Rinehart, A. E. (Alfred Edward), 1851-1915

Alfred Edward Rinehart was born on October 21, 1851 in Indiana and moved with his brother, Frank A. Rinehart (1861-1928) to Denver, Colorado in the 1870s. The two brothers worked as photographers in association with G. W. Kirkland (1876), Charles Bohm (1875-188), and later went into partnership with William Henry Jackson as Rinehart & Jackson at 413 Larimer and 1637 Larimer (1880-1886). Frank Rinehart eventually married and moved to Nebraska in 1885. Alfred Rinehart established his own portrait studio at 1630 Arapahoe Street and other locations (1888-1901). His studio was said to be quite large, composed of several rooms including dressing rooms, storage rooms, and developing and printing studios. In addition to owning a large collection of props used in his portraits, the studio also served as a private office and living quarters. Alfred Rinehart photographed members of Denver society, with a specific focus on children, toddlers, and babies. He later moved his studio at least once to a location on Welton Street, before he passed away unexpectedly in 1915. His brother Frank A. Rinehart also established a commercial photographer's studio in Omaha, Nebraska. The collection of glass plate negatives was acquired by artist Silvia (Slegle) Schmitt from an unknown transaction, having previously been stored unprotected and unidentified for many years. Schmitt used the negatives for her own artwork, exposing them to make hand-colored large-format photographs that she sold though Photographs & Memories on South Pearl Street in Denver (1871 S. Pearl St.) through 2008.