Old photo, white border. Circa 1940’s. Photographer:  Robert C. Gilmore, Montrose, Colorado.

Price:  $10.00        Size:  4 and 7/16 x 2 and 11/16″

It was the photographer’s stamp (with its mountain peak) on the back of this one that drew us in……but circa 1940’s, a young woman poses in front of a subway tunnel – its location is a mystery. We couldn’t find any matching images online, and it seems the snapshot must have been taken elsewhere and the film developed in Montrose. So we’ll look to the photographer:

Robert Clinton Gilmore was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, August 14, 1909 and died November 4, 1988 in Montrose, Colorado. On his WWII Draft Registration Card (given name filled out as Bob) his photography business address is listed as 520 Main St., Montrose. He was the son of Horace Clinton Gilmore and Sophia Elizabeth Maria Boller. Sometime after the 1940 Federal Census was taken, he married Katherine (maiden name unknown). The 1930 census for Montrose has his occupation as farm laborer, and living with parents and siblings, Hazel, Deane (brother) and Lucille. Interestingly, Hazel, Bob’s older sister by about four years, is a photographer on this record. So, this could have been the start of Gilmore photography and Bob took over the business or Hazel could have been working for someone else. At the date of our web post, ours is the only photo found with the Gilmore stamp.

Sources:  Year: 1930; Census Place: Montrose, Montrose, Colorado; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 2339982. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1940; Census Place: Montrose, Montrose, Colorado; Roll: m-t0627-00472; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 43-3A. (Ancestry.com).

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Colorado, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 88. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27318883/robert-clinton-gilmore: accessed 26 March 2023), memorial page for Robert Clinton Gilmore (14 Aug 1909–4 Nov 1988), Find a Grave Memorial ID 27318883, citing Cedar Creek Cemetery, Montrose, Montrose County, Colorado, USA; Maintained by Arleta (contributor 46898856).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26994908/sophia-elizabeth_maria-gilmore: accessed 26 March 2023), memorial page for Sophia Elizabeth Maria Boller Gilmore (19 Sep 1878–8 Mar 1948), Find a Grave Memorial ID 26994908, citing Cedar Creek Cemetery, Montrose, Montrose County, Colorado, USA; Maintained by Arleta (contributor 46898856).