photos of Dreiser in Harlan County, 1931

 

 

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   October 2022

Grace Brown and Chester Gillette (photo)

 

Grace Brown and Chester Gillette – The Atlanta Constitution, Sunday Magazine, April 21, 1935, pg. 6

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   September 2019

photograph of Helen

 

This undated photo of Helen (Patges) Richardson is in the Theodore Dreiser Papers collection in the Rare Books & Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania. It is by far the best photo of Helen I have ever seen.

Helen Esther (Patges) (Richardson) Dreiser (1894-1955) was Theodore Dreiser’s second wife.

 

— Roger W. Smith

   January 2019

photos of Theodore Dreiser and relatives

 

Posted here (see below) are photos and portraits of Theodore Dreiser as well as numerous photos of Dreiser’s relatives and acquaintances.

There is some overlap with photos which I have already posted on this site. See

https://dreiseronlinecom.wordpress.com/?s=photographs

 

Notable among the persons included in these photos, besides Dreiser, are the following:

Esther A. (Schnepp) Dickerson, Theodore Dreiser’s aunt

Dreiser’s siblings Paul, Rome, Emma, Theresa, and Claire

Dreiser’s first wife Sara White Dreiser

Dreiser’s second wife Helen (Patges Richardson) Dreiser and several of her ancestors and relatives

Dreiser’s sister-in-law Mai Skelly Dreiser

Dreiser’s favorite niece Gertrude A. Hopkins

Dreiser’s niece Dr. Vera Dreiser

Harold James Dies, who was related to Helen (Patges Richardson) Dreiser and, more distantly, to Theodore Dreiser, and who served for many years as Trustee of the Dreiser Trust

 

Thanks are due to the following persons and institutions for permission to post photos:

Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Vigo County Historical Society Museum, Terre Haute, IN

the late Harold J. Dies

Gloria N. Vevante (a Dreiser family descendant)

Joann Crouch (a Dreiser family descendant)

Thomas P. Riggio

Please note: if you left click on a photo of interest, a descriptive caption for that photo will appear. If you right click on the photo, you will have the option of downloading (saving) it.

 

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   May 2017

 

ancestors of Dreiser’s 2nd wife Helen (Patges) (Richardson) Dreiser; courtesy Joann Crouch

Esther (Schnepp) ({Parks) Dickerson, Dreiser’s aunt, with her grandson Carl Milo Dies, Jr (brother of Harold James Dies)

Dickerson family, Oregon 1884 … front, Esther A. (Schnepp) (Parks) Dickerson, Dreiser’s aunt, with her 2nd husband Samuel Turner Dickerson and their daughter Myrtle Josie Dickerson … rear, Esther A. (Schnepp) (Parks) Dickerson’s daughters by her first marriage to David Parks: Etta, Rosa, Ida, Lillian, and Amanda …. daughter Ida was the mother of Dreiser’s 2nd wife, Helen Esther Patges

Dreiser’s older brother Paul Dresser

Paul Dresser

Dreiser’s brother Markus Romanus Dreiser (Rome)

Dreiser’s sister Emma

Dreiser’s sister Mary Theresa Dreiser (1864-1897); courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Dreiser’s sister Clara Clothilde Dreiser (Claire); courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Dreiser (in rear, second from right) with spelunking group during his college days; courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Dreiser in Pittsburgh 1894; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser in Pittsburgh 1894; courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Dreiser in New York City ca. 1907; courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Dreiser in New York City ca. 1900; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser in New York City 1900; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser in New York City 1900; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser in New York City 1900; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

editor Dreiser in New York City ca. 1907; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser in New York City ca. 1907

Dreiser and Jug in New York City ca. 1907

Dreiser in New York City 1909; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser in back yard of his Greenwich Village apartment building, West 11th Street, NYC

Dreiser in his Greenwich Village studio apartment

Dreiser in his studio apartment on St. Luke’s Place in Greenwich Village 1923; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser ca. 1918; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser, October 1919

sketch of Dreiser by Frank Harris

Dreiser in Indiana during his “Hoosier Holiday” trip in 1914; this photo is misidentified on the University of Pennsylvania’s site devoted to Dreiser as having been taken in Hollywood

Dreiser and Helen in Hollywood, ca. 1920-21, shortly after they had met and when Helen was pursing an acting career

Dreiser during 1920’s; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser during 1920’s; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser in June 1926, shortly after publication of “An American Tragedy”; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser, June 1926; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser, June 1926; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser, June 1926; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser in Berlin, August 1926

