The Towle Photos of Arthur Schuh
/by Kristen Fehlhaber, Associate Director
Arthur Schuh made his career photographing babies. Lots of them. Founded in the 1950s, Hospital Picture Services offered new parents a photo of their baby, taken in the hospital, and delivered to them in three days (women were in the hospital for a week at that time). Schuh was president of the company responsible for developing the camera technology that was installed in hundreds of hospitals across the country. Hospitals got a percentage of the sales, parents got a sharp photo of their newborn, and Hospital Picture Services grew.
Newborn photos by Schuh's Hospital Picture Service were often featured in local newspapers.
What does this have to do with Old Newbury? Schuh, born in Quincy, MA, lived in this area for about 18 months, beginning in the late summer of 1940. Fresh out of Harvard Business School, he got a position at Towle Silver and lived as a boarder at both 4 High Road and 49 High Street. His passion for photography was already in place when he came to Newburyport.
Soon after starting at Towle, Schuh began taking personal photos of his workplace. After he took the photos and made prints, he pasted them in an album and had the subjects sign their names next to the photos. It seems that Schuh gave away prints, too, as one such print was given to the museum years ago. For a researcher, the album is a goldmine; the photos not only have names, but signatures next to them.
Schuh’s daughter Joanne Smith donated this album, along with additional photos and negatives. Arthur Schuh seemed to spend his brief time here shooting portraits and weddings, as well as photographing historic homes in his neighborhood.
Schuh in his Harvard Business School Class Book of 1940
The Towle photos show a mix of younger and older workers, both men and women, many of them workers in the Cost & Art Departments. Roy Hardison is working with Vena Searway. In February, 1941, a headline grabbed the attention of Louise Searway. Freda Bryant is working with spoons. For another photo, he interrupts Jean Kennedy while filing (more on her later). Future VP of Manufacturing Randolph Thurlow works at his desk.
Schuh’s time in Newburyport would end abruptly in December 1941, when he received a commission as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Many others at Towle would join the armed forces; his name would appear on a plaque of Towle employees in the war in late 1942.
Schuh was back in town in 1943 to marry Jean Kennedy, the woman he photographed at the filing cabinet. They would soon head together to San Francisco, and he would go on to serve in the Philippines. They would never live in Newburyport again.
The marriage announced next to photo of Roosevelt and Churchill.
The newlyweds stopping at West Point on their way to California
The couple received a set of Towle Silver (the Benjamin Franklin pattern) as a wedding gift from the company. It is still used by their daughter.
After the war, Schuh connected his passion for photography to his work life through his Hospital Picture Services. Kudos to the man who believed in the importance of capturing life’s moments and who believed in labeling everything!
Below is a list of people in Schuh’s 1940-1941 Towle album. If there is someone whose photo you’d like to see, please reach out to the museum at info@newburyhistory.org.
Parmira Arata, Mildred Ballou, Roderick Brooks, Freda Bryant, Walter Bryant, Hallett A. Carey, James M. Carey, Barbara Chesley, Donny Chisholm, Jack Coffin, Bob Davenport, Roger F. DeMerritt, Esther T. Dodge, Elizabeth Dow, Edith Erickson, J.O. Evans, Duncan Farr, Jack Farrell, Helen Fennelly, Julie Foley, Barbara "Bobby" Gagnon, Charlotte Gale, Gertrude Gault, Martha B. Gremore, Roy P. Hardison, Ruth Hopkinson, June Hudson, Aram Kalashian, Peggy Kelleher, Gertrude M. Kelley, Jean Kennedy, Jerry King, Jack Learned, Gert Littlefield, Kay Lucey, Al Lunt, Evelyn L Melvin, Joe Morrow, Esther Noyes, Helen V. O'Brien, Sally Parsons, Thelma H. Plemmons, Betty Poland, Ross Pollard, Helen Poznek, Ethel Rand, Hazel Roberts, Louise Searway, Vena Searway, Camilla M Smith, Cato Smith, Evelyn Southwell, Robert J Stevens, Mary L. Taylor, Randolph L. Thurlow, Marion S. True, Hazel White, E. Whitney (female), Carmen Worcester.
With thanks to Joanne Smith for her generous assistance with this story.