6 Photos
It’s the thrill of finding a box of old photos: ones that haven’t been seen in ages. Flipping through them, time seems to stand still. They offer clues, glimpses of a simpler time, nostalgia.
In a new shop on Jobs Lane, colorful frames in every hue share a wall with picture frames and photographs. The bright and airy space feels brand new, and yet—something is familiar.
The proprietor, Mary Godfrey, also is familiar; she exudes a passion for what she does, so her welcome is warm and authentic.
A favorite longtime client is picking up some prints. Esteemed photographer Arthur Elgort has been going to Ms. Godfrey for years to print his photographs, first at Main Street’s beloved Morris Studio—which closed its doors in March after being in business for 125 years—and, now, at Mary Godfrey Custom Framing and Photography.
With her training at Morris Studio, this photographer in her own right is more than capable of carrying on the tradition of unparalleled photography knowledge and personal service that Morris Studio was known for. She’s offering every photographic need possible, from custom picture framing and photo restoration to wedding photography, event photo booths, passport photos, and formal portraits.
Ms. Godfrey grew up in Water Mill. The youngest of four children, her parents met at the Corwith dairy farm in Bridgehampton, which is now the residential development Two Trees.
“I was always interested in photography as a child, looking at old family photos. In 10th grade, I had the opportunity to take a photography class, and I was instantly hooked with developing black-and-white film and printing in the darkroom,” she said.
Through the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, commonly known as BOCES, she began a work-study program at Morris Studio.
“I remember my first day at Morris. Joanne Smith [a longtime former employee] taught me how to process and develop color film. Back when I began, we had to still mix the color chemicals by hand!” she recalled.
Ms. Godfrey went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She continued to work at Morris Studio for 18 years.
She worked with Jim Thomason, who had purchased the store from Doug Morris, the son of original owner George W. Morris. “I always loved listening to Jim Thomason talk about the negatives and photos that Mr. Morris took, along with the history of the store,” she said.
The 125-year-old Morris Studio held secrets.
“One time, we were cleaning out the store, and we decided to open up what we always joked was ‘a secret room.’ After a few minutes of prying open the wall, we found that there was, indeed, a secret room. We had no idea why it was sealed off. That will remain a Morris Studio mystery.”
After Jim Thomason died in 2014, his son, Neal, took over the business. He had been working at the family shop for half his life.
This past winter, the younger Mr. Thomason made the difficult decision to close the shop.
“As it became public that Morris Studio was closing, clients would tell me I should open a store. I thought about it and decided to go for it,” Ms. Godfrey said.
“It was hard finding a good location. I was speaking with [local artist] Paton Miller, and he told me to look into the space at 89 Jobs Lane. When I walked into the building, I knew it was my location. I love the feel of Jobs Lane. And, I have to say, it’s one of the best views in town. Some days I can see the dunes at the beach!”
The clientele was another bonus of working at Morris Studio. “I also loved the relationships with the clients and local artists that I formed at Morris Studio. I began processing a lot of photographers’ film, learning their preferred printing style. I still print for them today,” she said.
And Ms. Godfrey is still working with Mr. Thomason. The two are archiving more than 5,000 photographs from the Morris Studio. They plan to publish a coffee table book, and an exhibition at the Southampton Historical Museum is scheduled for fall 2018.
Every picture tells a story, and these tell the story of a village—from 1892 through the mid-1990s. That’s more than a hundred years of memories.
“Jim, Neal and I always spoke about archiving the negatives,” Ms. Godfrey explained. “We were always trying to start the project, but it was never the right time. After Jim’s passing, Neal and I realized that it needed to be done.
“We began to organize and locate all the negatives. Now we have all the negatives safely stored away. My winter project is scanning and archiving.”
The arduous task takes know-how, dedication and patience. “We have to scan them twice and print them, edit them and caption them,” she said. Most are glass-plate negatives; they each take 20 to 30 minutes to scan.
“But what we’d really love is help! We’d love people to help us identify some of the portraits and places in these photos!” Ms. Godfrey said.
If she sounds excited, she is. “What a photographer George Morris was!” she exclaimed.
Ms. Godfrey pointed out a photo of William Merritt Chase and his students, shot in the artists colony, brought back to life via a state-of-the-art scanner right in the shop. “It’s incredible—just looking at each photo and trying to determine where this was and who these people were—this is Southampton’s history, right here in black and white!”
According to the British Library, the first photographic technologies were produced during the 1830s and 1840s. George W. Morris came along in 1892 and opened his shop in Southampton. And began taking pictures.
“Look here,” Ms. Godfrey said. “This was taken upstairs at Morris—in the studio, you can tell because of the background.” It’s a mesmerizing turn-of-the-century portrait of a small child holding a cat.
Scenes from another time come to life on the scanner: A portrait of an unknown woman, possibly from the 1890s. A washed-up boat near a boathouse after the hurricane of 1938. Some men outside of H.G. Squires Automobile Shop on Jobs Lane, with the still-standing cannon monument off in the background.
“Honestly, we lost count of the negatives,” Ms. Godfrey said. “We’re estimating 5,000, but there is probably more. While we were packing [up Morris Studio], we had to empty out the darkroom, and there was always a shelf in there that we kind of closed off. We thought there was just paper on it. We started packing and we realized it wasn’t paper on that shelf—it was more negatives! So we had found another 20 boxes. It was like Christmas. No one has seen those pictures for 20 years or longer.”
Both Ms. Godfrey and Mr. Thomason want to share this project with Southampton.
“We wanted to make sure the negatives would be seen by the local community. The East End is still a small community and these are their family photos, their history,” Ms. Godfrey said.
The exhibition at the Southampton Historical Museum will be one way to do that.
“Mary Godfrey is curating an exhibit of photos from Southampton in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that have never been seen before,” noted Tom Edmunds, the executive director of the museum. “It will be a time capsule into an era before electricity, automobiles, telephones and air conditioning. I, for one, can’t wait.”
Ms. Godfrey has her work cut out for her: running a new store, being an in-demand event photographer and now, archiving these photos.
“Mr. Morris hardly ever labeled. That was the essence of Morris Studio,” she admitted with a laugh.
But there is beauty in the chaos.
“I was hoping to find this particular hand-painted backdrop,” she said, referring to the photo of the small child. “I found one backdrop and I was thinking of recreating portraits with family members who are alive—on the same Morris Studio backdrop.”
Time management may be an issue. “I can get lost for hours looking at the old photos. Wondering who the people were or where the location was,” she said.
She admits she is drawn to the portraits, the details about them, the way they are posed. “I want to know the stories behind the faces,” she said. There is a series of portraits of men who look like veterans of war. “Who were these men? Why did Mr. Morris take their portraits?” she asked.
Also intriguing are the shops and landmarks in Southampton Village and surrounding areas—what is their current incarnation? Are they still standing?
It’s easy to get lost just looking at the posh patrons of a Mad Men-era bar that was on the corner of Windmill Lane and Jobs Lane, what is now the Gastro Pub.
“Neal and I hope to share the history of this town for new generations to enjoy,” she said.
on Aug 25, 2017