Relatively little is known about Lillian, but her images of the Camas Prairie Railroad, published as picture postcards, are a testament to her skill as a photographer and an artist. Lillian began her photography career by pho- tographing members of the Nez Perce Indian tribe. In appreciation and perhaps payment for the photographs, they gifted her a horse. While there is no specific documentation regarding the type of horse she was given, the Nez Perce were and still are known for their husbandry of the well-renowned Appaloosa breed. It is prob- able that this is the type of horse she would have been given. Today the section of the Camas Prairie Railroad from Spalding to Grangeville is no longer an ac- tive line, but most of the trestles and bridges still exist, 117 years after construction. Traveling from Lapwai to Grangeville on US
Highway 95, the trestles can be seen hugging the rugged and steep terrain along Winchester Grade, and the steel viaduct still stands as it crosses Lawyer’s Canyon in an impressive show- case of engineering at 1,490 feet long and 280 feet high. Over the years many photographers stood in the same places Lillian once stood, photographing the trestles and the trains. The terrain hasn’t changed with time, but much else has. The advent of modern photography equip- ment and the accessibility provided by roads and highways have made modern images much easier to capture, but Lillian’s quest for these photos would have looked much different. It is possible she was able to ride the train at times, disembark and take her photos, but more than likely, she used her horse and a pack mule to gain access to the vantage points for her pho- tography. Professional cameras in the early 1900’s were large, heavy, unwieldy and used fragile glass plate negatives, which were diffi- cult to process. Lillian would have been garbed in a fitted bodice, full skirts and tight-fitting boots of the time, making her travel and work all the more challenging. Professional camera equipment was expensive at the turn of the century, and it is estimated that the type of camera she most likely used would have cost around $100, equivalent to $3,400 today. This was during a time in which women only comprised somewhere between 10-20 percent of all photographers in the Amer- ican West. Lillian had no lack of subject matter in the Cam- as Prairie Railroad. The section that ascends Lapwai Grade has seven tunnels, one mile of bridgework, 27 trestles, and a large horseshoe curve called Half-Moon Trestle, all of which are situated along a 14 mile stretch of track with a 3 percent grade. The juxtaposition of photography and art began around this time in the colorization of black and white photography to postcard printing. Post- cards became popular at the turn of the cen- tury when the US Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act. This allowed publishers to pro- duce postcards that could be mailed at the rate
Idaho Gems • History
through her lens lillian m. bell photographs the camas prairie railroad by CARRIE COEN Lillian M. Bell became briefly known as the pho- tographic genius of the Camas Prairie Railroad during the era of intense competition of the American railroad race into the West. Her work came during the rise of postcard popularity, coupled with unfettered access to one of the most unique railroad lines ever constructed. There are conflicting accounts of Lillian’s employment with the Camas Prairie Rail- road, but it was common practice during the time for railroad companies to hire photographers and print their images to postcards. This was a way to promote their lines in a burgeoning market that was competing to conquer access to the West. By showcasing the beautiful
scenery and engineering skills, their hope was to attract an increasing population, creating demand for additional freight and passenger service. Lillian was born in Michigan in 1870 and mar- ried Robert Bruce Bell in 1894 or 1895. The couple moved to Culdesac, Idaho in 1905 where Robert worked as a station agent for the Camas Prairie Railroad.
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