swear every American has seen a Solomon Butcher photograph,” says the author John E. Carter. “I think that’s a real easy bet.”
Very few Americans, however, know the name Solomon D. Butcher. His photos, distinctive portraits of the hardy homesteaders of the American West, often standing in front of their small sod houses, have become the ubiquitous representation of settling the western United States in the late 1800s. They’re included in nearly every American history book depicting the early settlers following the passage of the Homestead Act. In fact, his photos are some of the only that exist of this pivotal moment in the country’s history.
Although his photos are now iconic, Butcher never saw success in his lifetime and few know his name today. His life story is a tumultuous one full of half-baked schemes and minor disasters.
“He was funny, eccentric, and just a little bit out of step with the rest of the world,” says Carter, who wrote Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream. “And he had a real knack for failing at things.”
