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. 1946 photo of 4 elderly men, standing in front of a house. Identity of group, venue, and occasion unknown.
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Men playing horse shoes. 1949. A view of the wooded area where several pits have been dug. Spectators sit on logs or stand. Several women (wives?) and one child. Parked cars and buildings seen in the background. Photo #6.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1951 group of men gathered near tables in a public commercial room with display material set up advertising MoPar Micronic Oil Filters. Photo #2.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1953 photo of five older men standing behind a banquet or restaurant table. Other men seated at tables on either side of them.
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Ca. 1947 photo of family and friends celebrating at a restaurant. Identity of persons, venue, occasion unknown.
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1947 photo of 3 men affiliated in some way with the Nash bed company. One man is presenting the other with a plaque or certificate while the third looks on. Three large banners promoting the company's product hang on the wall.
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Summer camp staff? Several small cottages seen in the background. One woman poses with a baseball bat. Photo #4.
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1945 photo of a group of women, plus one man, assembled at a dining table for a portrait, with an American flag prominently displayed on the wall. Identity of group, venue, and occasion are unknown.
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1949 group indoor photo of a large number of men and women gathered for a portrait. Drop panel ceiling, knotty pine walls and wooden floors seen. Photo #3.
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1949 photo of a group of men, women, a nun and children gathered in a room; perhaps a kitchen (linoleum floor) for a portrait. See also mcalB16F01i06 with just the adults.
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1949 photo of a group of workmen playing cards in a locker lunch room at a wooden table with bench seats attached. Metal lunchboxes on shelf above table. Candy machine and lockers seen behind as well as a sign "Please put all waste paper & refuse in containers provided."
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Ca. 1947 photo of a restaurant scene, with an elderly foursome (right) offering a toast (milestone anniversary?).
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1953 indoor group portrait photo of men and women in a restaurant. Captains' chairs seen in foreground. Photo #2.
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1944 photo of William H. Wills (center), Governor of Vermont (1941-1945) signing a document, as others look on. The man on the left, still unidentified, is *not* the Lt. Gov. of the time, Mortimer Proctor. The lady on the right is probably his secretary. A photo of Wills's wife, Hazel, is on the...
Show more1944 photo of William H. Wills (center), Governor of Vermont (1941-1945) signing a document, as others look on. The man on the left, still unidentified, is *not* the Lt. Gov. of the time, Mortimer Proctor. The lady on the right is probably his secretary. A photo of Wills's wife, Hazel, is on the left side of the desk. Letters in the background probably spell "President Coolidge." Photo #2.
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Three men stand for a portrait near the horse shoe pits. Photo #4. Dated 1949.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1944 photo of four men, very likely in a business setting, with unpainted walls in the background. Names, location, occasion are unknown.
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1951 photo of a man appearing to be placing a pin on the lapel of another man while four other men look on. They stand in a large open space commercial building. Metal office desk behind them.
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1945 photo of a private gathering of men and women (see also mcalB15F16i08), very likely business associates. Venue and occasion unknown.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Underexposed 1953 group portrait photo of men and women gathered in a restaurant with bold patterned wallpaper and printed curtains. A television has been added as seen in the upper right corner.
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March 1951 portrait photo of six men in an office with one of the men sitting at a metal office desk.