797
21 August 1869 issue of Harper’s Weekly. By tilting
the camera, many of his stereo views exaggerate steep
angle of the track making the descent look vertiginous.
With other views, Kilburn carefully composed his pho-
tographs, often emphasizing the foreground to enhance
the three-dimensional qualities of the stereo views. In
addition to his views of New England, Benjamin made
stereo views in Virginia, Bermuda, Mexico, Canada,
and Europe. He photographed events, such as Grover
Cleveland’s inauguration, and acquired the exclusive
rights to produce stereo views of the 1893 World’s
Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the California
Midwinter Exposition. Other popular subjects sold
by the fi rm were the Johnstown, Pennsylvania fl ood,
the Boxer Rebellion, the Boer War, and the Spanish-
American War.
One of the company’s foremost photographers was
Percival Graham. He joined the fi rm in the 1870s and
photographed extensively at the 1901 Pan American
Exposition held in Buffalo, New York. James M. Davis
also worked as a photographer and distributor for the
company.
The fi rm used several cameras including a Henry
Clay stereo view camera and an American Optical Com-
pany camera that used a tripod. In an effort to eliminate
the use of a tripod, Benjamin designed a “gun camera.”
The camera was mounted on a gun stock that rested on
the photographer’s shoulder.
In addition to their own inventory of negatives, Kil-
burn also bought negatives from other photographers.
In 1881 he purchased the negatives and rights to a large
collection by Boston stereo manufacturer John Soule,
which included views of Niagara and Yosemite.
The studio produced both standard sized stereo views
and larger cabinet sized stereos. Most views were pasted
to buff mounts. Yellow, orange, and gray mounts were
also used. Their stereo views were available for pur-
chase in the company’s sales room, and at local stores,
hotels, and tourist sites, such as the Mount Washington
Railway gift shop. College students were employed
in the summer to sell stereo views door-to-door in the
Northeastern and Midwestern United States. In the
1870s the company issued catalogs listing their views.
Orders could also be placed by mail.
In the United States, the Kilburn fi rm was both the
largest producer of stereo views and in operation for
the longest period of time-forty-four years. The exact
date of Benjamin Kilburn’s retirement is unknown.
In 1901 he sustained a stroke which left him disabled
until his death in 1909. In 1910 the Kilburn negatives
and equipment were sold to their former agent James
Davis, and later to one of their main competitors, the
Keystone View Company.
Kilburn’s negatives and logbooks are in the collection
of the California Museum of Photography. The Little-
ton New Hampshire Public Library holds thousands of
Kilburn stereo views.
Carol JohnsonBiography
Benjamin Kilburn (1827–1909) married Caroline Burn-
ham on 16 November 1853. They had one daughter
named Elizabeth. On 25 May 1857 Edward Kilburn
(1830–1884) married Adaline Owen, a local school-
teacher. Their union produced one child, a daughter
named Emily. In 1862 both brothers enlisted in the Civil
War, and served through 1864 in New Hampshire’s 13th
Regiment, Company D. In 1865 the Kilburn Brothers
stereo company began operation. It became the most
prominent stereo view company in the world. Their
views were exhibited at the 1876 Philadelphia Cen-
tennial exhibition. In 1909 when the company ceased
operations their inventory included nearly 100,000 glass
stereo negatives.
See also: Stereoscopy.Further Reading
Hepburn, Freeman, “Not Quite on the Level Stereo-The Mt.
Washington Cog Railway,” in Stereo World 13, no. 1 (March/
April 1986): 8–14.
McShane, Linda, “When I wanted the Sun to Shine” Kilburn and
Other Littleton, New Hampshire Stereographers, Littleton,
NH: Sherwin Dodge, 1993.
Southall, Thomas, “White Mountain Stereographs and the
Development of a Collective Vision,” in Points of View: The
Stereograph in America-A Cultural History, Rochester, NY:
Visual Studies Workshop Press in collaboration with the Gal-
lery Association of New York State, 1979.KILBURN, WILLIAM EDWARD
(1818–1891), AND DOUGLAS THOMAS
(c. 1812–1871)
English photographers
The brothers Douglas and William Kilburn were born
in London, the sons of Thomas Kilburn and Catherine
Wa r d.
William Kilburn was working as a professional
photographer before. 1846 and his photographs of a
Chartist Rally in London in 1848 brought his work to the
attention of Prince Albert, from whom he later received
several commissions, styling himself ‘Photographist to
Her Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Albert’.
Kilburn exhibited a series of ‘photographic minia-
tures (daguerreotypes) at the 1851 Great Exhibition, but
fi nest daguerreotypes were produced between 1852 and
1855, at his studio at 234 Regent Street London. His use
of light, and skilful tinting was remarkable. From 1856
he exclusively used collodion.