Kilburn Brothers and B. W. Kilburn Co.
in the
White Mountains of
New Hampshire, one of several stereoscopic images Kilburn Brothers produced from the area near
Mount Washington (New Hampshire) photograph of the summit of
Mount Washington (New Hampshire) and the
Glen House stage coach by Kilburn Brothers circa 1872. The
cog railway line also appears to be visible in the background along with the Summit House atop the peak near Glen House Their first stereoscopic views were produced in Edward Kilburn's studio in the McCoy Block in Littleton. The location proved to be too small for their popularity. The business remained family-centered and was largely focused on local subjects and talent. Benjamin's daughter Elizabeth and her husband William Jackson were employees who helped to develop the quality product associated with Kilburn views. By 1868, a second larger viewshop was built at the Chutter Block location on Main Street. Afterwards, a new factory was built on Cottage Street with more room to expand. Both of these larger viewshops were but one block from the Littleton railroad station. Young salesmen carried Kilburn views onto the trains and south to an ever-expanding audience. Today the site of the third viewshop is a state historic landmark. They quickly became the world's most extensive manufacturer of stereoscopic views. Edward Kilburn retired from the partnership about 1877, although the product continued to be identified as Kilburn Brothers until the late 1880s.
John P. Soule, a famous stereo-photographer from Washington Street in Boston, was closely associated with the Kilburn Brothers. A significant number of his negatives were shipped to the Kilburn business of Littleton in 1881. Benjamin was active in the
National Photographic Association. The new B. W. Kilburn & Company brought many changes in stereoscopic technology and audience. By 1890, Benjamin's second son-in-law, the attorney Daniel Clark Remich, had joined the board of the firm, as well as James M. Davis, agent for a growing army of door-to-door salesmen. Davis would in later years direct the day-to-day decisions of the firm. As general manager, located first in
Philadelphia and later in
New York and
St. Louis, he used his cable address "Artistic" to direct production, send photographers to distant lands, and hire a sales force to distribute the views. The
Columbian Exposition at
Chicago in 1893 became the high-water mark for their business as they acquired exclusive rights to sell stereoscopic views of the World's Fair. The business was succeeded by several of its former salesmen and competitors including: W. F. Burns & Co. of St. Louis in 1910;
Underwood & Underwood brothers of New York; B. L. Singley of the
Keystone View Company; and others. ==Legacy==