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Wallace’s Nut Hand – Colorized Photographs

Wallace Nutting sold more hand-colored photographs during America’s 1900-1940s. “Golden age of hand-colored photography“Than any other photographer of his time. An estimated 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 of his photographs decorated the walls of middle-class American homes in the early 1900s. Why was Wallace Nutting so successful today? This article represents a basic introduction to the world of Wallace Nutting Photos.

It was shortly after 1900 that Wallace Nutting retired from the ministry due to health problems (at the time he was a Congregational Minister in Providence RI). As part of his recovery, he began touring the New England countryside by carriage or car, taking photographs of rural New England. Nutting was one of the first to recognize that the American scene was changing. Industrialization was altering the appearance of our country and our pure and picturesque landscape would never be the same again. He seemed to feel that it was his divine calling to record America’s beauty for future generations.

Starting first in Vermont, then Massachusetts and Connecticut, and finally the rest of New England, Nutting began photographing country roads, streams, rivers, lakes, orchards, flowers, birch trees, and mountains. Wallace Nutting would take the photograph, assign a title, and instruct his colorists on how it should be hand-dyed. Each image that met Nutting’s high standards for color, composition, and taste would be placed on the mat and signed by your employees with the badge “Wallace nuts“name. (He hardly ever signed any pictures himself). Those pictures that didn’t meet his strict standards were destroyed. Starting first with outdoor (exterior) scenes in New England, Nutting eventually traveled the United States and Europe, taking photographs in 26 states and 17 foreign countries between 1900 and 1935. In all, he took more than 50,000 photographs, 10,000 of which he deemed met his high standards.

It was around 1905 when Nutting started taking his first interior (Inside) photos. Supposedly one day while it was raining outside, Ms. Nutting suggested that I have a “Good to see“picture on the inside. So, he set up a colonial scene, near a kitchen fireplace, had an employee dress in a colonial way, and took several different photographs. These sold relatively easily, encouraging him to expand further. Nutting’s love of antiques, his passion for pilgrimage, and his unquestionable profit motive led him to acquire and restore five colonial houses:

  • Webb House, Wethersfield, CT
  • Wentworth-Gardner House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
  • Cutler-Bartlett House, Newburyport, MA
  • Hazen-Garrison House, Haverhill, MA
  • Saugus Iron Works (Broadhearth), Saugus, MA

Nutting bought these houses because he felt that each one represented a different period of American early colonial style and taste. It was here, along with their own houses. Nuttinghame (Southbury, CT) and Nuttingholme (Framingham, MA), that most of his photographs of the interior were taken. Nutting’s desire to provide the most correct and appropriate settings for your Inside The scenes led him on his quest to put together one of the best early American furniture collections ever assembled. He would use the best examples of early American furniture in his Inside scenes and, when he couldn’t find it, he played it back. (We will focus on his furniture reproduction in a later article.)

Working in Southbury CT from 1905-12, and then in Framingham MA from 1912 until his death in 1941, Nutting sold literally millions of his hand-colored photographs. He claims to have sold around 10,000,000 photographs although, knowing his habit of exaggeration, that number is probably somewhat high.

Whatever the actual number, it was big. Wallace Nutting images were sometimes called “poor man’s footprintsSold during the first quarter of the 20th century, long before the invention of color photography, these images were initially sold literally for pennies. Their market was primarily the middle and lower middle class … those households that couldn’t afford finer forms of art. Due to their low price, Wallace Nutting paintings were bought in large quantities. In 1925, almost no American middle-class household was without one, as they were bought as gifts for weddings, showers, Christmas, birthdays, and for almost every other reason imaginable.

Nutting sold many images directly through his studios, where he also provided his own framing services. But he also sold his photographs through many other outlets: department stores, drug stores, and gift shops across the country. He even had full-time salespeople down the road whose only job was to sell his paintings to these retail establishments. Vendors who, according to him, sold enough paintings to retire quite gracefully.

The peak of popularity for Wallace Nutting’s films was between 1915 and 25. During this time, Nutting had nearly 100 colorists on the job, along with 100 other employees who acted as copywriters, affairs, salespeople, management, and clerical clerks. varied. Make no mistake about it … Wallace Nutting’s photographs were a great deal. But in the late 1920s, people began to tire of Wallace Nutting. As with any other fashion or style, tastes began to change over time. Images of Wallace Nutting were a thing of the past and sales showed a steady decline. Even the introduction of different styles of doilies, greeting cards, pen silhouettes, and lower priced machine-produced process prints could not rejuvenate sales.

The Wall Street crash of 1929 and the ensuing depression practically sealed the fate of Wallace Nutting’s movie business. Although it remained in operation even after his death, production was inconsequential after the early 1930s. Over the years, millions of Wallace Nutting photographs were probably discarded. Many of those that remain show signs of 60-90 years of wear and tear after being stored in attics and basements, with water stains, broken glass, dust, dirt and mold.

As the original owners of Wallace Nutting images have aged or passed, their Wallace Nutting images have also been passed down to another generation. Some were gifted directly, others were inherited by children and grandchildren. Those that were not passed on to families were sold at auctions, property sales, tag sales, and flea markets where they re-entered the mainstream of collectibles during the 1975-2000 period.

What are collectors looking for? Just like in the Wallace Nutting days, Exterior the scenes have the greatest appeal. Inside Scenes have more limited appeal, but since they are rarer, they are usually priced higher than Exterior scenes. However, we have seen it as America’s fascination with the “Country“Appearance has decreased in the last 5 to 10 years, interest in Nutting’s Inside the scenes have also been softened.

The most desirable images for serious Nutting collectors are Miscellaneous unusual scenes. These are images that fall outside the standard more Inside Y Exterior scenes: Architecture, Boys, Florals, Alien, Men, Seascapes, Snow scenes and some selected geographic oddities. Nutting’s original sales in these categories were significantly lower than with its Exterior Y Inside scenes, hence its “/ i> rarity” attracts collectors. As in other areas of collecting, the rarest specimens, in top condition, are the easiest to sell, regardless of price. But just as important as rarity Y topic in question it is condition. Collectors want pieces in excellent condition, and imperfections such as water spots, blemishes, poor colors, or damaged frames can significantly reduce the value.

As of 2010, the auction record for a hand-colored photograph of Wallace Nutting is $ 9,300.00, which is quite reasonable within the high-priced world of Antiques and Collectibles. However, as the economy has weakened, so have Wallace Nutting prices and perhaps 90% of Wallace Nutting images sell in today’s market for less than $ 150- $ 200. And many are selling. they can get it for $ 50- $ 75 or less. Which means if you appreciate Wallace Nutting images, this is probably the best time to buy them in the last 25 years.

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