H. Marshall Gardiner (1884-1942) was born on September 18, 1884 in a photographic family led by his father, WH Gardiner. Apparently some sources list his name as “Harry“, other sources list it as”EnriqueBorn in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, his family immigrated to the United States around 1890. Once the family was established WH Gardiner opened two photography studios, one in Detroit, Michigan during the winter months and one on Mackinac Island, Michigan during the more tourism-oriented summer months. Recognizing the potential of Florida’s fast-growing tourism trade, circa 1894-95 H. Marshall Gardiner He moved his family from Detroit to Daytona, Florida, which was much more accommodating to the family’s photography business during the colder winter months.

H. Marshall Gardiner He learned many of his photographic techniques from his father before going out on his own at a relatively young age. While his father generally used wet collodian negatives, the technology had advanced as far as H. Marshall Gardiner he was able to use dry gelatin plates in his early years. And in recent years you were able to use the least expensive and much more convenient roll film.

Another very important lesson Gardiner He learned from his father that one of the keys to operating a successful photography business was settling in a resort. Early in his career Gardiner traveled to Bermuda. There he filmed a series of beautiful Bermuda scenes that he hand colored and sold to the Bermuda tourist trade. Sold there for a considerable period of time, these Bermuda scenes provided a good source of income as the years passed. They proved so popular that we’ve even seen some with pre-printed signatures (rather than hand-signed) suggesting a significant enough sales volume to justify the considerable expense of pre-press mats.

Around 1910 he first traveled to Nantucket Island, off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He was in his mid-26s at the time, and Nantucket’s year-round population was just over 2,500, which was not enough to sustain a year-round photography business. On nantucket Gardiner opened a joint store for photography and art supplies. Working as Nantucket’s exclusive agent for Eastman Kodak, his business expanded to include the only photo finishing service on the island. However, with such a small population year-round, even the addition of a gift shop to supplement the hand-painted photographs, general portrait and photography services, and art supplies couldn’t sustain him on Nantucket year-round. .

So during the winter months he helped run the family’s photography businesses in Daytona and Mackinac Island. And after the death of his father in 1935, Gardiner He took over the family business in Daytona full time.

H. Marshall Gardiner married twice. Her first marriage was to a Nantucket “Macy’s“who was a descendant of one of the founding families of Nantucket. She died after eight years of marriage and then married Bertha coffin chase, a descendant of another Nantucket founding family.

H. Marshall Gardiner Hand-painted photographs are very similar to those of Wallace nuts and the other prominent New England photographers. That is, most are tangled, usually on a white board with a plaque mark around the image, signed “H. Marshall Gardiner“bottom right below the image, and titled bottom left below the image. And most are framed in thinner frames, also in the style of Wallace nuts.

From the perspective of a collector of hand-colored photographs H. Marshall Gardiner produced works in three main locations …Nantucket…Florida… and Bermuda. And the convenience of Gardiner’s working with collectors is generally classified in that order.

H. Marshall Gardiner Nantucket’s hand-painted photographs are without a doubt his most desirable works. Money generally lives on Nantucket and both full-time and part-time residents, as well as visitors and tourists, love to collect Gardiner’s hand-painted photographs of Nantucket. Scenes with buildings and people are usually the most desirable. Seascapes and location-specific exterior scenes are also highly collectible. His most generic exterior scenes are probably the least collectible of his various views of Nantucket. Although for a short time around 2000-2002 prices topped $ 1,000 for the rarest Nantucket scenes in the best of conditions, the high-end market has softened a bit and today the best Gardiner Nantucket scenes will generate more. commonly the $ 250- $ 500 range. Apparently the Gardiner Nantucket’s market on eBay was driven by only a small handful of collectors, and once they acquired a desired title or exited the market, price caps began to fall again. The most common Nantucket titles and those in damaged condition can bring considerably less.

Gardiner’s Hand-painted photographs of Florida are becoming increasingly collectible for both hand-painted photo collectors and general-line Florida collectors. most of Gardiner’s Florida scenes are more generic (palm trees, shores, hanging moss, streams, sand, etc.). Location-specific footage will generally fetch higher prices than more generic Florida scenes, and you can usually wait Gardiner’s Florida photos hand-colored for a range of $ 100 to $ 250.

And his Bermuda scenes, while the least collectible of Gardiner’s three main categories, remain highly regarded by collectors. However, since we have seen less “Bermuda“collectors who”Florida” gold “Nantucket“For collectors, prices for Bermuda scenes will generally range from $ 75 to $ 150 at our auctions.

Gardiner’s postcards are also widely collected. Unlike your hand-painted photographs that may be priced higher these days, your Nantucket postcards are much easier to locate and much more affordable. And if you like the photography of H. Marshall GardinerYou will find many more views on postcards than on hand-colored photographs. most of Gardiner’s Postcards were produced by the Detroit Publishing Company using their “Phostint“Patented printing process. Although some postcards can be found in black and white, their most popular and numerous postcards are in color. H. Marshall Gardiner postcards will cost $ 2.50- $ 10.00 each, although some may carry slightly higher prices.

H. Marshall Gardiner He died on December 4, 1942, and is buried on his beloved Nantucket.

RECOMMENDED READING: For more information on H. Marshall Gardiner we would refer you to a book by his daughter, Geraldine Gardiner Salisbury noble Nantucket Postcards by H. Marshall Gardiner: 1910-1940.