Dana B. Merrill was born on August 30, 1877 in Lisbon, New Hampshire, to Althera Maria Hannah Adams and Jonathan Carlton Merrill. He served in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War in the Philippines in 1898. Merrill photographed the conflict, and upon his return to America, he began working as a portrait photographer before switching to commercial photography. At the turn of the twentieth century, Merrill was working out of the New York City Hall as a commercial photographer. In 1907 he married Laura Kathryn Burress (18720-1959). Between 1902 and 1912, Merrill was contracted by the Brazilian government as the official photographer of the Madeira Mamoré Railroad, tasked with documenting the construction of a railroad along the Madeira River, through the Amazon rainforest. Construction of the railroad began in 1907 and was completed in 1912. Over the course of his employment on this project, Merrill is estimated to have taken thousands of photographs.
After completing the contract, Merrill returned to New York City to continue his work as a commercial photographer. He credited his experiences in the Amazon with teaching him about the importance of light, composition, and clarity in photography. Experiencing staff shortages during World War I, Laura Merill began working with Dana Merrill in his studio. Merrill found success in the advertising industry. He worked frequently for Condé Nast, with work featured in publications like
Merrill’s legacy photographing the construction of the Madeira Mamoré Railroad was nearly lost: in 1971, the Brazilian government demolished large portions of the railroad and destroyed the company’s files, including photographs; additional photographs were lost in a fire. The images in this collection were preserved by Oscar Lee Pyles (1860-1953), son of a family of United States Confederates who had immigrated to Brazil following the American Civil War. Pyles was involved in the railroad construction, and presumably friends with Merrill; he and his family preserved an album of Merrill’s work and a number of loose prints taken by Merrill. Prior to the discovery of the Pyles collection of Merrill's Madeira Mamoré Railroad photographs, it was estimated that only 189 survived.
Sources: Dana B. Merrill, “The Photographer and His Work,”
The Gary J. Neeleman photograph collection consists of 1 box containing 124 gelatin silver prints related to the building of the Madeira-Mamore Railroad. The photographs were primarily taken by Dana B. Merrill, the official photographer of the project, and given to his friend, Oscar Lee Pyles, who was also involved in the project. The photographs were in the possession of the Pyles family until gifted to Judith MacKnight Jones, who in turn gifted them to historian Gary Neeleman. As a result, the collection contains photographs presumed to be taken or collected by Pyles in addition to those produced by Merrill.
According to Neeleman, photographs by Dana Merrill are numbered in the right-hand corner with India ink, while others--including photographs presumed to be taken by Oscar Pyle--are not. The collection consists of 1 black album or photo book containing 62 4.5 by 6.5 inch gelatin silver prints taken by Merrill. These photographs have identifying captions written beneath the images. The remaining 9 folders contain loose photographs, most taken by Merrill but some presumably taken by Pyle. In addition to gelatin silver prints produced by Merrill are picture photographs and other print styles. While the photographs are largely undated, they date from the construction of the railroad, 1907 to 1912.
Arranged by subject
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Gary J. Neeleman photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.
Donated by Gary Neeleman and the Neeleman International Honorary Consul of Brazil in 2014.
Processed by Special Collections staff.