Description
H. Marshall Gardiner was the son of photographer William Henry Gardiner, and spent his early years in Mackinac Island, Michigan. In 1904, the family also bought a winter home in Daytona, Florida, where the elder Gardiner marketed photographs of Florida to tourists. H. Marshall Gardiner photographed in both locales, but is best known for his images of Bermuda and, especially, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. He documented Nantucket’s buildings, beaches and people between 1910 and 1940, producing postcards and larger format hand-colored photographs. About 35 of his Nantucket images are in the collection of the Nantucket Historical Association. His late-1920s photograph of the Rainbow Fleet of sailboats has endured as the most popular picture ever taken of the island. Such photos are the subject of H. Marshall Gardiner’s Nantucket Postcards 1910-1940, authored by his daughter, Geraldine Gardiner Salisbury, in 1995.
Condition: Photographs very good with minor overall toning on original paper mounts. Mounts a bit brittle overall, with few marginal tears and waterstains now matted over with linen mat. Frames good with the usual overall wear to finish and slight shrinkage.
References:
Miles, Mary. “Rainbows on the Water.” http://www.nantucket.net/books/cn3/rainbows.html (24 July 2003).
“Image Database (Photograph Collections).” Nantucket Historical Association. http://140.186.109.142/dbtw-wpd/WebImages.htm (24 July 2003).
