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Portrait of C. R. Savage.
[photograph by C. E. Watkins]
One year later, Cannon moved to the southern Utah, so Savage took on a new partner, artist George Ottinger. The studio of "Savage and Ottinger" grew in prominence over the years, with the work of both artists distributed across the country. Many of Savage's photographs were reproduced in Harper's Weekly newspaper, which added to the national reputation of the firm. The partnership continued until 1870.
Savage's most famous photograph was that of the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. He was also the first to photograph Zion National Park (before it was a park). He also captured hundreds of images documenting the growth of Utah towns. He traveled extensively over the western United States, taking pictures in such far-ranging areas as Canada and Mexico, and from California to Nebraska. His views were sold throughout the United States and Europe, and his studio at one time was the most widely known producer of western landscape views in the country. Savage's glass-plate negatives were destroyed by two studio fires, one in 1883, and another in 1911, two years after his death. But his work is preserved in existing albumen prints which enjoy a good market among collectors.
At least nineteen of the Yellowstone stereoviews of Savage are known. Savage visited Yellowstone in 1875 and 1884. His photographs from those two years are in the Mormon church collections and at Utah Historical Society, both in Salt Lake City. Savage was reputable in Utah in his day, but his Yellowstone photos are little known. He did leave a newspaper article on his 1884 trip through the Park.
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Yellowstone Canon.
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Savage Orange Mount, Yellowstone Series Verso.