Edgar A. Cohen

Edgar A. Cohen (September 23, 1859 – April 7, 1939) was an American photographer known for his early landscape photography, which captured landmarks such as Yosemite Falls, Mount Tamalpais, and the California Missions. He documented the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Cohen's work is distinguished by his technique of hand-colouring of photographs.

Early life and education
Cohen was born on February 4, 1885, in Alameda, California, to Alfred A. Cohen, a lawyer. He married Jessie Gray Booth on October 21, 1886, in San Francisco. The couple had two children together. They divorced in 1902, during which time Cohen was a commission merchant of San Francisco. He later remarried Emily June.

Career
Cohen began his photography career in 1898, with some of his earliest works featuring his family estate in Fernside, Alameda, California. He traveled throughout the state, capturing images of Mount Tamalpais, Yosemite, and many of the California Missions. He photographed Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission Santa Barbara, and Yosemite Falls for The New Photo-miniature (1908).

Cohen described Monterey County, "the best place to photograph over any place I know." Cohen used a 5 in x 7 in Pony Premo No. 6 folding field camera. His collection includes 5 in x 7 in glass negatives and original prints, some of which are hand-colored.



In November 1918, Cohen purchased property in Carmel. He worked for the Pacific Improvement Company, and some of his photographs, including the Del Monte Forest, were featured in the August 1910 issue of Del Monte Weekly. Cohen became friends with fellow photographer Louis S. Slevin, and on February 8, 1906, they photographed Point Lobos from a hill above Monastery Beach. A week later, they went to Mission San Antonio to photographed the mission. On March 17, 1910, Cohen captured an image of Slevin under a "triangle of oaks" on Camino Real in Carmel. Cohen photographed several Bohemian artists, including George and Carrie Sterling, the MacGowan sisters, Mary Austin's "wick-i-up," and Fred Bechdolt. Many of his photos were made into postcards.

Cohen exhibited his work at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in November 1905 and with Paul Elder & Co. in San Francisco in 1907. Cohen authored a 1909 article About Carmel for The American Annual of Photography. The article showcases images of the Carmel Dunes, Horseshoe Cove, Sunset from Point Lobos, Arch Rock from Pebble Beach, and the wind blown oaks. He wrote two articles for The American Annual of Photography. In The New Scenic Route to Yosemite (1908), Cohen discusses and illustrates various attractions, including Yosemite Valley Railroad, El Portal, and Bridalveil Fall. In Coloring Photographs (1912), Cohen discusses his experience in selling photographs, noting that the demand for color photographs has surged in the past couple of years and that they fetch three and a half times more than black-and-white ones. He also shares his techniques for hand-coloring photographs. He was the official photographer for the Yosemite Valley Railroad.

Cohen contributed to Popular Photography with the 1914 article Some Difficulties and Remedies, which discusses techniques for achieving black-and-white results. His photography was featured in the National Geographic Magazine in 1925.

San Francisco earthquake


In 1906, Cohen was in San Francisco after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and documented the city's ruins in a series of photographs. He wrote an accompanying article titled With a Camera in San Francisco, which was published in Camera Craft magazine. Cohen laments the poor quality of most ruin and fire photographs, attributing it to the high demand for images that pressured both professionals and amateurs to produce prints quickly. He quotes a fellow commercial photographer, noting that "anything showing ruins, "went." The San Francisco Call reviewed the article as a "beautifully illustrated" piece, praising its frontispiece—a color depiction showcasing the doorway of the Sloss home.

Death and legacy
Cohen died on April 7, 1939 in Alameda, California. Over 2,140 of his images are held at the Monterey County Historical Society in Salinas, California.