Bert Lincoln Call 1866 - 1965

Albert “Bert” Lincoln Call began his photography career in central Maine not long after the end of the Civil War when he moved to the town of Dexter in 1886 and began a brief apprenticeship with A. G. Fassett. Call showed such promise that Fassett declined the agreed upon apprenticeship fee and instead hired Call as his assistant. Before the end of the same year, Fassett sold his photography business to Call and so began Bert Call’s career as a professional photographer. Although his stock and trade was portraiture, he soon discovered that his true passion was capturing images of the rugged Maine landscape. What is important to realize is that this was done at a time that was only 30 years after Henry David Thoreau made his epic chronicled journey into the North Woods. Call explored and photographed many of the same places when there still had been very little impact from civilization. His photographic collection is now a unique and inspired national treasure of a special time in our history. To view this collection is more than a journey back in time, it is also a study of man in nature, and the human spirit.

Comment by Michael Alpert, Director, University of Maine Press:
“...Call expresses his deep respect for the landscape around him and his awareness of that landscape's.. fragile beauty.”

The following images are just a few that are part of this excellent collection.