Emil Boehl was a St. Louis photographer who primarily focused his camera on St. Louis streets, buildings, and locales. Born in Calvoerde, Germany, in 1839, Boehl immigrated to St. Louis in 1854. After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Boehl returned to St. Louis in 1864 and opened a photography studio with Lawrence Koenig that spring. With Koenig focusing on portraiture, Boehl became one of the most prolific St. Louis scenic photographers active in the latter half of the 19th Century. The Boehl/Koenig partnership lasted until 1897. Boehl retired from photography in 1919 and died later that year on the 12th of December.
The Emil Boehl Collection consists of three series. The collection contains images dating from 1850 to ca. 1906. The collection’s archival materials include photographic prints and negatives. According to historians Peter E. Palmquist and Thomas R. Kailbourn, Boehl’s career was from 1864 to 1919, and he was known to sell prints of Thomas Easterly’s daguerreotypes. In light of those facts, some dates in the Boehl Collection may be labelled incorrectly and/or some images may not be Boehl’s.
This map, plotted out by Norbury Wayman, shows the various locations of steamboat lines and related companies on the St. Louis levee, detailing three periods of time; before 1865; 1865 - 1900; and 1900 - 1953. Lines and companies are donated by name, location and years of operation. Nearby streets are mapped as well, for easy frame of reference. Scale in feet: 100 ft. = 1 inch.
Page 3 Carpenter-Moore Family Riverboat Scrapbook A -- City of Monroe was part of the Anchor Line and served cities between St. Louis and New Orleans from 1887 to 1905. This page is part of a scrapbook that contains hundreds of photographs of riverboats operating on the Mississippi River from the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries.
Page 1 Carpenter-Moore Family Riverboat Scrapbook A -- City of St. Louis was part of the Anchor Line and served cities between St. Louis and New Orleans from 1883 to 1903. This page is part of a scrapbook that contains hundreds of photographs of riverboats operating on the Mississippi River from the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries.
Glassware mug with profile portrait of William McKinley. The words "Protection and Prosperity" are arched above the portrait and "Maj Wm. McKinley" is written below the portrait with ornate décor on the rim and handles of the mug.
Glassware mug with profile portrait of William J. Bryan. The words "The People's Money" are arched above the portrait and "Wm. J. Bryan" is written below the portrait with ornate décor on the rim and handles of the mug.
Photograph of the steamboat R.C. Gunter. The R.C. Gunter was a sternwheel packet built at Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1886 for the Chattanooga and Decatur Packet Company. R.C. Gunter was the owner and master. By 1896 the boat had been sold to the St. Louis, Harden and Hempsville Packet Company, and then sold again to the Eagle Packet Company a year later in 1901. The latter company ran the boat one final year until it sank in 1902 on the Illinois River. This is a unique view of the steamer we've not found elsewhere. Several passengers can be seen posing on the railing of the boiler deck. Photograph ca. 1900.