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Edgar A. Cohen

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Edgar A. Cohen
Born
Edgar Andrew Cohen

September 23, 1859
Alameda, California, U.S.
Died7 April 1939(1939-04-07) (aged 79)
Alameda, California, U.S.
Resting placeMountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California)
OccupationPhotographer
Years active1898–1925
Known forLandscape photography
Spouses
Jessie G. Booth
​
​
(m. 1886; div. 1902)​
Emily June
​
(m. 1903)​

Edgar A. Cohen (September 23, 1859 – April 7, 1939) was an American photographer known for his early landscape photography, which captured landmarks such as Yosemite Falls, Mount Tamalpais, and the California Missions. He documented the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Early life and education

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Cohen was born on February 4, 1885, in Alameda, California, to Alfred A. Cohen, a lawyer. He married Jessie Gray Booth on October 21, 1886, in San Francisco.[1] The couple had two children together.[2] They divorced in 1902, during which time Cohen was a commission merchant of San Francisco.[3] He later remarried Emily June.[4]

Career

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Yosemite Valley Railroad At The Mine (1907) by Cohen

Cohen began his photography career in 1898, with some of his earliest works featuring his family estate in Fernside, Alameda, California.[5] He traveled throughout the state, capturing images of Mount Tamalpais, Yosemite, and many of the California Missions. He photographed Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission Santa Barbara, and Yosemite Falls for The New Photo-miniature (1908).[6]

Down the Monterey Coast (1912) by Cohen
George Sterling on rocks in Carmel (1908) by Cohen

Cohen exhibited his work at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in November 1905 and with Paul Elder & Co. in San Francisco in 1907.[7][8] Cohen authored a 1909 article About Carmel for The American Annual of Photography. The article showcases images of the Carmel Dunes, Horseshoe Cove, Sunset from Point Lobos, Arch Rock from Pebble Beach, and the wind blown oaks.[9] He wrote two articles for The American Annual of Photography. In The New Scenic Route to Yosemite (1908), Cohen discusses and illustrates various attractions, including Yosemite Valley Railroad, El Portal, and Bridalveil Fall.[10] He was the official photographer for the Yosemite Valley Railroad.[11]

Cohen contributed to Popular Photography with the 1914 article Some Difficulties and Remedies, which discusses techniques for achieving black-and-white results.[12] His photography was featured in the National Geographic Magazine in 1925.[13]

San Francisco earthquake

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Grace Cathedral after the San Francisco earthquake, 1906, by Cohen

In 1906, Cohen was in San Francisco after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and documented the city's ruins in a series of photographs. He wrote an accompanying article titled With a Camera in San Francisco, which was published in Camera Craft magazine. Cohen laments the poor quality of most ruin and fire photographs, attributing it to the high demand for images that pressured both professionals and amateurs to produce prints quickly. He quotes a fellow commercial photographer, noting that "anything showing ruins, "went."[14] The San Francisco Call reviewed the article as a "beautifully illustrated" piece, praising its frontispiece—a color depiction showcasing the doorway of the Sloss home.[15][16]

Death and legacy

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Cohen died on April 7, 1939 in Alameda, California.[4] Over 2,140 of his images are held at the Monterey County Historical Society in Salinas, California.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "The City Weddings. Cohen-Booth". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. October 28, 1886. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "Couple Are Well Known In Society Of Encinal City". Oakland Enquirer. Oakland, California. October 23, 1902. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "Alameda Society Couple Divorced". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. October 22, 1902. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Final Rites Held For Edgar Cohen". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. April 10, 1939. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  5. ^ Dennis Evanosky (July 28, 2023). "A.A. Cohen's Fernside Estate". Alameda Post. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "The New Photo-miniature". Tennant and Ward. 8 (85–90). University of Michigan. 1908. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "The Illustrations For the Lecture Nine Views Are Secured For The Purpose From E. A. Cohen". Alameda Daily Argus. Alameda, California. November 23, 1905. p. 4. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "Artistic Work With The Camera". The Morning Press. Santa Barbara, California. March 27, 1907. p. 8. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  9. ^ "About Carmel". American Photography Book Department. University of California: Tennant and Ward. 1909. pp. 172–180. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  10. ^ "The New Scenic Route to Yosemite". The American annual of photography. New York: Tennant and Ward. 1908. pp. 242–251. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  11. ^ "Brief Items Of Local Interest". Merced County Sun. Merced, California. September 20, 1907. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  12. ^ "Some Difficulties and Remedies". Popular Photography. Vol. 2. American Photographic Publishing Company. 1914. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  13. ^ "Trilers of the Sky". National Geographic August 1925. New York: National Geographic. August 1, 1925. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "Camera Craft". Camera Craft. 12 (5). University of California: 183. June 1906. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "Notes Gleaned from Literary World". The San Francisco Call and Post. San Francisco, California. July 22, 1906. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  16. ^ Leikam, Susanne (2016). "The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire". Framing Spaces in Motion (PDF). UC Santa Barbara: Journal of Transnational American Studies. pp. 215, 218, 220, 252, 254, 255, 290, 317, 319. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  17. ^ "California Views: The Pat Hathaway Photo Collection". Monterey County Historical Society. Salinas, California. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
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