 1896.

During his later years, Baldwin was by then “a genial, well-preserved old bachelor” (Gazette) who relished the game of croquet. He often spent the winter months enjoying the sport with friends at the croquet club in Adrian, Michigan, and won several top awards in the process.

During the late 1880s, Baldwin built a lighted croquet park on the “fine grounds at his home on a tree-covered hill” (Gazette) along the north side of Academy Street in Kalamazoo, where he entertained “numerous friends there evenings in some spirited contests” (Gazette). Baldwin’s home stood at the corner of Academy and Thompson streets where the Kalamazoo College Light Fine Arts Building is now located.

Baldwin’s sister Mary and her husband, Dr. Samuel Graves, eventually settled in Grand Rapids where Dr. Graves became the pastor at Fountain Street Church. Between 1870 and 1900, Baldwin visited his sister’s family often and photographed the Grand Rapids area extensively. Mary’s son, Dr. Schuyler Graves, became a physician in Grand Rapids and tended to his uncle’s late-in-life medical needs.

During the 1880s and 1890s, Baldwin continued to capture compelling photographs of life in West Michigan. Among his most captivating images are a splendid series of views taken at the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital (Michigan Asylum for the Insane) and numerous photos of Bronson Park.

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“View of the City of Kalamazoo, in 1832.” Oil paintings by Anthony Cooley, photographed by S.C. Baldwin in 1889. Local History Room.

Long recognized for his ability to accurately reproduce existing photos and other works of art, Baldwin was enlisted in 1889 to photograph a pair of important local paintings for display in Arnold VanLoghem’s Kalamazoo art gallery. Originally painted by Kalamazoo resident Anthony Cooley in the 1850s, the two paintings in question depict Kalamazoo (then Bronson Village) as it appeared when it was first established in 1832. One image shows Titus Bronson’s log cabin and an early log courthouse, while the other illustrates the first court session held in Kalamazoo in October 1832. Both feature many of the important faces that helped establish the Kalamazoo community, pioneers like Cyrus Lovell, Bazel HarrisonTitus Bronson, and others, all of whom were said to be easily recognizable to the remaining early settlers who were still living at the time. Baldwin’s photographic copies of the two paintings offered many residents a chance to view the historic works for the first time and helped to preserve those rare images of Kalamazoo’s frontier life for future generations.

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William DeYoe House, 602 W. South St., photographed by S.C. Baldwin c.1870. Courtesy, Western Michigan Archives and Regional History Collection

“Schuyler C. Baldwin is engaged taking pictures of Kalamazoo for a souvenir album soon to be published in Chicago.”

Kalamazoo Gazette, 8 June 1890

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Bronson Park c.1890, likely photographed by S.C. Baldwin. From Picturesque Kalamazoo (1890). Local History Room

“Kalamazoo Houses and Scenes”

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Kalamazoo Telegraph, 14 May 1888

In the spring of 1891, Baldwin indicated that he intended to release a book of photographs later in the year featuring “Kalamazoo houses and scenes, including 24 pictures which will be a gem of art” (Gazette). Unfortunately, it seems that a book solely devoted to Baldwin’s work and properly credited as such has yet to be published.

That’s not to say, however, that Baldwin’s photographs were never published. Several of Schuyler Baldwin’s photos were featured in the 1890 publication Picturesque Kalamazoo, although the images were individually credited to Chicago-based publisher James P. Craig instead. Again uncredited, Baldwin’s photos were used in Kalamazoo Illustrated, a book published locally by Ihling Brothers Everard in 1892. It is also evident that photos taken by Baldwin were included (still uncredited) in Art Work of City of Kalamazoo series, published in twelve parts in 1894 by the W.H. Parish Publishing Company of Chicago.

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Kalamazoo High School, likely photographed 23 May 1890 by S.C. Baldwin. The caption reads, “What do you think of us?” From Picturesque Kalamazoo (1890). Local History Room

“S.C. Baldwin took a picture of the High school and pupils yesterday.”

