Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-04-25
FAMOUS FACES.
How Our Great Men Have Theil
Pictures Taken.
DEMAND FOR GUITEAUs vIeNETTE
IA Kind Friend Offers to Cure the Presidenp
COIic in the Jerk of a Lambs
Tail-General Capital
Intelligence.

WASHINGTON, April 24-Postmaster Gen.
ersl Gresham will sit for his photograph in
few days at Bells, where most of the
faces Of the reigning statesmen are to be
seen. Bell is veteran in the art preserva-
tive, and the number of illustrous persons
who have been took" under his light, is
quite astonishing. do you know" said a
gentleman familiar with the history OF
Washington and its early people. talking
to your correspondent yesterday, "that
Webster, and Clay, and Calhoun and all
those people Of that time sat for daguer-
reotyPeS under that very same light in
Bells galleryr'
II is broad plain skylight in a steep
roof, looking north, aud under it your cor.
respondent found the operator still busily
engaged.
Yes" he said,
"Webster and clay,
and all the other great men of the period,
sat here for their picture when the daguer-
reotype was first introduced. Ah, it was a
wonderful thing then, the art of taking a
picture in 3 sitting OF two or three MIN
utes. Before that the only thing was
paintings and work of that nature, you
know, which required many hours of pa.
tient sitting, and when Whitehurst opened
his an gallery here and made daguerro-
types, what a wonderful thing it was
counted. Do you know, the old man came
up here few years ago. Just before his
death, to see the old light once more and
the scene OF his triumphs, and to linger
about the spot where all the great men of
his day sat to him. He found the old lights
and room just about rs he had left it years
ago"
"YoH photograph most of the prominent
people who live in Washington now, Of
course
"Oh, yes. That is part of our business
to keep the photographs of all the public
men on hand and for sale when called for.
There is, of course,
A Great Demand
for some of them, and whenever a man
comes suddenly into prominence, aud the
illustrated papers want his face, We are eX-
pected to have it,"
DO you find much difficulty in getting
these people to sit for their pictures
"As a rule, no. There are exceptions,
but they are few. They usually recognize
proper that any public desire to see their
faces should be grati6ed."
do they come to you for this purpose"
LOB, we usually send each one Of them
an invitation to call and sit for negative.
Of course there are some who have to be
invited a second and third time, and with
such men as Presidents and cabinet etfi-
GERS, Mr.. Bell generally calls in person
and asks them to come to the gallery and
Sit"
"Isn't it difficult to get this class of
men?'
well, the principle difficulty is in get
ting them to find time. They make prom
ises and then more important matters come
along and
or are required to postpone the sitting.
Some have rather a repugnance for the
idea anyway. There is Secretary Freling-
huysen, for instance. Do you see that
Cabinet collection over there, an attempt to
show President Arthur and his entire Cab
met in one frameb" and he pointed to
frame on the wall in which one space was
yet vacant. I'VE have been trying for ever
so long to get Secretary Frelinghuysen
down here to sit so that We may complete
the Cabinet and have his picture on hand,
but have never succeeded, He doesn't
much like the idea anyway, and said as
much. He offered Mr.. Bell picture of
himself one day, saying he might make use
OF that if he wanted to, but that was not
satisfactory. He promised to call but did
all the Cabinet but himself to the Garfield
fair, and he saw it and renewed his prom
Use TO come in and have it filled; but he
never has. l suppose he forgets it or his
other duties are so pressing that he don't
find the time to spsre.
How About Brewster?
Does he object to having his SCARED and
distorted face given to the public
Not particularly. He, of course, recDg-
nizes the facts regarding his personal ap.
pearance as we'll as anybody, and is doubt
less sensitive upon that point, bat he looks
at the matter philosophically. He SAID,
when asked to sit, Well, am not very
pretty, but am public man, and sup.
pose the people have right to see what
DO look like and so he came and sat"
Have you photographed many OF the
Presidents
Three only, Hayes, Garfield and Arthur.
Grant was hard TO get. He had been pho
tcgraphed 50 many times that be had grown
tired of il, and as there were plenty OF
photographs of him in the country, 1t was
hardly fair to insist very strongly upon
it. Garfield and his Cabinet we have com-
plete. We had Hayes and all his Cabinet.
We get a pretty large proportion OF the
Ser ators and members of Congress- though
there are few who
All to Respond.
Senator Cameron, for instance, We never
have been able to get. There are some
Others the same way, but they are few.
There Is II picture of Senator Hill, from the
last negative he ever had made" he said,
pointing to q fine life-size picture on the
wall, and there is one of Acklen, OF Louis
lana" pointing to another.
Speaking of ACklen makes it quite
proper to mention another name equally
notorious in history-that of Guiteau. You
photographed him often, did you not?'
"Oh, yes, a number of times; and might
have kept it up day after day until the eX-
ecutiOn, so far as his willingness went He
liked it,
',Do you have much demand for his pho
tographs nOw?"
"No; very little. There was tremeu-
dous run on them when he was alive, but
we seldom have an inquiry for them now.
Once in a while a man or woman comes in
and asks to see one, and once in a great
while one is bought, the purchaser gener-
ally remarking as he pockets it, that he
wouldn't have the thing in his house, but
that he is buyingit for neighbor."