 | William Henry Jackson came to the Yellowstone region in 1870 with the noted geologist Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden. Jackson's photographs were the first to document the wonders of the Yellowstone region, and inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone in 1872 as the world's first national park. Jackson operated one of the largest and most prestigious photographic companies in America from 1879 until 1894 in Denver, Colorado, specializing in landscapes and Western views. Jackson joined the newly formed Detroit Photographic Company in 1898 as a partner and brought with him some 20,000 glass photographic negatives. The company became known in 1905 as the Detroit Publishing Company (DPC) and was widely recognized as America's best printing company in the Golden Age of Postcards, c1898-1915. Jackson is referred to as the "Father of the Picture Postcard" because of his influence and prolific work with the DPC. The DPC competed with German and European printers for quality. In 1907 the company issued fifty-two photo-chromolithographic postcards in eight sets by Samuel L. Schmucker. The DPC acquired original illustrations by Samuel L. Schmucker to publish as postcards and to compete with other American publishing companies and artists, such the Life Publishing Company and their contract artist Charles Dana Gibson. Other prominent American illustrators from this period include James Montgomery Flagg, Howard Chandler Christy, and Harrison Fisher. |
| Jackson left the DPC in 1924 after the company went into receivership. He was taught to paint by his mother and he "wanted to get back to my painting again." Jackson loved art and played a significant role in saving Schmucker's original illustrations from destruction. Order Information for Limited Edition Postcards
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