Northwoods Photographer Allan Born
Allan Born (1892-1959) took photographs around northern Wisconsin for nearly half a century. He specialized in small-town life and the tourist economy but also captured much of the scenic beauty of northwoods lakes, streams, forests and wildlife. During the 1930s he also photographed local Ojibwe residents and tried his hand at aerial photography. The photographs were taken mostly with 3.5 x 5.5 and 5 x 7 inch black-and-white negative film. In 2001 his collection of more than 1,700 negatives and prints was given to the Wisconsin Historical Society. About a third of these are available in this gallery.
The Born Collection
The 1712 prints and negatives in the collection represent the lifetime achievement of a serious amateur. About a third of them (627) are available online.
As a native of northern Wisconsin, Born was eager to document local life as it was actually lived and not only as a magnet for the burgeoning tourist trade. He photographed the main streets, businesses, homes and year-round residents of 21 towns in the north throughout the middle of the 20th century.
But he also could not ignore the economic driver that brought outside money into the depressed Northwoods economy, and took nearly 200 careful images of resorts. These show exterior architecture, interior furnishings and happy tourists at play. Some were used as postcards for tourists to send home.
Born also captured the scenic beauty and wild habitats of the north in other series of photographs. He kept separate files of negatives labeled "fish scenes," "deer scenes" and "bear scenes" as well as an album of selections called "Nature Lover's Paradise."
