View XML QR Code

Frank Jay Haynes papers, 1876-1962

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Haynes, F. Jay (Frank Jay), 1853-1921
Title
Frank Jay Haynes papers
Dates
1876-1962 (inclusive)
Quantity
8 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 146 (collection)
Summary
F. Jay Haynes (1853-1921) was official photographer for the Northern Pacific Railroad and for Yellowstone National Park. Records (1876-1962) consist of photograph order books, negative registers, copyright records, and a small amount of business records for the photography business of Haynes and of his son Jack Ellis Haynes (1884-1962).
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Return to Top

Biographical Note

Frank Jay Haynes was born on October 28, 1853, in Saline, Michigan. He received his early formal education in that town's public schools and his first business experience in his father's mercantile store. When the family business failed in 1874, Haynes worked briefly as a traveling salesman and then secured a position with S.C. Graham, a photographer in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Following his apprenticeship with Graham, Haynes worked for another Wisconsin photographer, William H. Lockwood, before opening his own studio in Moorhead, Minnesota, in 1876. Almost immediately Haynes received his first contract from the Northern Pacific to take high-quality views of the "bonanza" farms in the Red River Valley. This initial contract led to numerous other commissioned trips for the NPRR to photograph the railroad's construction route in the Dakota and Montana Territories.

In January 1878, Haynes married Lily Snyder, Lockwood's sister-in-law whom he had met while working in the Wisconsin studio. The following year, Haynes felt his studio business was successful enough to move to a new, larger studio in Fargo. Haynes continued to travel on contracts for the NPRR, while Lily retouched negatives and oversaw gallery operations.

In 1881 Haynes made an NP-sponsored trip to Yellowstone Park and immediately recognized the photographic and business opportunities offered by the area. Thereafter, the Park figured prominently in Haynes' career.

By 1885, the photographer had adapted a railroad coach for use as a studio and was touring the Northwest in his Haynes Palace Studio Car. During his trips over the NP lines, Haynes produced hundreds of negatives of railroad and trackside subjects. He also increased his studio staff in Fargo and, simultaneously, established branch photographic operations in Yellowstone National Park. Haynes moved his studio from Fargo to St. Paul in 1889. He still maintained the Palace Studio Car on the NP's tracks, but increasingly delegated its operation to several trusted assistants. Finally in 1905, the studio car ceased operation and Haynes ended his close association with the Northern Pacific.

From his modest beginnings in Yellowstone Park, F. Jay Haynes, with the assistance of his son, Jack Ellis Haynes, developed a lucrative photographic business in the Park. They photographed and marketed hundreds of views of scenery, wildlife and tourist activities. By 1916, because of failing health, Haynes transferred his photographic interests to his son Jack Ellis Haynes.

F. Jay Haynes died at his home in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 10, 1921.

Return to Top

Content Description

Records consist of photograph order books, negative registers, copyright records, and a small amount of business records for the photography business of F. Jay Haynes and of his son Jack Ellis Haynes.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged by subgroup and series. Some material housed in Manuscript Volumes. See inventory below for more information.

Location of Collection

7:2-5

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Related Materials

See MC 86 for the F. Jay Haynes Architectural Drawings Collection.

Haynes manuscript material not directly related to Montana Historical Society's Haynes Photographs are located at the Special Collections Library, Montana State University, Bozeman.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

Finding aid prepared by Ellie Arguimbau
2005

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West