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JUNE 2015
CONTACT:
Kristin Gilpatrick, Marketing Manager
Wisconsin Historical Society Press
608-264-6465 |
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Summer Issue Explores Friendship that Documented Early Wisconsin Dells
 Back when tourists came to the Wisconsin Dells for river views not water parks, photographer H.H. Bennett (Henry Hamilton Bennett) was already documenting the beauty of the Wisconsin River and its famous rock formations.
This month, the Summer 2015 edition of the Wisconsin Magazine of History tells a backstory to Bennett's success -- the unique friendship between Bennett and a Milwaukee aristocrat. In her article, A Shared Vision: Henry Hamilton Bennett and William H Metcalf, author Sara Rath details how Metcalf's emotional, financial, and artistic support enabled Bennett to capture the landscapes that ultimately drew people from across the nation to the Dells.
With Metcalf's help, Bennett built and maintained his own studio in Kilbourne City (now Wisconsin Dells), selling portraitures and souvenirs to tourists while affording Bennett the time to photograph the wilderness. As Rath details, Bennett and Metcalf's relationship was a true friendship built on a shared passion for photography. The men camped along the Wisconsin River with cameras in tow to pursue their artistic passions, even maintaining correspondence when apart to encourage one another to develop and refine their photographic work. One result of such friendly encouragement was Bennett's invention of a faster shutter, the type which allowed him to capture the now famous photo of his son Ashley jumping to Stand Rock, "Leaping the Chasm" (1886).
The H.H. Bennett studio, a Wisconsin Historical Society site, celebrates its 150th birthday this year. The studio will be exhibiting images and artifacts from their collection, some never before exhibited, during the Summer of 2015.
Also in this Issue: The Fun of Joy Camp, The History of the Swift Army Hospital, and More!
Author Susie Seefelt Lesieutre tells the story of Barbara Ellen Joy's camp program in her article, Joy Camps: A Northern Wisconsin Adventure. Joy spent twenty five years directing her private camp designed for young women and girls between ages seven and seventeen, ensuring her camp environment was free of the constraining schedules popular in many others of its day. Of all the activities, from horse-back riding to fencing, the camp's recurring favorite was the "camp craft" program aimed at training girls in preparation for overnight camp and canoe trips. Told with the help of late-1940s camper Sue Ann Hackett's scrapbook of photos and letters, modern readers experience the fun and excitement of a classic camp experience.
Swift Army Hospital: Caring for Civil War Soldiers
Also, in A Short History of the Swift United States Army General Hospital at Prairie Du Chien, author Mary Elise Antoine describes the tumultuous and uncertain beginnings of the Swift United States Army General Hospital in Prairie du Chien. With the start of the Civil War, a series of Wisconsin governors, their wives, and concerned citizens advocated for a Wisconsin hospital devoted to injured Wisconsin soldiers during a time when warm southern climates made southern hospitals rife with disease. With the dogged pursuit of such individuals, the hospital finally opened in 1864. Thanks to an exceptional hospital staff and the sacrifices of the neighboring communities, the Swift Army Hospital nursed soldiers' minds and bodies back to health. Told with rich detail, the inspiring struggle and triumph of establishing the hospital in Prairie du Chien highlights the teamwork and compassion of the Wisconsin Civil War community.
Book Excerpt: The Man Who Painted the Universe
This issue also features an excerpt from a new Wisconsin Historical Society Press book, The Man Who Painted the Universe, available now. Written by Ron Legro and Avi Lank, the book tells the inspiring true story of how amateur astronomer Frank A. Kovac Jr. realized his dream to construct a planetarium in Wisconsin's North Woods.
The Wisconsin Historical Society Press, publishing the best of
Wisconsin history and culture as a division of the Wisconsin Historical Society since 1855
as a division of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
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Media: Published since 1917, the award-winning Wisconsin Magazine of History is a benefit of membership in the Wisconsin Historical Society Foundation. For review copies or to arrange author interviews, contact Kristin Gilpatrick, Wisconsin Historical Society Press, (608) 264-6465; email: kristin.gilpatrick@wisconsinhistory.org.
Become a Wisconsin Historical Society member today: A subscription to the Wisconsin Magazine of History is just one of the benefits of membership! Go to www.wisconsinhistory.org/membership/ for more information
THE WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY IS NOW ON FACEBOOK! |
Wisconsin Historical Society Press 816 State Street Madison, WI 53706  Collecting, Preserving and Sharing Stories Since 1846 |
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