Old Kimball House. 4th South & Main

Shiplers Commercial Photographers. Photograph. Large format [9 1/2" x 7 1/2"] photo by the renowned Salt Lake firm of Shipler Commercial Photographers, with backstamp. Early 1900s. "Old Kimball House. 4th South SL SL City" in pencil beneath the photo. 1/4" trimmed mount borders. A photograph produced by J. W. Shipler and his son Harry. It is pointed out by Nelson B. Wadsworth in "Set in Stone Fixed in Glass: The Great Mormon Temple and Its Photographers," that it was in Salt Lake City that the photographer, J. W. Shipler who had been traveling and trying to set up a photography practice for quite some time, finally found a permanent niche. Wadsworth writes, "Arriving on the Utah scene shortly after the anti-polygamy Manifesto, Shipler filled a void. He was among the first, non-Mormons to set up a commercial gallery in the capital city. He was instantly patronized by the Mormon and gentile populations. Cultural compromise was a required precursor for Utah to achieve statehood. In such a context commerce between Mormons and outsiders became more common. Shipler had learned his techniques and honed his skills in an urban, eastern establishment. His experience made him more than capable of competing in Utah's transforming environment. Shipler eventually brought his son into the business, and Shiplers would run a commercial photography business for the next hundred years.