Dreiser in New York City, setting sail for USSR, October 1927; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser with companions in Donetz Basin, USSR 12-19-1927; from left to right, l’Etienne (Latvian agronomist); Dr. Sophia Davidovskaya; Dreiser; Dreiser’s secretary Ruth Kennell; a local guide; courtesy, Vigo County Historical Society

studio photo of Dreiser, presumably 1920’s; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Helen and Dreiser on patio at Iroki, Dreiser’s Westchester County, NY estate; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser with Nick on his Westchester County, NY estate. Iroki, February 1929

Dreiser with Helen and Nick, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, May 1930

Dreiser in his penthouse apartment, West 57th St., NYC 1931

Dreiser with fellow activists supporting miners in Harlan County, Kentucky

John Dos Passos, Dreiser. and Samuel Ornitz during investigations of mine workers’ conditions in Harlan County, Kentucky

Dreiser in November 1933; photo by Carl Van Vechten

Dreiser 1930’s

Dreiser with his secretary-research assistant Harriet Bissell and the poet Edgar Lee Masters on his Westchester County NY estate,, Iroki, summer 1938

Dreiser on his Westchester County, NY, estate; courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Dreiser and Paul Robeson; courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Dreiser at home of Marguerite Tjader Harris, Darien, CT; courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Dreiser in California 1942

Dreiser in California 1942

Dreiser in California 1942

Theodore Dreiser, undated

Dreiser with bust of John Cowper Powys, Hollywood ca. 1942

Helen and Theodore Dreiser at wedding of Lt. George B. Smith and Dorothy Tucker, Glendale, CA 12-21-1945

sketch of Dreiser by Henry Poor

portrait of Dreiser by Wayman Adams

portrait of Dreiser by Wayman Adams

portrait of Dreiser by Boris Chaliapin; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

bust of Dreiser by Onorio Ruotolo; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Jug in young adulthood

Jug ca. 1912

Dreiser’s first wife Jug with her niece Vera Dreiser

Myrtle Josie Dickerson (1880-1938), Dreiser’s cousin at the time of the photo, she was employed as a secretary to her cousin Paul Dresser; she married Carl Milo Dies Sr.; their son was Harold J. Dies; from the private collection of Harold J. Dies, courtesy Joann Crouch

Mai Skelly Dreiser (1878-1955), wife of Dreiser’s brother Ed; courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Claire Dreiser Gormley (1868-1918), Dreiser’s sister (wife of Henry V. Gormley) in touring car; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Helen Richardson, who became Dreiser’s 2nd wife; from the collection of Harold J. Dies, courtesy Joann Crouch

Helen Richardson in Hollywood; from the collection of Harold J. Dies, courtesy Joann Crouch

Helen Richardson with her wolfhound Nick in mid-1930’s; photo from Harold J. Dies collection, courtesy Joann Crouch

Myrtle Rose Patges (1900-1996), Helen (Patges Richardson) Dreiser’s sister; she married Chester Butcher; courtesy Joann Crouch

Dreiser’s niece Gertrude Amelia Hopkins (1894-1973); courtesy Gloria N. Vevante

Dreiser’s niece Dr. Vera Dreiser (1908-1998); courtesy Vigo County Historical Society

Harold J. Dies in Portland, Oregon 1938; from the private collection of Harold J. Dies, courtesy Joann Crouch

Harold J. Dies, Helen Dreiser’s cousin, in Army uniform; from the private collection of Harold J. Dies, courtesy Joann Crouch

Harold J. Dies in his office, Brooklyn, NY at Theodore and Helen Dreiser’s home in Los Angeles; from the private collection of Harold J. Dies, courtesy Joann Crouch

Harold J. Dies in his office, Brooklyn, NY; from the private collection of Harold J. Dies, courtesy Joann Crouch

 

 

Dreiser’s Greenwich Village lover, the actress Kyra Markham (1891-1967) in “The Trojan Women’; courtesy Thomas P. Riggio

Dreiser and Helen Richardson in Hollywood 1920; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Terre Haute poet Max Ehrmann (1872-1945), Dreiser, and Robert Heinl; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

Dreiser at his Westchester County, NY estate, Iroki; courtesy Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

 

 

photos of the birthplaces of Theodore Dreiser and his brother Paul, Terre Haute, IN

 

The birthplace of songwriter Paul Dresser (1857-1906); he was Theodore Dreiser’s older brother. The house has been renovated and was moved from its original location in Terre Haute to a site in the same town on the banks of the Wabash River. Photo by Roger W. Smith.

Paul Dresser Birthplace, Fairbanks Park, Terre Haute, IN; photo by Roger W. Smith

sculpture honoring songwriter Paul Dresser, created by Teresa Clark; Fairbanks Park, Terre Haute, IN; photo by Roger W. Smith

sculpture honoring Paul Dresser; photo by Roger W. Smith

“Here is a picture of the house in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the Dreisers lived from 1872 to 1877. Its address was 203 S. 12th Street, and it was located on the southwest corner of that intersection. Some say Theodore was born here. Others say he was born at 523 S. 9th Street. Edward Dreiser was definitely born here. This house was torn down about 2011. The date of this photo is unknown.” Comment by Tamie Dehler. Photo courtesy Ms. Dehler.

