The Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 College of Photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 and Bissell College of Photo Engraving was founded in the late 19th century and was located initially on the Austin College

Austin College

Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated by covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church and located in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles North of Dallas....

 campus in Effingham County, Illinois. It later moved to its separate studio and buildings in 1900 at 910–945 Wabash Ave in Effingham. At one time the school had several hundred students from the U.S., Canada and 52 countries.

It was founded by L.H. Bissell and welcomed students from c. 1900 to 1932, when it closed due to poor enrollment during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

.

Graduates were expected to "go out fully equipped and the fact that they are alumni of the Illinois College of Photography is a guarantee that they are artists in their lines. A diploma from this institution assures them the most remunerative positions in the best studios in the country."

Personnel 1905–1906

• LEWIS H. BISSELL, PRESIDENT
• HON. WM. B. WRIGHT, VICE-PRESIDENT

  Grand Master Mason of Illinois

• JOHN A. RINEHART, SECRETARY
• HON. BENSON WOOD, TREASURER

  President Effingham State Bank

  Commander Illinois G. A. R.

• THEODORE F. MOCK, SUPERINTENDENT
• GEORGE ROSCOE GRUBB

  Instructor in Half-tone Operating

• A. V. LESLIE

  Instructor in Three-Color Work, Etching and Re-etching

• FELIX RAYMER

  Demonstrator in Department of Lighting, Posing, Composition and Flashlight

• CHARLES W. FISHER

  Finisher and Proofer

• O. E. REYNOLDS, B. S., A. M.

  Instructor in Latest Approved Methods of Chemistry, Optics and Laboratory Work

• RUBY W. BISSELL

  Department of Retouching and Etching

• F. A. STRICKLAND

  Instructor in Department of Retouching and Etching

• DAVID J. COOK

  Instructor in Negative Making, Process and Laboratory Work

• THEODORE HOWE

  Instructor in Department of Carbon and Platinotype

• LEON S. DUDLEY

  Instructor in Department of Printing and Finishing

Notable Graduates

• Robert Bagby
• Arthur Serviss Dudley, graduated 1903
• Avery Edwin Field, graduated 1906
• Fred Hultstrand
  Fred Hultstrand
  Fred Hultstrand was a professional photographer. His photography helped document life in the U.S. state of North Dakota in the early twentieth century.-Background:...
  
   (1888–1968), graduate 1911
• Amando Céspedes Marin (1881–1976), graduated 1900
• Edward Weston
  Edward Weston
  Edward Henry Weston was a 20th century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers…" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course of his forty-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of...
  
   (1886–1958), attended 1908–1911
• Ellery Vladimir Wilcox (1882–1960)
• Tomar J. Hileman (1882–1945), Glacier National Park photographer