Maude, Frederic Hamer, 1858-1958

Frederic Hamer Maude was born in 1858 in Little Mollington, Chesire, England to Thomas James Maude and Louisa Emily Hamer. He was raised in Rugby and Highgate, where he attended school. In 1883, he earned a medical degree at the University of Aberdeen, and briefly practiced medicine. During this time, he also pursued a photography hobby with London’s Royal Photographic Society.

After 1887, Maude left both England and the medical practices to settle in Ventura, California. He put his photographic experience to work for the next few years, and in 1895, relocated to Los Angeles to operate a photography business that her purchased from C.B. Waite, which he renamed F.H. Maude & Co. During this period, Maude not only created his own work, but also purchased the works of other photographers and sold with the imprint “F.H. Maude & Co.” Maude expanded his business to include the production of lantern slides, and he also rented out equipment for the projection of lantern slides.

In addition to his business activities, Maude served as the president of the Los Angeles Camera Club. He lectured and presented on his own work, which included a body of work focusing primarily on the American Southwest. He is known for images of Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern Utah, particularly of the Grand Canyon and of Southwest Native American tribes.

Maude, who never married and discontinued contact with his family in England, was eventually forced to limit his travels to the Grand Canyon. When he became older, he moved to a friend’s garage in the Pacific Palisades, and was unable to explore the far reaches of the Southwest. He passed away in Los Angeles in 1959 at the age of 100.

From the guide to the Frederic Maude collection, circa 1910-1930, (The Museum of Northern Arizona)