35 mm color slide depicting an unidentified bearded man wearing a work shirt and a brimmed hat, possibly at an unidentified location on the Santa Fe Trail (now known as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail) in Colorado, taken circa 1945, by Fred Payne Clatworthy (1875-1953). The man is described on the slide mount as a "desert rat". A donkey is tethered behind him. See also image 96.174.4311.
Fred Payne Clatworthy was a photographer and public lecturer who worked mostly out of Estes Park, Colorado during the first half of the twentieth century. Clatworthy was known for his mastery of the Autochrome screen plate, an early color photography format. In exchange for image use rights to Clatworthy's Autochromes, railways and transportation companies often sent him on all-expenses-paid photo assignments to various locations. In addition, approximately one hundred of Clatworthy's Autochromes appeared in the the pages of National Geographic Magazine between 1923 and 1934. From 1917 to 1934, Clatworthy regularly toured the United States, presenting Autochromes to the public in slide lectures. Some of his most notable venues included the Smithsonian Institution, the Field Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and Carnegie Museum. Between Clatworthy's lectures and published images, his work was seen by over ten million people in over one hundred sixty countries. Clatworthy also served as the official photographer for the Stanley Hotel, Covenant Heights, and the Rocky Mountain Young Men's Christian Association during the early half of the twentieth century. In addition to his photography work, Clatworthy also had several busines interestes in the Estes Park area including "Ye Littel Shop," a curio store that sold furniture, produce, Kodak cameras, film, and Clatworthy's own images of the area.
Donated by Barbara Clatworthy Gish, 1996
Handwritten on the slide mount: "Desert rat, Clatworthy".