Brown, Charles S.

CHARLES S. BROWN’S birth and death dates have not been determined. In February 1906, he established the “Brown Studio” in Petaluma at 818 Main Street, the space previously occupied by the photographer Thorsten Lawson who in turn had purchased the space from photographers Edwin and Ada Healy. On October 7, 1907, the drill team of the Petaluma Lodge of Fraternal Brotherhood was photographed in full uniform at Brown Studio. Later that month, the Brown Studio was purchased by W. L. Shattuck and renamed La Motte Studio.

Petaluma Studio: “Brown Studio”, 818 Main Street, Petaluma, California.

Active in Petaluma: February 1906 - October 1907

Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier, February 24, 1906, p.3; October 6, 1906, p.8; October 4, 1907, p. 1; October 7, 1907, p.4. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, March 3, 1906, p. 1.

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Butler, Edward Payson

EDWARD PAYSON BUTLER was born in 1834 in Clinton, Pennsylvania and died in 1923 in Saratoga, California. Butler was an ambrotypist and paper photographer, and in January 1862 he took over the photographic gallery of Giles Pease Kellogg located within Petaluma’s Phoenix Block and renamed it, “Butler’s Ambrotype and Photographic Gallery”. Butler marketed himself as Kellogg’s successor and proclaimed in his advertisements, “In order to meet the demands of the times, I am now taking pictures of all styles, in the very best manner, at the following reduced rates: medium ambrotype pictures, taken for $1.00 to $1.50 each. Photographs, full size $3.00 for the first and $1.00 for each additional one. Album and card pictures, $4.00 per dozen. Daguerreotypes copied and pictures inserted in rings and lockets, in superior style. Views of buildings taken at short notice. Pictures of children taken in the best manner. Entire satisfaction guaranteed.” This was followed by an invitation to call and examine specimens of his work at his residence on the second floor of the Washington Hotel. According to the Petaluma Argus, Butler co-partnered with Bryan Johnson in December 1862, and they worked together at the gallery until April 1863 when Johnson took sole possession of the business. Butler departed Petaluma in May 1863 and continued his work as a photographer in the California cities of Watsonville, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz, and in the Nevada cities of Virginia City and Reno.

Petaluma Photographic Studio: Butler opened his “Butler’s Ambrotype and Photographic Gallery” in July 1862 within Petaluma’s Phoenix Block second floor, Main Street.

Active in Petaluma: January 1862 - April 1863

Bibliography: Carl Mautz, Biographies of Western Photographers, A Reference Guide to Photographers Working in the 19th Century American West, Expanded and Revised Edition, 2018, p. 110; Peter E. Palmquist and Thomas R. Kailbourn, Pioneer Photographers of the Far West, Stanford University Press, 2000, p. 143; Sonoma County Journal, January 17, 1862, p. 2; Petaluma Argus, July 16, 1862, p. 3; Petaluma Argus, December 31, 1862; Sonoma Democrat, December 6, 1862, p. 4, column 5.

Unfortunately, the PHL&M owns no portraits that can be definitively attributed to this important, early photographer; however, there are several early ambrotypes without an identified photographer which may have been created by him. You can find these portraits by typing “Butler” in the search bar above.