Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Collection Overview
Louis L. McAllister photographed people and places near Burlington, Vermont for 60 years. He was born in Columbus, Nebraska on October 16, 1876, the son of Julius S. McAllister (born 1841 in Lincoln, VT) and Rosette Gould (born in Vermont in 1851)...
Show moreLouis L. McAllister photographed people and places near Burlington, Vermont for 60 years. He was born in Columbus, Nebraska on October 16, 1876, the son of Julius S. McAllister (born 1841 in Lincoln, VT) and Rosette Gould (born in Vermont in 1851). Julius McAllister worked as a photographer and dentist in Washington D.C., Bristol, Vermont and Columbus, Nebraska. Around 1895, Julius, his third wife Amy, and their children left Nebraska for the Union Soldiers’ Colony in Fitzgerald, Georgia. By 1900, Julius and Amy were divorced, and Amy and her stepson Louis were working as photographers in Thomasville, Georgia.
In 1907 Louis McAllister married Cora Shepard (born about 1872 in Vermont) in Holland, Michigan. By 1910, they were living in Queen City Park in South Burlington, Vermont, where Louis established a photography studio. The McAllisters moved to Burlington, and by 1919 they lived at 47 N. Winooski Avenue. They continued to occupy a summer cottage at Queen City Park, and were active in the Queen City Park Association, which held spiritualist camp meetings annually. McAllister conducted his photography business from home until his death in 1963.
McAllister’s “trademark” was his panorama camera which made him familiar to all sorts of groups ranging from graduating classes to state police to summer camp groups. In addition he did print 8 x 10 photos, many of which document building construction and Burlington Street Department projects, as well as group and individual portraits.
The L.L. McAllister Collection includes portraits, construction projects, buildings, businesses and events in the Burlington area covering the period ca. 1920-1960. The collection also includes photos of street, bridge, airport and sewer construction and repair, as well as group portraits of clubs, schools, etc.
Revised April, 2010
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Related Archival Collection
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Ca. 1947 indoor photo (with overexposed upper edge) of couple and their 2 young sons.
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- Portraits - Family
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Family photo at Camp Abnaki during its 50th anniversary. Totem pole in background has the dates 1901 - 1951 on its wings of the bird near the top. See same pole in mcalA08F01i01
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- Portraits - Family
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1949 - 1950 family portrait. Same family as seen in mcalB15F02i15. Seen here inside.
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- Portraits - Family
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1945 indoor photo of four young girls and their grandparents, seen also in maclB14F21i04.
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- Portraits - Family
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Ca. 1957 outdoor photo of three generations of a prosperous looking family.
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- Portraits - Family
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Ca. 1946 indoor photo of a couple with two young children (as seen in mcalB14F25i14).
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- Portraits - Family
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1947 or 1948 winter photo of a young couple with their dog outside the front stoop at 52 No. Winooski Ave, Burlington, Vt. Rooms lent in the 1940s by Mrs. Lydia M. Harte.
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- Portraits - Family
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1944 indoor photo of five brothers and their parents. A wooden dog marionette seen behind hanging from one of the wall sconces.
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- Portraits - Family
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1945 indoor photo of a family gathering at Christmas, with several military personnel present. The first Christmas after the end of World War II very likely prompted many families to have a portrait photo taken. (Same family as in mcalB14F24i24, minus one or two.)
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- Portraits - Family
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1951 family portrait photo with mother, father, their two boys and new baby. The toy service station seen in the far right corner. See also mcalB14F06i08 for photo with just the children.
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- Portraits - Family
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1944 indoor photo of five family members, with three generations present (and perhaps a serviceman absent). Probable: two sisters (standing), their parents, and infant grandchild.
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- Portraits - Family
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Mid-1930s outdoor photo of perhaps three family generations, with 6 women and 9 men. Varied array of men's suits, footwear, etc. One man wears knickers.
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- Portraits - Family
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1957 or 1958 multi generation family photo taken outside. A mother and her two daughters wear matching dresses. Two other mothers hold their infants in their laps while the fathers stand behind. Grandparents are seated in front with one young girl. See also mcalA15F03i11 for the same family.
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- Portraits - Family
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1945 outdoor photo of parents (front) and grown children, as seen in mcalB14F18i07.
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- Portraits - Family
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1945 outdoor photo of a mother (center) and four daughters standing at the corner of a brick building.
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- Portraits - Family
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1945 outdoor photo of an elderly couple. Taken in the driveway on the side of McAllister's home at 47 No. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Garden trellis in the background. See also mcalB14F18i04
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- Portraits - Family
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1945 outdoor photo of couple standing on well platform (with water pump) with two small children and a dog. Large field and trees in the background.
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- Portraits - Family
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1945 outdoor photo of a mother (center) and four daughters gathered on the lawn near the corner of a brick building.
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- Portraits - Family
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1952 indoor Christmas photo of a couple, their 2 sons, and the family dog, unwrapping presents including a Newell vacuum repeater BURP toy gun (that shoots plastic ball). The older boy holds what may be a ukulele. See also mcalB14F06i13
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- Portraits - Family
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Ca. 1957 indoor photo of three women on a sofa, and a collie lying on the floor.