“This was taken just a few years before the house was torn down in 2011. I lived just a few blocks from this home from 1978 to 1989. It had these cedar shingles on it at that time and was surrounded by a pretty white picket fence. I was aware that it was a Dreiser house during most of that period when I lived nearby and I always wondered why the city did not get a historical marker erected in the yard.” Comment by Tamie Dehler. Photo courtesy Ms. Dehler.

“Here is a bird’s eye view of the property, taken from a real estate site for Vigo county. This photo is, I assume, from google earth and it is dated April 2008.” Comment by Tamie Dehler. Photo courtesy of Ms. Dehler.

“This is a drawing of the home made by artist Franklin Booth, date unknown. The printed caption across the bottom of this print says ‘Franklin’s impression of my birthplace.’ I believe that caption is attributed to Theodore Dreiser.” Comment by Tamie Dehler. Photo courtesy of Ms. Dehler.

 

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   March 2017

photo of Gertrude Amelia Hopkins (Theodore Dreiser’s favorite niece)

 

See commentary below.

Gertrude Amelia Hopkins (1894-1973)

 

This photograph of Gertrude Amelia Hopkins (1894-1973), Theodore Dreiser’s favorite niece, is, as far as I know, unique. It is the best photo of Gertrude that I have ever seen.

I am grateful to Mrs. Gloria N. Vevante, Gertrude’s niece, for giving me this photo.

Gertrude Amelia Hopkins was the daughter of Theodore Dreiser’s sister, Emma (Dreiser) Nelson (1863-1936). Emma (Dreiser) Nelson was the real life prototype of the lead character, Carrie Meeber, in Theodore Dreiser’s first novel, Sister Carrie.

 

— Roger W. Smith

  December 2016

 

***************************************************

email to a Dreiserian from Roger W. Smith, January 15, 2017

Attached is a gorgeous photo of Gertrude Amelia Hopkins (1894-1973), who was TD’s favorite niece.

The photo was given to me by Mrs. Gloria Vevante.

Mrs. Vevante was born Gloria Nelson. She was Gertrude’s niece. Her (Mrs. Vevante’s) father was George Nelson.

George Kates Nelson (1892-1955) was the son of Emma and Hopkins. He took the name of his stepfather, John Nelson.

George was a hotel manager in Manhattan for most of his professional life. He married a woman, Gunda Ryerson, who had emigrated when young from Norway. For many years, his family lived in Manhattan.

George had nothing to do with TD and did not seem to have been intimate with his mother, Emma, as an adult. He was apparently somewhat of a wild kid who straightened out as he matured. He knew Paul Dresser and as an adolescent would spend time with him.

His first name, George, is possibly significant, since Hurstwood’s first name is George and he has a son named George, Jr.

Gertrude alternatively used the names Gertrude Hopkins and Gertrude Nelson when she was young. She aspired to be singer when young. She was close to Emma. She ended up working for Con Edison in Westchester County. She married a coworker, Emil Dorn, and became Gertrude Hopkins Dorn. But, she found out — much later (I believe it was after Dorn’s death) — that Mr. Dorn was already married (when he married Gertrude) to a wife who had been found mentally incompetent and was confined to a hospital. Gertrude went back to being Gertrude Hopkins.

Gertrude died in Westchester in 1973.

Her letters to TD are touching.

Harold J. Dies (1914-2012), a descendant of Dreiser’s aunt who was Trustee of the Dreiser Estate (he was a cousin of Dreiser’s second wife, Helen Patges Dreiser), knew Gertrude well and played a major role in administering her estate. It is clear that he was fond of her. Tedi Dreiser Goddard and her mother, Dr. Vera Dreiser, knew Gertrude but didn’t seem to give her the time of day or think that much of her. Helen knew Gertrude and liked her. And, at an early age, at least, Gertrude used to correspond with Jug.

photo of Theodore Dreiser?

probably Theodore Dreiser

probably Theodore Dreiser

Above are two photographs which, after some thought, I believe are of Theodore Dreiser. As far as I know, they are unique and have not been published or posted before.

One Dreiser scholar whom I have already consulted, Professor Donna M. Campbell, feels certain that it is not Theodore Dreiser who is shown here. Professor Campbell replied as follows in an email to me:

Doesn’t look like him to me. For that age, the photo is too heavy set a person, among many other things. Check out all the photos at Penn in the Dreiser collection; nothing remotely like this.

These two photos were sent to me by a descendant of Dreiser’s maternal grandmother. She has a lot of precious family photos, several of which seem to be unique, including photos of Theodore Dreiser; Helen (Richardson) Dreiser and her family; and Paul Dresser.

