Aultman Scrapbook
Libro de recuerdos de Aultman

Aultman Scrapbook

AULTMAN, OTIS A. (1874–1943). Otis A. Aultman, photographer, was born on August 27, 1874, in Holden, Missouri. His family moved to Trinidad, Colorado, in 1888. As a young man he learned photography from his older brother, Oliver, many of whose photographs of the Trinidad area are now in the collections of the Colorado State Historical Society. Aultman married and had two children, but the marriage ended in permanent separation in 1908, after which he moved to El Paso. There he first worked for Scott Photo Company, was later in partnership with Robert Dorman, and eventually owned his own studio. Aultman was a favorite of Pancho Villa, who called Aultman "Banty Rooster" because he was only 5'4" tall. Aultman worked for the International News Service and Pathé News and experimented with cinematography. In 1916 he was one of the first photographers to arrive at Columbus, New Mexico, after the famous raid on that town by the Villistas. After the military part of the revolution was over, Aultman settled down to a conventional career as a commercial photographer. He took an interest in photographs depicting early El Paso history and collected many from the 1880s and 1890s. Another of his interests was archaeology; early photographs of archeological sites in the El Paso area are an important part of his work, and he was a founding member of the El Paso Archaeology Society. Aultman died from a fall in his studio in 1943. Subsequently, the El Paso Chamber of Commerce purchased his negatives from the estate. Over the next twenty years the negatives were moved from one storage place to another, and undoubtedly some disappeared. In the 1960s, due largely to the interest of historian C. L. Sonnichsen, the remaining 6,000 negatives were purchased, prints were made, and both negatives and prints were placed in the El Paso Public Library. A second set of prints is in the Library of the University of Texas at El Paso. Aultman's photographs are a priceless contribution to the recorded history of El Paso, southern New Mexico, and Ciudad Juárez. Equally important are his photos of the early stages of the Mexican revolution.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: El Paso County Historical Society

Reference ID: 083-1995-36-p14a

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Y. M. C. A. Building - El Paso, Texas

The postcard shows the old Y.M.C.A. Building. Y.M.C.A. stands ...

San Jacinto Plaza

The writing on the postcard says: El Paso. City Park & Mt. ...

Custom House and Post Office

The postcard shows the Custom House and the Post Office. One ...

Fitzgerald Twins

The image shows twins, cousins, of the Fitzgerald family. The ...

Fitzgerald Children

The image shows two of the Fitzgerald children joining a parade. ...

Getrude Fitzgerald with Children - El Paso, Texas

The image shows Gertrude Fitzgerald with two of her Children. ...

Joe and Essie (Daw) Ayoub

The image shows Joe and Essie (Daw) Ayoub on their wedding day ...

Adolfo Perales and Clementina Ortega Perales

The picture shows Adolfo Perales and Clementina Ortega Perales ...

Margie Macias Yannuzzi - El Paso, Texas

Margie Macias Yannuzzi's picture was taken on her wedding day in ...

Cecilia Porras (Bustamante) - El Paso, Texas - 1953

The bride in this beautiful wedding dress is Cecilia Porras ...

Feliciana Loya Heredia - 1949

The image shows the bride Feliciana Loya Heredia in a beautiful ...

Wedding Party

The image shows the wedding party around the bridal couple ...

Double Wedding of Twins

This is the wedding photograph of the double wedding of twins. ...

Beatriz Amparan Gutierrez and Carmelo Gutierrez

The photograph shows Beatriz Amparan Gutierrez and Carmelo ...

Arturo Pedregón and Benita Duarte Pedregón

The picture shows the couple Arturo Pedregón and Benita Duarte ...

Irene Gonzalez and Jesus Nevarez

This is one of the images taken on the wedding day of Irene ...

Socorro Elena Figueroa

This picture of Socorro Elena Figueroa was taken in 1948 by the ...

El Paso Street

El Paso Street in downtown El Paso during the 1910s.

Football Team - 1897

Football team organized in 1897

Football Game - 1895

Football-El Paso vs. Las Cruces College.

White Sox-Baseball Champions-1907

White Sox--Champions of the El Paso City League.

Baseball Players

Baseball players - unidentified players.

El Paso City Baseball Team and Charles F. Jones

Champions of the Southwest-- in the middle sitting is the ...

home.search_collection