Burl Morrison and his dog, c. 1889. Custer County, Nebraska (Photographer: Solomon D. Butcher)

Solomon D. Butcher, a roaming photographer of considerable wanderlust, dedicated most of his days to the heartland of central Nebraska, capturing the unfolding narrative of white settlers in the region.

Embracing the Homestead Act as a settler, he embarked on his documentary mission in 1886, resulting in a remarkable collection of over 3,000 surviving negatives, with over 1,000 showcasing the humble abodes of sod houses.

To establish his inaugural photography studio in Custer County, Butcher meticulously saved some of his teaching salaries and sought additional funds through borrowing.

The studio was a modest structure crafted from lath and adobe, measuring a practical 18 by 28 feet. Its floor consisted of simple dirt; the windows were cloaked in cotton sheeting instead of glass. In an unconventional move, Butcher repurposed an old cloth wagon cover as a backdrop for his photographic compositions despite having rat-nibbled corners and perforations.

His resourceful wife, Lillie, patched the cloth to conceal these blemishes. Employing an ingenious technique, Butcher suspended the backdrop from two ceiling-mounted coil springs, giving it a gentle oscillation when plucked just before capturing a shot. This slight motion and the extended exposure time required lent a subtle blur to the backdrop, effectively obscuring any patched areas.

However, Butcher soon realized that relying solely on photography was insufficient to meet his financial needs. To supplement his income, he opened a post office within his studio, christening it "Jefferson" as a tribute to his father.

Unfortunately, the post office proved to be a less lucrative venture, with most earnings derived from stamp cancellations amounting to a modest sum of 68 cents during the initial three-month period. To make ends meet, Butcher worked on his father's farm, earning meager wages ranging from 50 to 75 cents daily.

Despite his various pursuits, Butcher encountered considerable difficulty attaining financial success as a farmer, photographer, or in subsequent ventures. Upon his passing, he carried a sense of personal failure. Yet, little did he know that his extensive archive of photographs documenting the pioneering era of Nebraska's history would be regarded as a valuable resource for studying that remarkable period.

These captivating images have found their way into countless historical texts and famous works, earning Butcher's body of work esteemed as "the most important chronicle of the saga of homesteading in America."

See more of Butcher's work here: https://amzn.to/44q9JV0

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THE WORLD FAMOUS HISTORY AND PAST EVENTS

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