Although you may not have heard his name, you most likely have seen one of his panoramic photos. Mr. Pillsbury was born in 1870 in Medford, Massachusetts. He attended Stanford University majoring in mechanical engineering and opened a shop in Oakland for bicycles, motorcycles and photography.
Arthur Pillsbury began his career in 1887 after inventing an early version of the Cirkut Camera. He used this panoramic camera to photograph Yosemite and the Yukon. In 1909 he filmed the first nature film of Yosemite and showed it at his studio in Yosemite. He had a business called Pillsbury & Cleveland. He invented cameras but did not patent them, saying he wanted them to be available to everybody. When he worked in Skagway in 1900, his company was the Alaska View and Photo Company. Here he is perched on a cliff, probably in Yosemite!
He died on this day, March 5, 1946 in Oakland, California.
1898-1900 online website: Tappan Adney; Arthur C. Pillsbury Foundation.