On many vintage postcards, the identity of the photographer from whom the image came is unknown. However, pre-World War I postcards routinely included photos labeled with the photographer's name, location, and even the date of the photograph.
This photograph of Little Chutanunda Falls near Amsterdam, New York, was taken by John Arthur Maney in 1901. Maney was an amateur photographer known for his images of the Mohawk River Valley and Amsterdam-area images. As noted in a historical postcard essay of the town, Maney was "the single most prolific and significant recorder of Amsterdam's appearance in its industrial heydey."[1] Even today, pictorial accompaniments to local history are incomplete without a Maney photograph. If you’ve seen a vintage postcard of Amsterdam, most likely the photography was taken by Maney.[2]
John Arthur Maney was born in 1870 in Troy, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants William Maney and Margaret Quinn. He began playing music at an early age, joining the Hi Henry minstrels as a cornetist. Maney received formal education in music, graduating from the Mozart Musical Institute. Around 1893 he moved to Amsterdam and opened a music studio. Maney married Ellen T. “Ella” O’Neil, a native of Amsterdam, on June 26, 1895.[3]
At the J. Arthur Maney Music School (also known as the John Arthur Maney Conservatory of Music or School of Music), Maney trained students in orchestra and various musical instruments—especially the piano, violin, and other stringed instruments. He also sold music equipment as the local representative for Cluett and Sons of Schenectady, with products ranging from Steinway pianos and Aeolian-Vocalion phonographs to Gibson guitars and mandolins and Holton band instruments. Maney also served as secretary of the American Federation of Musicians No. 133 local trade union. He was director of many local music groups, including the 13th Brigade Band, Primsose & West, and the Mohawk Mills Band. Together with Louis H. MacNaughton, he formed the Maney & MacNaughton Orchestra. It was said at the time of Maney’s death that about half of the musicians in Amsterdam had trained under him.[4]
This photograph of Little Chutanunda Falls near Amsterdam, New York, was taken by John Arthur Maney in 1901. Maney was an amateur photographer known for his images of the Mohawk River Valley and Amsterdam-area images. As noted in a historical postcard essay of the town, Maney was "the single most prolific and significant recorder of Amsterdam's appearance in its industrial heydey."[1] Even today, pictorial accompaniments to local history are incomplete without a Maney photograph. If you’ve seen a vintage postcard of Amsterdam, most likely the photography was taken by Maney.[2]
John Arthur Maney was born in 1870 in Troy, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants William Maney and Margaret Quinn. He began playing music at an early age, joining the Hi Henry minstrels as a cornetist. Maney received formal education in music, graduating from the Mozart Musical Institute. Around 1893 he moved to Amsterdam and opened a music studio. Maney married Ellen T. “Ella” O’Neil, a native of Amsterdam, on June 26, 1895.[3]
At the J. Arthur Maney Music School (also known as the John Arthur Maney Conservatory of Music or School of Music), Maney trained students in orchestra and various musical instruments—especially the piano, violin, and other stringed instruments. He also sold music equipment as the local representative for Cluett and Sons of Schenectady, with products ranging from Steinway pianos and Aeolian-Vocalion phonographs to Gibson guitars and mandolins and Holton band instruments. Maney also served as secretary of the American Federation of Musicians No. 133 local trade union. He was director of many local music groups, including the 13th Brigade Band, Primsose & West, and the Mohawk Mills Band. Together with Louis H. MacNaughton, he formed the Maney & MacNaughton Orchestra. It was said at the time of Maney’s death that about half of the musicians in Amsterdam had trained under him.[4]