Butler County: The Boston Studio Collection

Harvey L. Boston opened the Boston Studio in downtown David City in 1893. For about the next 35 years, Boston personally recorded the people and places of Butler County using photography. Boston had an eye for detail, and through his photographs, one is able to inspect and appreciate the clothing of the early years of the 20th century: from everyday styles to formal and special occasion costumes. The Boston Studio was opened toward the end of what was known as the Victorian era, a time when how a woman and members of her family dressed was a reflection of the family's prosperity. This attention to detail is very evident in the photographs taken by Boston. The various fashions worn by Butler County residents provide a wealth of information about a person's life, even when information about that person is not otherwise known. While once almost lost to history, the Boston Studio Collection of approximately 60,000 negatives has now been preserved and is available for the public to again appreciate for its historic value. The more than 200 Boston photographs carefully selected for this book demonstrate what life was like in Butler County between 1900 and 1920 and feature a cross-sampling of the people, both well known and anonymous, who were responsible for influencing the early history of Butler County.

Susan R. McLain, from Beatrice, has been a historian on fashion and a clothing collector since 1985. She is also a humanities speaker who has traveled the Midwest presenting programs on the history of fashions to various groups.