Happy Birthday to Mr. Sheelor born on this day in 1878 in Nebraska. He came to Skagway about 1915 and produced the most amazing panoramic photos of town that can purchased from the Library of Congress. He registered for the draft for World War One and was here for the 1920 census. There was a Mrs. Sheelor who left the Yukon with him in 1916.
Before he came here he worked in California producing the largest photo ever made in 1913:
“From June 24 1913 Tonopah Bonanza:
LARGEST PHOTOGRAPH IN WORLD IS TAKEN IN TONOPAH BY CAMERA MANUFACTURED IN THIS CAMP
After laboring for 6 months and incurring an expense of $3000 F. W. Sheelor of Tonopah has constructed the largest panorama camera in the world, and the first picture, which also has the distinction of being the largest ever taken is now on exhibition. The picture is 12 feet 3 inches in length and 25 inches in width and shows a panoramic view of Tonopah district with over 2 miles of territory being clearly defined.
Sheelor is originally from Sisson Calif., and about six months ago started work upon the construction of what he declares to be the largest camera in the world. For a number of years he offered manufacturing firms a fancy price to make such a picture taking machine but the offer was refused. Every piece of the camera was made in Tonopah, except the lens, which was imported from Germany. The progress was necessarily slow, and it was not until a short time ago that the work was completed.
Last Thursday Sheelor carried the camera to the top of mount Brougher. The outfit was conveyed to the mountain top in sections and late in the afternon it was set up and the picture was taken. The sweep of the machine includes views starting below the Extension mine and ending with the old high school building. Practically every mining company in the district is included in the view while every building in the city stands out in prominence. The picture is clear in detail and shows people walking about the streets in every part of town. Two pedestrians are to be observed walking along the railroad track near the Montana mine practically a mile from the point where the view was taken, showint the clear manner in which objects were brought out.
One of the views has been purchased by H H Bacon and is now attracting attention at his place of business. It was inspected by a large number of people yesterday and declared to be a work of art.
Sheelor will leave shortly for Montana where he is under contract to take photographs for several of the leading railroads crossing that state and will probably use his new camera during the trip. The films used in the machine are of special manufacture and are imported from France.
The machine can take a picture 36 feet in length, which means a complete circle. The width will be the same in all pictures, or 25 inches. The mechanism is so adjusted that any fraction of the 36 feet of film can be exposed.”
Hello, I have one of these wonderful panoramas by F. W. Sheelor. I bought it at a auction in PA. My print is signed”W. Hazard” in pencil, bottom right and stamped “Sheelor Photo Co. Skagway Alaska” It is a sepia print and looks to be hand colored. My husband and I love the print and wondered about it’s value. Thank you. Angela