by Susan Page

The late nineteenth century photographs of Mexico by George P. Thresher have a style all their own. They depict scenes that appear to be candid, but Thresher almost certainly did some staging. The effect is unvaryingly elegant.

Although the Huntington Library in Los Angeles has archived a large collection of his California photos, Thresher's photographs of Mexico, taken between 1895 and 1900, are owned, displayed, and available for purchase exclusively by Galería Atotonilco in San Miguel de Allende.

The collection includes images of the aqueduct in Querétaro in 1895; scenes of gamblers in a tent and meat sellers outside with dogs excitedly waiting for scraps. The border crossing at Ciudad Juarez and El Paso is amusing: a narrow wood bridge with a tiny toll booth and a sign saying in Spanish that it is prohibited to gallop or trot across the bridge. At the far end on the El Paso side, is a building that is also featured in the collection, a gorgeous Victorian City Hall, that has now been torn down. There is a photograph of the monument in Querétaro where Mexico's Emperor Maximillian and two of his generals were executed in 1867. That monument has also now been destroyed and replaced by a church.

Monument to Maximillian
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There are scenes of parishioners waiting outside a rural church wearing a variety of nineteenth century apparel, and a spectacular fence made of tall organos cactus, plus many more fascinating and beautiful images.

Galería Atotonilco's acquisition of these remarkable photographs is a fun story. In 1960, California photographer Malcolm Lubliner saw a stack of glass photo positives at an estate sale, thought they might be interesting, and bought them for $10. He examined them enough to know they were about Mexico, but then put them in a drawer and, for 40 years, did nothing with them. But when his close friend Mayer Shacter moved to San Miguel de Allende in 2002, he dug them out, saw their remarkable quality, and set about restoring them. He put them on the computer and painstakingly removed the dust marks and scratches, and then printed them on archival paper, so that the prints are pristine. He first exhibited them in Jo Brenzo's photo gallery here in San Miguel, an exhibition that was so popular, it was extended for three months. Then, he gave his friend Mayer, who by then had opened Galería Atotonilco, the exclusive right to sell these digital archival prints. The glass photo positives are now safely in the possession of the Bancroft Library of special collections at the University of California, Berkeley.

Curious about the Huntington Library's Thresher collection, Galería Atotonilco recently obtained permission to view the collection and was able to confirm that it contains none of these historic Mexican images. They can be seen only at Galería Atotonilco.

When Lubliner began cleaning up and printing these photographs, he did extensive research on Thresher and was delighted to learn that they share the same birthday: September 11.

Galería Atotonilco, located five miles north of town, is now open every day from 11 to 4 with no appointment necessary. It is widely considered to be the finest collection of folk art for sale in all of Mexico. The collection also includes colonial-era tables and trunks, prints by the famous Oaxacan graphic artist Irving Herrera, contemporary ceramics by the world-famous Gustavo Pérez and more. Don't wait. Plan a day in the country soon. We are surrounded by restaurants, hot springs, and the historic Atotonilco church.

Galería Atotonilco
An Unforgettable Experience of Mexico

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Susan Page Is the Former Director of Women's Programs at UC Berkeley, where she helped to found the Contraception Clinic at the Student Health Service, and to create one of the first university-based Human Sexuality programs in the U.S. She helped establish the first safe house for battered women in Contra Costa County. A best-selling author, Susan has appeared widely on national television and radio, including the Oprah Winfrey Show. She founded and is Director of the San Miguel Writers' Conference and Literary Festival and of Gáleria Atotonilco.

www.susanpage.com

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