In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek explore the lives of three famous photographers with ties to Superior.

David Francis Barry

,

Ray Jones

and

Esther Bubley

.

Barry was a noted photographer of the American West, who specialized in Native American portraits. He also captured the people and places of the Twin Ports with his lens after opening a photography business in Superior.

A black and white image of a man posing for a portrait

David Francis Barry.

Contributed: Douglas County Historical Society

Jones rose to glamorous heights and won several Academy Awards as the head of Universal Studio’s still photography department during the golden age of Hollywood.

The front cover of a book featuring a glamorous female actor.

The cover of Light and Illusion by Tom Zimmerman, featuring portraits by Academy Award-winning still photographer and Superior native Ray Jones.

Contributed / Teddie Meronek

Bubley was a freelance photographer who found her niche as a photojournalist, balancing corporate clients with magazine work. Her intimate photos of everyday people graced publications such as Life and the Ladies Home Journal.

A vintage photo of a sister and brother shoveling snow.

Esther Bubley, left, and her brother Stanley shoveling snow in Superior in 1935.

Contributed: Douglas County Historical Society

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at 

mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.

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A historical photo of a steam locomotive.

A photograph taken by Superior native Esther Bubley that appeared in the Superior Telegram as part of a photo contest around 1940. Bubley won first prize. It was her first award-winning photograph.

File / Duluth Media Group

A black and white image of a family gathered together while looking at a book.

The Bubleys in 1940. Back row, from left, Claire, Esther, Anita and Stanley. Front row, from left, Louis, Ida and Enid.

Contributed: Douglas County Historical Society

The front cover of a book, featuring a young boy with two other children hanging from him.

The cover of On Assignment, a monograph by Bonnie Yochelson featuring 75 photographs, as well as magazine layouts, by Superior native Esther Bubley.

Contributed / Teddie Meronek

A historical photograph of a man

A historical image of David Francis Barry.

Contributed: Douglas County Historical Society

A display at a historical society featuring portraits and photographs.

A display at the Douglas County Historical Society in Superior featuring the photography of David Francis Barry, as seen Dec. 1.

Maria Lockwood / Duluth Media Group

A historical portrait of a Native American military leader.

A portrait of Chief Gall, taken by David Francis Barry in the 1800s. Chief Gall was a military leader for the Hunkpapa Lakota in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory in 1876.

Contributed: Douglas County Historical Society

Maria Lockwood

By
Maria Lockwood

Maria Lockwood covers news in Douglas County, Wisconsin, for the Superior Telegram.