During the early 1870s, the biggest new market was for the
stereograph—the slightly offset double image that turned into a single
three-dimensional image when viewed through a hand-held stereoscope.
Lumber mills, with wood and sawdust
all about them, were always at risk of fire. When the Mead, Lee &
Co. planing mill burned on June 20, 1873, the Goodridges' studio
recorded both the event and its aftermath. See
five more stereographs
from the mill series.
The Goodridges began a series called
"Michigan Views" in 1873. The "Saginaw and Tributaries" series began in 1874. It
was soon retitled "In and about the Saginaws—the Great Lumber and
Salt District of Michigan." "In and about the Saginaws"
contained William's "Scenes in the Pineries of Michigan,"
photographs taken at Patrick Glynn's lumbering camp in Midland County
during the winter of 1874-1875.
In 1880 the Goodridges combined their
most popular views into the "Picturesque Michigan" series.
Between 1872 and 1890 the Goodridge
brothers achieved national recognition for their stereo series. They
retained ownership and marketing rights to their images instead of
selling them to larger national firms that might sell more than a
million stereo views in a year.
View a selection of
16 lumbering stereo
views from the Enterprising Images exhibit. The images
include examples of the backs of Goodridge stereo cards. Click on
"Stereo Series" to return to this page.
