Photographer of the Early West: The Story of Arundel Hull

Eugene A. Miller
Antelope-Press (2004)
ISBN 0972851100
Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (2/06)

Young Arundel Hull captured history when he shot photos of everyday life during America’s westward expansion. Born in 1846, the Indiana native apprenticed at a photography studio in St. Paul, Minnesota, at 16. By age 17, he had opened his own business, perfecting his photographic skills. In 1866, three years later, he sold almost everything and succumbed to the siren call of the West.

Hull arrived in Omaha, Nebraska, that summer and soon captured the bustling town in pictures. He made many prints of businesses and streets and sold them. He also joined E.L. Eaton working at Omaha’s first portrait studio. Hull waited until the following spring of 1867, restocked his photographic supplies then headed further west boarding a train on the newly-established railroad. The young man stopped at each station. Often he was the first photographer to document the emerging towns. He traveled as far as Green River, Wyoming, before heading back across the mountains and plains to Omaha.

During 1869, he was back at Omaha’s photography studio now owned by the Jackson brothers. When the Union Pacific Railroad requested photographs of the railroad, Hull and William H. Jackson took on the task. The author makes a good case that some of the historic work long attributed to Jackson was actually shot by Hull. Certainly, Hull’s work establishes him as a noteworthy early photographer who deserves credit for his role in recording history. Hull had maintained his glass plates and prints for many years including shots of prominent early settlers and Indian chiefs including Chief Sitting Bull’s first photo. Unfortunately, a tenant of Hull’s gallery pitched the collection wiping out much of Hull’s 1867 and 1868 work of note.

The rest of the biography covers Hull’s years in Fremont, Nebraska, including the opening of his next photographic studio in 1870, his marriage and growing family, and his civic involvements. Like many early businessmen he contributed generously toward the town’s development assisting in the construction of a large creamery, a school, a telephone system and more. In addition to some shots from his early journeys, the book features a number of portraits and photographs from those Fremont years.

The book’s photography is striking. Many of the shots are remarkably clear, an amazing feat for the complicated process completed in a rough-hewn era using a portable darkroom. Hull had an eye for beautiful composition. The book would have benefited from printing a number of the subjects as full-page photographs. Readers interested in the old West or in photography will find Miller’ s book interesting and a sound addition to their understanding of the late 1800s.

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