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History of Test Creator 2

History of Test Creator 1

Harry Grant Olds, son of Harrison Grant Olds and Georgina Judd Apthorp, was born on October 3, 1868 in the United States, in the port city of Sandusky, on Lake Erie (Ohio). In 1885 he began his photographic career as an apprentice in the studio of W. A. Bishop, located in his hometown. The following year, the studio became part of Clayton W. Platt's Platt Photographic Gallery. Then, in 1887, Olds moved to Palmyra, New York, to continue his training with famed photographer G. M. Elton. The following year he returned to Sandusky to work with Bishop at the Platt Gallery. He had the idea of saving money to start his own photographic studio. In 1893 he met Rebecca Jane Rank, his future wife, in Mansfield. That same year he was called up to join the ranks of the Ohio National Guard as a result of the national mining strike at Wheeling Creek. In 1894 he partnered with Albert Willman and they founded the firm of Olds & Willman with two facilities: one in Mansfield, Ohio, managed by Olds, and the other in Sandusky, managed by Willman. During the 1890s Ohio suffered a severe economic depression. In this context, around 1897, Olds received a letter from his uncle John Apthorp in which he referred him to a job possibility in Valparaiso and Santiago de Chile. It so happened that E. C. Spencer, an American living in Chile, was looking for a photographer who was up to date to work in his studio. Olds accepted the offer and agreed to a three-year contract with Spencer to work as operator and general assistant in the photography business. After communicating his decision to Willman, he sold the Mansfield photographic gallery. However, in late 1898 or early 1899, Spencer informed Olds that he could not fulfill the agreement, so Olds contacted Scovills & Adams, a New York photographic supply company, to inquire about possible work in Chile or Argentina. He was referred to Odbe W. Heffer, who managed Helsby's Corner photographic studio, the original daguerreotype shop, in Santiago, Chile. Olds left for South America on July 1, 1899 on the ship Buffon. He carried 4x5-inch photographic equipment and 200 dry plates. His trip was profusely photographed and described in letters to his family. He also made a record of notes on each photograph he took. In Brazil, he passed through Bahia and Rio de Janeiro and on July 29 he disembarked in Buenos Aires, from where he planned to travel to Chile. However, the crossing of the Andes was interrupted, so he had to travel to Montevideo and from there to Chile by ship through the Beagle Channel. He left on August 5 on the steamship Orcana, of the Pacific Mail and on August 20, 1818, he was transferred to Chile where Heffer received him. From the beginning of his stay, he perceived the character of his new employer as difficult, which he comments on in his letters to his family. He also refers to his willingness to acquire knowledge and experience, in order to later become independent. At the same time, both Heffer and Olds himself were very satisfied with the quality of their work. To his surprise, on December 7, 1899, he received a letter from Heffer informing him of his decision to terminate the employment relationship for financial reasons within six months. Faced with this circumstance, he decided to ask his uncle John for a loan to set up his own commercial photography business in Buenos Aires. He had considered that there were not many such ventures there, so it would be a good opportunity. At the end of March 1900 he arrived in Buenos Aires, having crossed the Andes Mountains by mule. Once he received the order for the photographic materials, on August 5 he made his first negative in Argentina. By December he was already in full development of his work. Two years later he summons his fiancée Jane Rank to Buenos Aires, where he arrives on May 12, 1902, to be married immediately. In Chile he had begun a series of photographs that he called his “general collection”, similar to what is known as a current image bank.
In 1901 he already had more than 350 negatives. For this series he traveled to different regions of Argentina. He portrayed views of natural landscapes and towns, popular types and scenes of customs. That year he was already receiving commissioned work from Argentine companies, such as Casa Drysdale, La Martona, views of estancias and the Sociedad Rural. He also received orders from the government. His images were published in postcards and newspapers thanks to the new photomechanical printing technologies. He was mainly dedicated to institutional, advertising, landscape, documentary and journalistic photography. Thanks to his work, Olds had achieved a good professional position in Argentina. There are indications that he returned to the United States several times with his wife. Harry Grant Olds died of cirrhosis on December 24, 1943 in Buenos Aires. The disease had left him prostrate for the last two years of his life. He left as a legacy a valuable record of South America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, through the eyes of an American photographer.

Example fonds Creator history (ISAD 3.2.2). Note that this will be added to the related authority record for Creator (ISAD 3.2.1).

