1246
Savage was also a savvy businessman, one who
did not succumb to the bleak fi nancial fate of so many
other Western photographers. He was successful in part
because his photographic studio was also a general
art store that sold various photographic and artistic
supplies, periodicals, books, craft goods, and miscel-
laneous novelties. He had a variety of contacts on the
West and East coasts through which he could market
his photographs and stereo-views and who would, in
turn, provide him with merchandise to sell at his “Art
Bazar.” Despite a few setbacks (his gallery burned down
in 1883) his business continued to grow over the years.
As amateur photography grew increasingly popular in
the 1880s and 1890s, Savage moved into photo fi nishing
and camera sales. After the turn of the century, Savage
devoted more and more of his time to various philan-
thropic events and to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
In fact, when he died of a heart attack on February 3,
1909, he was almost as well known for his generosity
as for his photography.
Daniel Davis
See also: Watkins, Alfred; and O’Sullivan, Timothy
Henry.
Biography
Charles Roscoe Savage was born on August 16, 1832.
He grew up in a poor Southampton neighborhood but
moved to New York City in 1855. Savage began his study
of photography in New York and opened his fi rst gallery
in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1860. He started with por-
traiture, but quickly branched out to photograph build-
ings, towns, mines, newsworthy events, and landscapes
in Utah. In 1866 a trip to New York and Philadelphia
brought attention to the young photographer, but it was
not until he attended the joining of the Union Pacifi c
and the Central Pacifi c Railroads at Promontory Point in
1869 that Savage became a recognized name. After 1869
he would travel throughout the West (with free passes
from the railroads) shooting scenes of interest along the
lines. In comparison with his peers such as Carleton
Watkins, Timothy O’Sullivan, and William Henry
Jackson, Savage was not as ambitious about seeking out
new photographic opportunities, nor did not embrace
the western landscape as they did. He did, however,
document an important sub-culture (the Mormons) and
he was one of the fi rst photographers to provide images
of the American West to eager Eastern audiences. Sav-
age was also a savvy businessman whose profi ts from
a successful art store in Salt Lake City allowed him to
continue his photographic career. Unfortunately, only
a few original Savage negatives exist today because of
two devastating fi res in 1883 and 1911.
Further Reading
Pamquist, Peter E., and Kailbourn, Thomas R., Pioneer Photogra-
phers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840–1865,
Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2000.
Richards, Bradley W., The Savage View: Charles Savage, Pioneer
Mormon Photographer, Reno, Nevada: Carl Mautz Publish-
ing, 1995.
Stern, Madeleine B. A Rocky Mountain Book Store: Savage and
Ottinger of Utah, BYU Studies, 9/2 (Winter 1969).
Wadsworth, Nelson B., Set in Stone Fixed in Glass: The Great
Mormon Temple and Its Photographers, Salt Lake City, Utah:
Signature Books, 1992.
Wadsworth, Nelson B., Through Camera Eyes, Provo, Utah:
Brigham Young University Press, 1975.SAVILLE-KENT, WILLIAM (1845–1908)
English naturalist and photographer
Saville-Kent (also known as Kent) was born in Sidmouth
in Devon, England, on 10 July 1845 to Samuel Savill
Kent and Mary Ann Kent. After studying at King’s
College, and the Royal College of Science under T.H.
Huxley, he initially pursued a career in natural history
museums, including the British Museum. In 1873,
he accepted the position of resident naturalist at the
recently opened Brighton Aquarium. Similar roles fol-
lowed at other public aquaria until he was appointed
Superintendent of Fisheries in Tasmania, Australia, in- Saville-Kent’s research into marine life and its
commercial applications, including pioneering work in
pearl culture, earned him a number of advisory roles for
the Victorian, Queensland and Western Australian colo-
nial governments from 1887. These provided him with
opportunities to travel to some of the farthest regions of
the continent and adjacent islands. During this time he
took up photography and produced remarkable coral reef
views and studies of natural history specimens. Saville-
Kent published numerous scientifi c studies throughout
his career, however he is best known for two, more popu-
lar, natural history monographs from that latter period in
Australia—The Great Barrier Reef of Australia, 1893,
and The Naturalist in Australia, 1897—both extensively
illustrated with his photographs. He developed various
techniques for photographing natural history subjects
and experimented with colour processes, exhibiting his
photographs at the Royal Society in 1891 and the Royal
Photographic Society (RPS) in 1906. The latter, shown
by invitation of the RPS Council, included over eighty
natural colour transparencies prepared by the Sanger-
Shepherd trichromatic process with modifi cations, and
were presented as lantern-size plates, half and quar-
ter-size plates and stereos. Following a sudden illness
and bowel surgery, Saville-Kent died in Bournemouth,
England, in 1908.
Kate Davidson