The Village Squire, 1981-05, Page 18It's a wonder Canadian historian Pierre
Berton hasn't gotten onto this story.
Reuben R. Sallows. Goderich photo-
grapher at the turn of the century. Known
throughout Huron county. --across
Canada --in fact around the world.
Remember those stiff unyielding por-
traits of your ancestors? The, ones with
your grandfather sitting straightbacked
in a chair. his wife standing sternly at his
side?
Sallows used to do portraits just like
that. But he changed. He wanted natural
unposed pictures. People in a domestic
setting, rural people at work. scenes of
nature, unorthodox and revolutionary for
his time. "Informal pictures in gilded
frames."That's what set Sallotis apart
from other photographers.
In 1876, as the story goes. Sallows went
to Goderich in search of a job. but
decided to sit for a photograph. While
conversing with the "camera man", he
was offered a position -- travelling
representative to canvass the countryside
for enlargements of photographs.
Two years later. Sallows was asked to
consider learning the profession. He
agreed to take a three year apprentice-
ship, but before the time was up, he had
his own studio. R.R. Sallows, Goderich.
Portrait photographer. Upstairs studio at
the corner of Montreal St. and the
Square.
He gained a local reputation producing
pictures --portraits. school groups, hold-
ing an annual "baby day" Once he had
81 offspring and their proud mothers in
his studio in one day.
Civic holiday weekend 1897 was the
turning point in his career. He had
planned to spend the day in a neighbour-
ing town but an appointment prevented
it. Free in the afternoon. he drove his
young daughter and one of her friends to
Point Farms summer resort. six miles
north of Goderich. He posed the children
on a huge rock on the shores of Lake
Huron. The picture was sent to a
Rochester lithographic firm and they
used it in their catalogue. The rest is
history. Sallows became a commercial
photographer.
Though a very private man. - Sallows
speaking to a representative from a
publishing firm in the autumn of 1916,
�ERICH,
typU oNT�
by Sheila Gunby
offered the following:
"I was not long in business before 1
realized that in the dull season, 99 men of
the craft, "Micawberlike" are waiting for
something to turn up. 1 would have to
"turn things" up, utilizing my energies
in some other manner. My efforts have
indeed been liberally rewarded and now
instead of a limited field in which to draw
an occasional customer, I have the whole
world as my parish."
For the next six years, Sallows kept
taking photographs, adding to his out-
door studies. In 1903, a Philadelphia firm
requested a collection of his photographs,
Out of 12 picture sent, ten were accepted
and he was paid S50.
Sallows was amazed.
"Five dollars for each accepted print!
Sixty dollars per dozen. While for the
same work at home my regular customers
were paying me six dollars per dozen,"
he was reported saying, "This was the
first money 1 had received for any
commercial work and it certainly 'woke'
me up. I concluded that if the picture
loving public valued my work so highly
that they were willing to pay me S60. per
PG. 16 VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1981
VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1981 PG 17