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1174073599GardinerxandxBuster.jpg
William H. Gardiner and Buster, circa 1900.

Gardiner Glass Plate Negative Collection

William H. Gardiner, Canadian born, captured Mackinac Island at the turn of the 20th century.  His earliest Mackinac images date to 1896 and he first established an island studio in the Marquette Building at the corner of Fort and Main Streets.  The studio once housed the Foley Brothers and their photography business.  A few years later Gardiner moved his studio to the 2nd floor of Fenton's Bazar also on Main Street. 

Over seventy years later, as the owners of Fenton's Bazar Building were cleaning out the 2nd floor they came across turn of the century photographic equipment and crates of glass plate negativese.  At first they were going to throw out the material, but instead contacted  Mackinac State Historic Parks and donated the artifacts to the park. 

Mackinac State Historic Parks cares for this wonderful collection of over 4,500 glass plate negatives, with most negatives in the 5 x 7 or 8 x10 inch format.  A glimpse of this large collection is part of three park publications, but the most recent and largest sampler of the collection is found in the 2005 publication "Picturesque Mackinac" by Steven C. Brisson.  This most recent publication presents a sample of Gardiner's collection never seen before and topically organized.  Below are a few of the photographs found in Picturesque Mackinac.

"Picturesque Mackinac" Image Sampler
207 West Sinclair Street, P. O. Box 873, Mackinaw City, Michigan 49701 · 231-436-4100 · E-mail Us
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