Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream

by John E. Carter

For millions of Americans, Solomon D. Butcher’s photographs epitomize the sod-house frontier. His late-nineteenth-century images from western Nebraska constitute the most extensive photographic record in existence of the generation that settled the Great Plains. The faces are unforgettable: jaunty bachelors and earnest husbands, Civil War veterans of both armies, spinster sodbusters and determined mothers, cowhands, farmhands, and former slaves—all in search of land of their own. Originally published in 1985, this first book devoted to Butcher and his photographs presents a unique visual chronicle of Great Plains settlement and established Butcher’s place in frontier photography. Everyone interested in the plains pioneers or historical American photography will prize this splendid book.

Genres: History

142 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1985

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I only wish there was more. I wanted to know more about the people in the pictures I would look at them and wonder about their lives. I loved seeing the faces of many people who founded life in Nebraska. Also the photographer got me, he altered some pictures and often I would fall for the alteration then look closer and realise it was altered! :D Hilarious, especially the story about the white turkey....
Loved when author said "Many people helped me with this work-so many that I begin to fear that there is not one idea original to me in the entire book"(vii).

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butcher was a sort of benign charlatan, convinced that taking photographs as part of a history of Custer County was his ticket to wealth. It wasn't.
His photos, 3000 in all, were of interest in his time and after as historical documentary. The fact that he wasn't an artist gives them a quirky, singular quality that might have been lost had he knew better what he was doing.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives a sense of the time and place.

[Tanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book I picked up in connection with the Nebraska Reading Challenge, but also would have been interested in on my own. The photographs in this book show early settlers, mostly in front of their homes, from first dugout over sod house to wood framing home, mostly from the late 1880s to the early 1900s. Once again I was amazed what hardships the early settlers endured. I’m grateful for people like Solomon D. Butcher who left us a stunning visual account of early life in the Midwest.