Historic Glass Plate Negatives of Island Scenes Printed in New Book
Offer Glimpse of Island Life, c. 1896 - 1915
By Karen Gould

Steve Brisson, chief curator at Mackinac State Historic Parks, holds a glass plate negative dating to 1896 by Island photographer William H. Gardiner. The negative depicts Grand Hotel. The Gardiner collection is housed in a park archival room and is contained in the boxes on the shelves behind Mr. Brisson, who is wearing gloves to protect the artifact.

Sorting through 4,500 glass plate negatives is not an easy task, especially when many of them are not identified, but that has been Steve Brisson’s job, on and off, for the last several years. Taken between 1896 and 1915 by Island photographer William H. Gardiner, the photographs provide a glimpse into Island life at the turn of the century. More than 200 of the negatives have been printed into black and white photographs and will appear in a new book to be published this fall.

Mr. Brisson, the chief curator at Mackinac State Historic Parks, said, “I wanted the photographs to speak for themselves” in the book. Consequently, there is little commentary in the 200-page book, “Picturesque Mackinac: The Photographs of William H. Gardiner, 1896 - 1915.” He used the book’s introduction to relate history of the Island at the time, the background of Mr. Gardiner, and explain how the negatives were discovered.

The glass plates were discovered by a park historian, Dr. David Armour, in 1969, stored in crates on the top floor of a store on Main Street and about to be sent to the dump. After the park acquired them, the plates were individually wrapped in a protective envelope and boxed. More than 28 years later, in 1997, the Institute of Museum and Library Services helped fund a program to have a copy and a direct positive made of each negative, so now, the original plates are protected in a special humidity-controlled climate room behind Fort Mackinac and no longer need to be handled, said Mr. Brisson.

The glass plate negatives use an emulsion process similar to present-day acetate film. The size of the glass negative, however, results in a more detailed, crisp print. Most of the plates are five by seven inches or eight by 10 inches in size, but some measure 11 by 14 inches.

Mr. Brisson said technology of flexible film made it possible to move away from the large glass plates that are heavy, easily broken, and require a substantial storage area. He believes that Mr. Gardiner switched to film after 1915. Mr. Brisson speculates that Mr. Gardiner, who wintered in Florida, where he also had a photographic studio, must have transported his film negatives there because none were found at the old Main Street store.

In addition to providing a photographic perspective of Island life, the negatives have been useful for historical interpretation.

“When a question on a restoration project has come up,” Mr. Brisson said, “they have proven to be very helpful.”

To prepare for the book, Mr. Brisson divided the negatives into portraits, town views, fort views, and scenery, then he decided which photographs from each group to reproduce. He did not want to use too many of the Gardiner photographs that already have appeared in other park publications, like “Mackinac: Its History in Pictures,” although some will be reprinted because of their significance.

“I chose photographs based on my personal opinion on which ones did I believe were the best, which ones best represented Mackinac Island through those 20 years, and which photographs best showed what Mr. Gardiner saw,” said Mr. Brisson.

More than half of the plates in the collection are portraits, most unidentified, and sorting through them turned into an adventure for Mr. Brisson. As he studied the faces, he began to see some familiar resemblances.

“It was fun,” he said, “when all of a sudden I could identify one of the portraits. Then I went through them again and I could see relationships.”

He first recognized Mr. Gardiner at a young age, then he began to identify more self portraits the photographer had taken over the years. Then suddenly, Mr. Brisson said he realized he was looking at the Gardiner family, wife, daughter, and son, through the years.

Many of the other portraits remain unidentified.

Mr. Gardiner, who was born in 1861 in Brampton, Ontario, moved to Detroit before coming to Mackinac and opening his shop on Main Street. Mr. Brisson has included a couple of Mr. Gardiner’s Detroit images and several Florida images in the book as a representation of his work.

The book now is with graphic designer Tom Kachadurian of Traverse City, who has designed several other Mackinac State Historic Parks books, and Mr. Brisson hopes to see a layout proof sometime this summer.

Among Steve Brisson’s other Mackinac State Historic Parks publications is the book “Wish You Were Here: An Album of Vintage Mackinac Postcards.”

He completed his undergraduate work in history at Northern Michigan University in Marquette and was awarded his master’s degree in museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Cooperstown, New York. Before joining the Mackinac State Historic Parks in 1996, he was the curator for the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.