Lewis Reed’s Hand-tinted Photos
Before the advent of color photography, photographers painstakingly applied color to black and white photos in order to show a truer visual depiction of a photo image. The hand-tinted photos of Lewis Reed and his daughter, Mary Jane (Reed) Gartner are examples of this medium. The small collection of hand-tinted photographs were taken by Lewis Reed in the early 1900s. The photographs were hand-colored my my mother, Mary Jane (Reed) Gartner.
Below are hand-tinted photos before and after. Pastel was a good choice for coloration.
Original photograph by Lewis Reed.
Original photograph by Lewis Reed. The photograph was meticulously tinted by my mother, making it look like a color photo.
The art of hand tinted photos was introduced along side the daguerreotype in 1839. In the 19th century it was most common for the professional photographer to tint the photograph or tintype just after printing. Later photo artists introduced new techniques using oil, watercolor and other types of paint to achieve the desired result. With the Great Depression, the sale of professional hand tinted photographs declined, but the home artist continued to have access to hand tinting kits. There is a very informative wiki article here which provided me with the brief details I have shared with you.
These days, most people rely on Photoshop to digitally make such enhancements. Progress, you know …
Lewis Reed Photos: Black Rock Mill, 1905
Looking back at photography from the past is a fascinating experience for me. I have no formal history training, just a general interest in local history where I grew up. This special post is a part of a new blog feature called, “Rockville’s Past Through the Lens of Lewis Reed”. It doesn’t have anything to do with Reed Brothers Dodge, but it does have a lot to do with it’s founder, Lewis Reed. With photography for a hobby, one that began even before automobiles were around, Lewis Reed had amassed an extensive collection of photographs from historical locations in Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia.
With that said, I will not try to be an historian; I will simply highlight some photos and supply a few sentences of context. I will begin with some images of Black Rock Mill … through the lens of Lewis Reed.
An unidentified lady poses in front of Black Rock Mill, circa 1905. Photo by Lewis Reed
Black Rock Mill was built by Thomas Hillary and has stood along the banks of Great Seneca Creek as a landmark since its construction in 1815-1816. The mill was in working operation for over a hundred years until a flood in 1920 destroyed a dam on Seneca Creek and damaged the mill. Today, it a unique survivor of the many mills in Montgomery County harnessing the water-power of the creeks to grind wheat and corn into flour. It is one of only two mills standing in Montgomery County Maryland. (click on images to enlarge)
Black Rock Mill. Photo by Lewis Reed
As far as can be determined, Lewis Reed’s collection of Black Rock Mill photographs are probably some of the earliest known.
Bridge over Seneca Creek. Photo by Lewis Reed
Lewis Reed was a well-known photographer in the county and many of his early photographs are now part of the Montgomery County Historical Society photo archives. The Jane C. Sween Library was recently given a collection of 280 glass plate negatives, showing Montgomery County in the early 20th century.
The two-story stone mill is set into the side of a hill beside Great Seneca Creek. Photo by Lewis Reed
A photo taken by Lewis Reed appeared below in an undated Montgomery County Courier newspaper.
For now, the mill sits idle but majestic on the Seneca Creek, a reminder of a long time ago. Black Rock Mill is owned by MCPS and is open to the public during daylight hours. There are also hiking trails all around it since it sits within the parks system. This is a very large structure and is one of the best preserved old mills in Montgomery County. It also sits directly alongside a creek and the interior of the building has flood markers on the walls. At least one flood took over 2/3 of the building.
Directions: From Germantown, go south on Germantown Road/Md 118 for 2.5 miles, turn right onto Black Rock Road and go about 3 miles to the mill on the right at Great Seneca Creek. The mill is located in Seneca Creek State Park.
References:
M: 24-6: Black Rock Mill – Maryland State Archives
Montgomery County Historical Society
Last Sign Standing
Work continues on the Bainbridge Shady Grove apartments, which was home to former Reed Brothers Dodge dealership. The Used Car sign, still standing on King Farm Blvd is the last remaining remnant of the dealership’s former life.
Demolition at the site was conducted May 2013 to make way for a mixed use development. When the state widened the roads in 1970, Reed Brothers Dodge relocated from its original facility at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike (now Veterans Park) to a new 26,000 square foot showroom and Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep service complex located at 15955 Frederick Road in Rockville, Maryland. Reed Brothers Dodge stood at this location for more than 40 years.
Sculpture Milestone Celebration!
The “Light Dodger,” sculpture by Tj Aitken has hit a major milestone and is planning a celebration! The full scale armature will be erected for the first time!
The 20-foot sculpture and the Hemi Street Lamps are to be installed next spring at Bainbridge Shady Grove Apartments at the entrance to the Shady Grove Metro Station to commemorate Reed Brothers Dodge and the dealership’s history.
Not Just a Dodge Dealer
Lewis Reed’s Rockville Garage sold more than just Dodges. During the early years, Reed Brothers represented several franchise nameplates along with Dodge, including Oldsmobile, Hudson and Essex. The Hudson and Oldsmobile were sold at Reed Brothers from roughly 1917 through 1921.
In 1930. Reed Brothers added the Plymouth line. The first Plymouth was built in 1928 and Plymouths were sold at Reed Brothers until 1969, when the brand was given to the Chrysler dealers.
This photograph of the original 1916 Rockville Garage shows a 1916 model 44 Oldsmobile with V8 and sedan body parked in front. The original owners of Rockville Garage are standing in front. From left: Roy Warfield – Lewis Reed – Griffith Warfield.
Below is new car showtime as fair-goers get their first glimpse at the latest models that Rockville Garage had to offer. Identified by the triangle logo on the grill and the number of passengers seated in it, the car below appears to be a 1918 Hudson Super Six Seven Passenger Touring.
Anybody for a demonstration drive? 1918 Hudson Super Six Seven Passenger Touring
Hudson Super Six, Oldsmobile, and Dodge Brothers Motor Cars on display
Rockville Garage, 1918 – Hudson Super Six, Oldsmobile, and Dodge Brothers Motor Cars on display at Rockville Fairgrounds. Lewis Reed is seated in the drivers seat of the Rockville Garage Service Truck.
1918 Rocvkille Fair Grounds
The first advertisement below, distributed by the Oldsmobile Sales Company in the Sunday, June 29, 1919 edition of The Washington Post is probably one of the first ads in which the Rockville Garage appeared. Dealers are listed in fine print at the bottom: note Rockville Garage, Rockville, Md, highlighted in yellow. (click on image to enlarge)
Washington Post 1919
Books
Related Resources
Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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