Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Collection Overview
This archive contains 1300 photographs made by Porter C. Thayer, scanned from silver gelatin prints, held in the collection of the Brooks Memorial Library. The prints were made in 1980 from the 5x7 glass plates negatives created by Porter Thayer. These images are also available on microfilm at the Brattleboro library.
Porter Thayer was born Porter Charlie Thayer on January 6, 1882 on Main Street in Williamsville, Vermont. He grew up in the red house called the Tillotson Place in the Parish section of Newfane, Vermont.
He photographed Windham County, Vermont, beginning in 1906 through around 1920. Like most Vermont men of his generation he was a farmer, specifically an apple orchardist, managing his 50 acre apple orchard on Baker Brook Farm in Newfane. He turned to his apple business after ending his photographic career.
The postcard craze that most likely reached Vermont by about 1905, was perhaps the impetus for Porter Thayer starting up a photographic business. His diaries tell that he sold 1,197 postal cards during a six-month period at the height of his career. The cards were for sale as souvenirs to summer tourists at small general stores, local inns, boarding houses and hotels. Local folks purchased his photographs as well, especially around the Christmas season, to send to distant relatives. A Brattleboro, Vermont directory of 1909 lists Porter as advertising that he would come to anyone’s home and make images for a reasonable fee. Around 1911 he recorded that he had 720 customers. Eventually he photographed in all the towns within a 25 mile radius of his home in Newfane.
Porter Thayer perfectly fits the archetype of the town photographer. He traveled the narrow dirt roads in his buggy, behind his faithful mare Lady, who accompanied him daily. He could apparently take extended naps while Lady brought him safely home, as she always knew the way. He used two cameras: a 5 x 7 and a 6.5 x 8.5 view camera and made glass dry-plate negatives. He traveled with stacks of postcards to be delivered at stores along the way to his days work.
Working continually through seasons and years, Porter Thayer left an archive that is a cultural treasure for southeastern Vermont. The quality of his work shows that he was able to combine business needs with aesthetic ones. During the time period Porter worked, Vermont was extremely poor and rural, yet held a close-knit population that shared the labors of life. Farmers helped one another to survive in a subsistence and barter economy. For women, men, and children, life meant constant work. Thayer’s images describe the work and the tools involved. His landscape images reveal this working landscape, which today is mostly hidden by trees. The fruits of his labor as a photographer have grown in importance, as both the landscape and culture of Vermont has shifted into modern spheres of living.
Written by Jessica Weitz and Forrest Holzapfel, 2010.
Time Period Covered: 1906 - 1920
Published: October 11, 2010,
Rights: The William Thayer Family and heirs hold copyright to the Porter Thayer Photographs collection. Material in the collection may not be used without permission. For permission requests, contact Bill Thayer at billthayer08@gmail.com
Browse Options
Creator(s)
Place(s)
- Williamsville (Vt.) [23]
- Newfane (Vt.) [15]
- Wardsboro (Vt. : Town) [12]
- Dover (Vt. : Town) [8]
- Marlboro (Vt.) [7]
- Jamaica (Vt.) [5]
- Dummerston (Vt.) [4]
- Halifax (Vt. : Town) [4]
- Townshend (Vt.) [3]
- Wilmington (Vt.) [3]
Format(s)
- image [105]
Genre(s)
- black-and-white photographs [105]
- photographs [105]
- group portraits [35]
Topic(s)
- Portrait photography [105]
- Children [43]
- Animals [18]
- Elementary school buildings [16]
- Dwellings [13]
- Horses [5]
- Transportation [5]
- Blacksmithing [4]
- Sawmills [4]
- South Branch School (Marlboro, Vt.) [4]
- Webster family [4]
- Agriculture [3]
- Camping [3]
- Draft animals [3]
- Employees [3]
- Hunting [3]
- Oxen [3]
- Bands (Music) [2]
- Hale, Lucy [2]
- Logging [2]
- Round Schoolhouse (Brookline, Vt.) [2]
- Stagecoaches [2]
- W.J. Metcalf Feed & Stable (Dover, Vt.) [2]
- Automobiles [1]
- Barns [1]
- Betterly family [1]
- Bingham's Mill (Newfane, Vt.) [1]
- Blackface entertainers [1]
- Brattleboro Retreat [1]
- Bridges [1]
- Church buildings [1]
- Holidays [1]
- Indians of North America Clothing [1]
- J.A. Davis' Store (West Dover, Vt.) [1]
- Postal service [1]
- Railroad tracks [1]
- Rivers [1]
- Snow [1]
- Soldiers [1]
- Stores, Retail [1]
- Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie)1882-1972 [1]
- Theaters [1]
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Browsing by:
Genre: ("photographs")
Topic: ("Portrait photography")
Title: Unidentified Boy with Earl Taylor's Cattle, Marlboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Unidentified Group Portrait, Wardsboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
One child and one woman pictured are same as in bmlthayerT670 and T672.
Title: Unidentified Little Girl, Wardsboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Girl pictured in group portrait in bmlthayerT675.
Title: Unidentified family portrait outside, Marlboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Unidentified family portrait with two dogs in Windham County,Vermont
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Unidentified farmer with rake
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Fogged negative.
Title: Unidentified girl with sled and teddy bear
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Unidentified group portrait in Vermont
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Possibly a family?
Title: W.J. Metcalf Feed, Stable with boy and oxen team in front
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: W.J. Metcalf Feed, Stable with man and stagecoach in front
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1911
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Stagecoach from Williamsville to Dover pictured. Looks like negative might have gotten fogged on right side.
Title: Wallace Johnson's Boy with your Oxen, Marlboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1915
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Walter Tift in front of the Merrifield mill, Williamsville, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Webster Thayer leaning against a rock
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Webster Thayer, as child, with a cat
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Webster and Ruth Thayer, Porter Thayer's children, with wheelbarrow
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Webster family portrait with cannon, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: West Dummerston School Interior, with Teacher and Students
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
School located near Green Mountain Camp.
Title: West Halifax School Children
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1911
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
See image bmlthayerT206 also.
Title: West Halifax School Children
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1911
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
See image bmlthayerT205 also.
Title: West Wardsboro School portrait of Mrs. Griffith's Class, Wardsboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1916
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Woman dressed in Native American clothing
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Possibly Porter's wife Edith.
Title: Woman in bee suit with a swarm of bees, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Woman on the front porch of a house, Williamsville, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Possibly Lucy Hale, wife of Locke Hale. See bmlthayerT714 and T765.
Title: Workers in front of Wardsboro Sawmill, Wardsboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1911
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
bus., sawmill, group port., transport, horses
Title: Young men in front of a tent in Vermont
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Sign says Camp Trainclan Hermon.
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