Kalamazoo Gazette, 24 May 1890

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“Michigan Female Seminary and Grounds” c.1890, photographed by S.C. Baldwin (confirmed). From Picturesque Kalamazoo (1890). Local History Room

Baldwin’s Final Years

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Baldwin’s gravesite. Courtesy, Lynn Houghton

Around 1899, Baldwin’s health began to decline. He rented (or attempted to rent) his stately Academy Street home in 1899 and again in 1900 while becoming “troubled with insomnia and in ill health” (Gazette). In a probate court filing in June 1900, Baldwin was “alleged insane” (Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph) and admitted to the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital (Michigan Asylum for the Insane) as a “private patient” (whereby wards had fewer beds and some degree of privacy). By late July, Baldwin’s condition had worsened, and he was transferred to the U.B.A. (Union Benevolent Association) Hospital (later Blodgett) in Grand Rapids, where he was treated by his nephew, Dr. Schuyler C. Graves, until his death on 11 August 1900 at the age of 78.

Baldwin’s official cause of death was listed as Bright’s disease (kidney disease) and cystitis (inflammation of the bladder), with the immediate cause of death as uremia (a buildup of toxins in the blood). He is buried in Oakhill Cemetery (Valley City Cemetery) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Baldwin’s old studio space (later Wallace White’s studio) on East Michigan Avenue (East Main) in Kalamazoo was renovated in 2011 as part of a multi-million-dollar redevelopment project.

 

Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library Staff, 2012. Revised and updated November 2023.


Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Lynn Houghton at the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections for additional information about Schuyler C. Baldwin, Dr. Samuel Graves, Mary (Baldwin) Graves, and their family.

Thanks also to Colleen Woolpert for her research about stereographs and S.C. Baldwin’s activities.

Sources

Books

Picturesque Kalamazoo
Craig, James P., publisher, Chicago. 1890
H 977.418 P62 1890 (CEN)

Kalamazoo illustrated
Dayton, Frank C. 1892
Ihling Bros. & Everard
H 977.418 D276

Art work of city of Kalamazoo
W.H. Parish Publishing Co., Chicago. 1894
H 977.418 A78

Sun pictures in Kalamazoo : a history of daguerreotype photography in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, 1839-1860
Welch, Richard W. 1974
770 W441

Grand Rapids in stereographs: 1860-1900
Dilley, Thomas R., John H. Logie, 2007
Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738551227


Articles

“Daguerrean card”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 7 November 1851, p.3

“Baldwin’s Daguerrean rooms”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 28 November 1851, p.2

“Daguerreotypes!”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 5 December 1851, p.3

“Let the people know”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 4 November 1853, p.4

“Daguerreotypes! The people do know!! Baldwin”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 30 December 1853, p.3

“‘The people do know,’ Bryan”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 30 December 1853, p.3

“Go to Baldwin’s Premium Gallery”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 9 December 1859, p.1

“Official report of awards”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 5 October 1860, p. 2

“Kalamazoo County Agricultural Society official report”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 11 October 1861, p.1

“The county fair”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 29 August 1862, p.3

“County fair postponed”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 5 September 1862, p. 3

“Photograph card”
Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph, 22 June 1868, p.4

“Landscape photography”
Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph, 1 May 1879, p.4

“Two old scenes”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 13 December 1889, p.3

“Local gleanings”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 14 March 1891, p.5

“Gay old lads at play”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 13 March 1896, p.7

“S.C. Baldwin” (obituary)
Kalamazoo Gazette-News, 14 August 1900, p.6


Census Data

Frank W. Cornell household, 1880 U.S. census, Kalamazoo County, Michigan
Population schedule, Kalamazoo Ward 1
Enumeration district 134, page 72, dwelling 725, family 749
National Archives micropublication T9, roll 586
Online database, Ancestry Library (in library only)

William Heindeliter household, 1900 U.S. census, Kalamazoo County, Michigan
Population schedule, Kalamazoo Ward 2
Enumeration district 114, page 9A, 1136 Academy Street, dwelling 192, family 195
National Archives micropublication T623, roll T623_720
Online database, Ancestry Library (in library only)

U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865
Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War)
Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records)
Michigan, Second Congressional District; Class 1
Archive Volume Number: 1 of 3 (A-K); page 62; line 13
Online database, Ancestry Library (in library only)


Local History Room Files

History Room Name File: Baldwin, Schuyler C.

 

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