Highlights Archives
Edward Bass: Doctor and Amateur Photographer
Dr. Edward Alpheus Bass was a practicing physician in Montello when he purchased a Velox camera from the local newspaper office in 1892. The newspaper, the Montello Express, reported that Dr. Bass had "no experience in photography, but during the week has taken a number of most perfect pictures." More than 130 of his "most perfect pictures," taken between 1892 and 1911, are preserved on glass negatives donated to the Society by his son and are the subject of this month's featured gallery from Wisconsin Historical Images, the Society's online image database.
Bass was born in Iowa in 1860 and graduated from Chicago's Bennett Medical College in 1883. Practicing first in Burnett Junction, Wisconsin, Bass began practice in Montello in 1887 after marrying Ada Burlingame of West Point. Bass participated in politics and was a delegate to the Republication state convention in 1896. In 1897 he was awarded the job of Montello postmaster. He also served on the school board, as the village health officer, and was the railway surgeon for a portion of the Wisconsin Central Railroad.
Bass had an obvious talent for composing photographs. His photos provide a rare look at family, social and political events of the time through the eyes of one of the participants. He captured the scenic beauty of Marquette County lakes and rivers, as well as views throughout Wisconsin. His family scenes were not the somber portraits typical of the time, but showed people sitting or standing naturally.
The photographs are at once specific to that place and general. They are not journalistic representations of what might be commonly considered "historically important" events, but provide a clear view of times and places that have since proved important. Montello bicyclists were part of a nationwide cycling craze that led to the demand for better roads. The many displays of the American flag in the home and at gatherings of all sorts attests to the strong strain of patriotism through the 1890s. The photos also reflect the travels and activities of Bass himself. As surgeon for the Wisconsin Central Railway, he was entitled to free rail travel so there are photographs from Ashland and Bayfield. Family and medical meetings took him to Milwaukee, where he photographed City Hall as it neared completion.
Disabled in 1912, Bass died in 1916 at the age of 55. In addition to the image gallery, Dr. Bass' images are also featured in the summer issue of the Wisconsin Magazine of History.
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:: Posted June 20, 2008
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