This early studio portrait of amateur photographer Harry Richardson Cremer wearing his overcoat was taken by pioneering commercial photographer Emile Brunel.

Emile Brunel: 1877-1944

A native of Châteauneuf, (France) Brunel came to the U.S. in 1904 at the age of 30. He set out for the West, where for several years he made a living as an itinerant painter, focusing on scenes of the vanishing frontier life and painting signs and broadsides for traveling circuses and whiskey makers. Shortly after his arrival he met his future wife, Gladyse McCloud, a 14-year-old girl working as a caricaturist at one of the circuses. He promised to return for her when he had become successful.

He began turning to photography, using newer camera equipment and finding Native Americans a major subject. His photographs began to sell, and he returned to New York. There he became involved with the early film industry, where he met and later worked for Cecil B. DeMille. He produced and directed a film, The Hand of God, founded the New York Institute of Photography and perfected one-hour film processing, an advance which allowed dailies to become part of the filmmaking process.

Building on this, he established himself as a photojournalist for the New York Times Magazine, and started a chain of photo studios in the upscale commercial districts in Manhattan, including studios in Tiffany’s and Bloomingdales.  – Wikipedia (2024)