he photographs on this page are those that were taken at the first public showing of the B.F. Oliver Collection of photographs at a gallery in Springfield, Missouri, by his Grandson, Richard Oliver Snelson.

he B.F. Oliver collection of photos consists of 8" X 10" glass-plate negatives and "Cabinet size" glass-plate negatives of approximately 5" X 7" in size. The glass-plate negatives were of silver nitrate - gelatin emulsion which was applied to one side of a glass plate. Once the negatives had been exposed and developed, they were coated on the emulsion side with a varnish to improve their durability and enhance their resistance to the effects of moisture and humidity. These negatives, for the most part, exhibited very little degradation over the one hundred to one hundred twenty years that they were stored away in attics and cellars, exposed to heat, humidity, and the dust of the ages.

he photographs taken by B.F. Oliver appear to have been taken primarily in the time period, 1886 to 1903, while he maintained sudios, first in Fulton, Missouri, and then beginning in 1893 in Jefferson City, Missouri. It was these glass-plate negatives that were taken with the 8" X 10" box camera with bellows type focusing shown in the photograph above. This group of photos appear to have taken in the Central to Southern Callaway County and Jefferson City, Missouri area and, due to their age, it is almost impossible to determine the names of the subjects of most of his portraits and character studies. Many of his photographs that represented new and novel photographic techniques or were promotional or advertizing in nature were taken using himself and other members of his immediate family who are very recognizable to family members of today.

t was the photographs of special events of his time that B.F. Oliver was most noted for. Since he was the principal photographer in the Jefferson City area he was most frequently called upon to photograph historic events of his time for both local and state government. These events included opening of the first bridge crossing the Missouri River between Callaway County and Jefferson City, close of the steamboat ferry service across the Missouri River between Callaway County and Jefferson City, Missouri River flood of 1903 taken from the dome of the Missouri State Capitol building, and the Governor's Flower Parade which was held annually in Jefferson City before the days of automobiles. Photos of these events by B.F. Oliver appeared in many major local and statewide publications of his time.

ndoubtedly, his true love was his photos of the amazing character studies of individuals, for which he is least known. These character studies included a Missouri State Prison convict, a young black male that was just simply proud to be a part of the proceedings, a group of young ladies at a local institution of higher learning, three young black boys shooting dice, and his photos of young gentlemen in a hunting camp of its day. It is in these photos that the real artistic nature of B.F. Oliver shows through in his ability to capture the true nature and spirit of the people that he photographed and share it with the world.

he photographs of B.F. Oliver have captured the attention and imagination of a number of our contemporaries and oliverphotocolleciton.com has taken orders from a number of galleries, internet coffee houses, historical societies, and from two Bass-Pro Shops where they will be enlarged for major wall decor in the new Branson, Missouri store and the Pearl, Mississippi store under construction.