There were four photos purportedly of Theodore Dreiser which she sent me, along with the others of the Dreiser family and those of Helen Richardson’s ancestors and relatives. Of those four photos, two (not shown above) are definitely of Theodore Dreiser.

Given that the two above photos come from a family collection, one wonders: if it’s not Theodore Dreiser, who could it be? Some consideration should also be given to the fact that the owner of the photo has always understood that it was a photo of Theodore Dreiser.

— Roger W. Smith

  December 2016

 

Addendum: Regarding the “fact” that “Dreiser” doesn’t quite look like himself here, I can’t help thinking of a passport of photo of myself that was taken when I was age 25 and was making my first trip to Europe. The photographer who took my passport photo was offputting and overbearing. He insisted that I take off my glasses. In the photo, I hardly looked like myself, perhaps because I was uncomfortable. I showed the photo to a good friend of mine. He insisted it was not me. When I was traveling, I had trouble at border crossings with customs officials who thought it was someone else’s photo.

Addendum: For comparison purposes, I have posted below a collage of photos of Dreiser as a young man.

Theodore Dreiser in 1890’s

Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Dreiser, editor

Theodore Dreiser, New York, 1900

Theodore Dreiser, Pittsburgh, 1894

Theodore Dreiser and his wife Sarah, ca. 1907

photos of Dreiser’s lover Marie Pergain

 

In the infamous and widely publicized “toothpick incident,” Theodore Dreiser and Marie Pergain were indicted on a charge of adultery for spending the night of Friday, November 6, 1931 together in a hotel room in Pineville, Kentucky. They had traveled to Kentucky together, Dreiser to chair hearings of the so-called Dreiser Committee into the conditions of striking mine workers.

Marie Pergain, one of Dreiser’s lovers, was the “mystery woman” involved in the scandal.

In Theodore Dresser Interviews, edited by Frederic E. Rusch and Donald Pizer (University of Illinois Press, 2004), interviews with Dreiser that were published in the Knoxville (TN) News Sentinel on November 3 and November 6, 1931 are included. The following is from the editorial commentary in the book:

Also accompanying the group was Marie Pergain (probably a fictitious name), Dreiser’s “companion.” (footnote, pg. 246)

Marie Pergain has never been identified; the name was probably adopted for the occasion. (headnote, pg. 253)

Marie Pergain was not a fictitious name. See my article “Theodore Dreiser, Ervin Nyiregyházi, Helen Richardson, and Marie Pergain,” posted on this site at

Roger W. Smith, “Theodore Dreiser, Ervin Nyiregyházi, Helen Richardson, and Marie Pergain”

 

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   March 2016

 

*****************************************************

Marie Pergain, dance student, Los Angeles, 1924

Marie Pergain publicity photo, ‘The Girl from Everywhere’ (1927)

Carole Lombard et. al; group publicity photo; Marie Pergain 2nd from right

Carole Lombard et. al; group publicity photo; Marie Pergain 2nd from right

Marie Pergain photo, Detroit Free Press, April 4, 1937

Marie Pergain Jennings, 1933

photographs

 

Most of the photographs of persons posted here are from the University of Pennsylvania’s Theodore Dreiser Papers through the university’s Dreiser Web Source (Rare Book and Manuscript Library Collections) and are used with the permission of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania.

The unique photograph of Dreiser’s niece Gertrude Amelia Hopkins (1894-1973) was given to Roger W. Smith by Mrs. Gloria Vevante, the granddaughter of Dreiser’s sister Emma Dreiser Nelson (Gertude’s mother).

— Roger W. Smith

 

1920

1920’s

1930’s

at home of Marguerite Tjader Harris, Darien, CT, late 1930’s

author of An American Tragedy, June 1926

c. 1940’s

California, 1942

Dreiser, November 1933, photo by Carl Van Vechten

editor Dreiser in New York, 1909

Gertrude Amelia Hopkins (1894-1973)

in California, 1942

in Germany, August 1926

in New York apartment, 200 West 57th Street, 1931

in New York, 1900

in Pittsburgh, 1894

in his studio, St. Luke’s place, NY, 1923

October 1919

setting sail on trip to USSR, October 1927

with bust of John Cowper Powys, Hollywood, c. 1942

with companions during Soviet trip, c. 1927-28

with fellow labor activists, Harlan County, KY, c. 1931

with first wife, Sara Osborne White (Jug), c. 1907

with Harriet Bissell (Dreiser’s secretary) and Edgar Lee Masters, Iroki, Mt. Kisco, NY, summer 1938

with Helen and Nick, Ambassador Hotel, LA, May 1930

with Helen at wedding of Lt. George B. Smith and Dorothy-Tucker, Glendale, CA, December 21, 1945

with Helen Richardson in Hollywood, 1920-21

with Nick (Helen’s wolfhound), Iroki, February 1929