History of Accumulator

Alejandro C. del Conte nació en Buenos Aires el 25 de abril de 1897 y falleció el 2 de marzo de 1952 en la misma ciudad. Fue fotógrafo, escritor, periodista, director de cine, fundador de prestigiosas publicaciones sobre fotografía e impulsor del fotoclubismo en Argentina. Fue una figura central en el mundo del arte fotográfico durante la primera mitad del siglo XX y uno de los primeros en darle una perspectiva latinoamericana a la actividad. También fue precursor en facilitar la educación gratuita para fotógrafos profesionales y aficionados.
Alejandro del Conte comenzó su carrera profesional a temprana edad. A los 16 años de edad, mientras aún se encontraba cursando sus estudios secundarios en el Colegio Nicolás Avellaneda, inició su carrera periodística colaborando en la popular revista PBT. Entre 1913 y 1916, publicó en las páginas de ese semanario varios reportajes, artículos costumbristas y notas de actualidad que firmaba con su nombre o con el pseudónimo de “Juan Porteño”.

Vivió en Tucumán entre 1916 y 1918. Allí Organizó espectáculos teatrales y exhibiciones cinematográficos en las principales salas de esa provincia y en diversas localidades del Norte.
En 1917, a los 19 años, fundó y dirigió el semanario Film Gráfico. Revista Semanal Cinematográfica del Norte de la República, primera revista sobre cine en esa región, dedicada a la actualidad cinematográfica. También dirigió la película documental Tucumán durante las fiestas del Centenario (1916), en 16mm. Esta obra, actualmente perdida, posiblemente sea el primer documental filmado en el norte argentino.
Desde el año 1917, cuando fundó Film Gráfico, hasta su muerte, mantuvo vínculos con instituciones, museos, asociaciones y empresas dedicadas a la fotografía y al cine en América Latina, Estados Unidos y Europa.

En 1918 fue jefe de publicidad de la droguería Gibson (Defensa 192). A partir de esta experiencia intentó fundar la revista gremial Correo Farmacéutico Sudamericano. Algunos avisos de la droguería Gibson -en donde Del Conte se desempeñó como jefe de publicidad- incluidos en la revista Caras y Caretas, aparecen fotografías de su autoría que tienen a su esposa e hijo como modelos, e inclusive autorretratos.

Durante su juventud, vivió en Corrientes y Callao, ciudad de Buenos Aires. En ese período conoció a su mujer, Angelina Rimoldi, con quien tuvo un noviazgo y se casó rápidamente. La pareja vivió en Moreno 711, donde nació su hijo Estanislao el 17 de diciembre de 1920 y luego en Suipacha 548. Desde 1936 vivieron en Lavalle 332 donde también funcionó la Dirección de Correo Fotográfico Sudamericano.

Alejandro instaló dos talleres de imprenta: uno a la vuelta de su casa, en la calle Cangallo (actual Perón) y otro en Libertad y Libertador. En el taller de Cangallo se imprimió durante un período la revista Correo Fotográfico Sudamericano, una de las principales revistas de la fotografía en América Latina. El primer número de la revista salió en agosto de 1921. Fundó y dirigió esta publicación hasta 1952, año de su fallecimiento. Entre 1925 y 1927 publicó el suplemento Chacirete, dedicado a la organización gremial de los reporteros gráficos.

En el marco de la revista, se publicaron una serie de libros entre 1939 y 1945, de los que fue autor y/o editor: Formulario Fotográfico, escrito por del Conte; Técnica del Retrato Fotográfico, escrito por del Conte; Procedimiento de Arte en Fotografía, escrito por Hiram G. Calogero; Diccionario Fotográfico, escrito por del Conte; Fotografía de los Colores, escrito por del Conte y Fotografía Astronómica, escrito por José Galli.

En 1932 dirigió su segunda película La Barra de Taponazo, una de las primeras películas del cine sonoro argentino, que se encuentra desaparecida. El guion original, escrito por del Conte, se conserva en este fondo junto con fotografías y negativos del detrás de escena.

Desarrolló una prolífica actividad de fomento a las sociedades y clubes fotográficos. Fue Presidente honorario de la Asociación de Fotógrafos Profesionales del Noreste Argentino, Socio Honorario del Foto Club Rosario, Foto Club Mendoza, Foto-Cine Clube Bandeirante (San Pablo, Brasil) y Sociedade Fotográfica Fluminense (Río de Janeiro, Brasil), Miembro de Honor de la Peña Fotográfica Rosarina, Socio Corresponsal del Foto Club Uruguayo e integró la Photographic Society of America (Estados Unidos), donde se le propuso, en sus últimos días, la representación honoraria.
Al morir Alejandro del Conte en 1952 su hijo Estanislao se hizo cargo de la dirección de CFS mientras la viuda de del Conte se encargaba de las relaciones públicas de la revista.