Recreating a Little Piece of History website

Recreating a Little Piece of History
By Dustin White
Nearly 140 years separate two photographs taken at the Custer House in the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park.
The first, by post photographer Orlando S. Goff in July 1875, depicted General George Armstrong Custer, with
family and a few followers on the front porch of the house.
The second photo was taken on Sunday July 13, 2014, by
Shane Balkowitsch, North Dakota’s only wet plate photographer. Attempting to recapture history, he painstakingly
recreated that photo Goff had taken over a century ago.
Even though the two artists lived in two very different
times, they were connected by their passion for this one
art form: a wet plate photography known as ambrotype.
Having a love for the art form is one of the reasons that
Balkowitsch wanted to reproduce Gof f’ s phot o. Being
part of that history and sharing a space with a ma n w ho
had enjoyed the same art form was something he looked
forward to recreating.
“It was wonderful thinking that I was standing on the
same ground that he had stood on,” Ba l kowi t s c h sa i d.
“Hopefully, Goff was smiling down on us, that someone
was mentioning him. And maybe in 300 years someone
will pick up one of my photos and do the same.”
Identified in this 1875 Orlando S. Goff photograph: Leonard
Wanting to continue to share this art form, Balkowitsch
Swett, Elizabeth Custer, Margaret Custer Calhoun, Lieut. James
met with Matt Schanandore from Fort Lincoln State Park C. Calhoun, unidentified trooper (top row); W.C. Curtis, Miss.
after the photo shoot. Wanting to donate the four plates he Emma Wadsworth, Lieut. Richard E. Thompson (middle row);
Lieut. Thomas W. Custer, Miss. Nellie Wadsworth, Lieut. Col.
t ook t ha t Sunda y, Balkowitsch was given just that George A. Custer. Courtesy National Park Service, Little Bigopportunity. One of the plates will hang on a wa l l in the horn Battlefield National Monument, Elizabeth B. Custer ColCuster House while the three others will be used to create lection, Orlando Scott Goff, “Ft Lincoln, 1875,” LIBI 00222
a display about the history of wet plating at Fort Lincoln.
Also discussed was the possibility of Balkowitsch being
the official wet plate photographer of Fort Li ncol n.
He said the goal would be to get a large collection of
original pieces for future generations to enjoy.
Abridged article reprinted courtesy of Mandan (ND)
News. A glossary of 19th Century photographs was the
subject of our Fall 2014 “Collecting Custer” column.
Shane Balkowitsch checks camera at the Custer house,
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. Courtesy Troy Balzer
Living historian Steve Alexander (George Armstrong
Custer) was among those who posed for this recreation
of the 1875 Goff image. Courtesy Shane Balkowitsch
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument maintains an extensive photograph collection of historic images. Requests for
information and use of those images may be obtained by contacting Cindy Hagen, Little Bighorn Battlefield National
Monument, PO Box 39, Crow Agency, MT 59022-0039 or at (406) 638-3230 or cindy_hagen@nps.gov. Some collections are
only available for research; others may be available for publication purposes. A cost recovery fee may apply to requests.