This detail shows an example of the artist’s signature on the lower margin recto of an old lace sample cyanotype contained within the portfolio Records of Old Laces: Portfolio 1. Inset, for illustration purposes at right, is the artist or studio black inked, woodblock-printed monogram done in the Arts & Crafts aesthetic. Each appears on the print verso corner.

Similar to British pioneer Anna Atkin’s earlier work making photogenic drawings (photograms) by contact-printing botanical specimens of British Algae with chemically sensitive paper, these old lace sample prints are done using the same methods.

An expanded look at this portfolio is included within our group item description here.

Perry Loud Thompson: 1891-1962

Thompson was a long time commercial photographer in Bath, Maine. He was married twice, after being left a widow, and left no children. Unfortunately, secondary sources are lacking in terms of the type of photography he practiced, other than two architectural views of Bath Gothic churches reproduced in the 1926 volume The American Spirit in Architecture. A brief timeline:

1910: Living with parents Samuel and Lizzie and younger brother Edward at 61 Western Ave. in Bath. His father is a house contractor. (U.S. Census)

1917: Occupation is photographer on his WWI Draft Registration card. Home address is 51 Elm St. in Bath.

1918: Commercial photographer operating in business district: Perry L. Thompson, 146 Front St. Bath, ME (source: Maine Register Or State Year-book and Legislative Manual)

1920: US Census: Photographer with his own studio, his home at 51 Elm Street in Bath.

1930: US Census: Photographer with his own studio. Home, valued at $2000, is at 49 Elm St. in Bath.

1940: US Census: Photographer living at 49 Elm St. in Bath with his own business.

1950: US Census: occupation: Photographer, owning shop, working 44 hours in the past week. Home is 204 Berry’s Mills Road in Bath.

1957: Photographer working at 49 Elm St. in Bath. (source: Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual)

1959: Still a photographer at 49 Elm St.

1962: Passes. Buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Bath, ME.