Generations of Caretakers

We’ve said goodbye to a number of pillars of the image collecting community over the years. In recent months, Rick Carlile and Perry Frohne have left us.

Each, in his own way, helped shape the modern world of Civil War portrait photography collecting. They helped us showcase, interpret, and preserve these images, and in doing so contributed to the community’s standards of stewardship as good caretakers and keepers of history.

Their passing is a moment for remembrance—and for reflection.

The photographs we hold dear did not begin with us, and they will not end with us. Each image has already passed through many hands—family members, veterans’ descendants, dealers, historians, and fellow enthusiasts. Now, for a time, it rests with us. Our impulse to acquire is accompanied by a responsibility to understand, document, protect, and, when possible, share.

Rick and Perry understood this. They built collections and helped others build their own. In so doing, they fostered knowledge. They mentored newcomers, answered questions, made connections, and helped ensure that images found homes where they would be appreciated and preserved. Their influence lives on in the collections they shaped and in the people they encouraged.

Their loss raises a concern voiced by some longtime collectors: Is the hobby fading? At shows, we sometimes see the same familiar faces grow grayer, and we remember the pre-digital heyday of aisles of tables filled with fresh images, over which we made fast friends and deals.

Physical shows remain a vital part of the community—and we want the doors to remain open. And yet, for the better part of a generation, many newer enthusiasts have been entering the community through digital doorways—social media platforms, dealer sites, auctions, and other online destinations. Some find their way to physical gatherings. Others are content to interact through their digital devices. Both are valid.

No matter how the generations access the community, we’re all on the same collecting journey. It is up to us to welcome new participants wherever we encounter them, to share what we know, and to pass along not just artifacts, but context, standards, and values.

At some point, every image changes hands. When that day comes, the measure of our work will not be how much we owned, but how well we prepared the next keeper of history, the next caretaker.

Ronald S. Coddington
Editor & Publisher