Deciphering an Old Erie “Ghost Ad”
Tuesday Dec 3rd, 2024
A year ago, Dr. Pam Lenz described the fascination and curiosity that accompanied her encounter with what had been known as the Paragon Building, situated on the extreme west end of North Park Row at Peach Street. In particular, she noted that the demolition of the adjacent Greyhound Bus Station had revealed the red-brick east wall of the building on which, in faded white letters, she discerned an advertisement for “Clocks, Watches, Jewelry and Fancy Goods.” Delving into newspaper archives she found the ad to reflect the offerings of the business of T.M. Austin, who, in 1857 seems not only to have been a proprietor but also joint owner/developer of the Paragon Building.
Read the Dr. Pam Lenz article here 
At the end of her Blog, Dr. Lenz drew attention to a more faded advertisement to the right of the Austin ad, on the east wall on the 5th street side of the building. She asked for help in deciphering the ad. Having grown up in New York City and sharing a fascination with old advertisements uncovered by urban redevelopment, I took an instant interest. I made some enhancements to the photograph and working around what seemed to be an added window, added or cleaned brickwork and the faded whitewash, I decided that the advertisement likely reads “Palmer’s Photograph Gallery.”
It seems that for a relatively short time, from 1859-1862 (and maybe for a similarly short time later that decade) one of the offices in the Paragon Building was occupied by the studio of O.B. Palmer, “Photographist” whose offerings of “Photographs, Ambrotypes and Daguerreotypes” reflected the rapid evolution of novel photographic techniques in the mid-1800’s. Interested parties were invited to “call and examine specimens” – hence, the “Gallery.” 
Palmer may have been born in 1822 in Palmyra, New York, east of Rochester. An entry in “Pioneering American Photographers” suggests that his photography studio moved from Erie to Westfield, New York, and back again. (It may be that in the heyday of early photography, with towns and cities abounding with competing studios, there arose a frequent need to relocate.)
The City Directory notes Palmer to have resided in the “second building east of Myrtle on the north side of 8th Street”. Elsewhere, he is reported to have lived on the south side of 7th Street, east of Sassafras.
A documented example of Palmer’s work is seen in a “Carte de Visite” of Matthew Lutz, Captain in the 49th Ohio Infantry. This mounted photograph (serving as a formal visiting card) was likely created after the Civil War.
An announcement in the Erie Observer is made of Palmer’s May 1862 association with Mr. A. Sinclair of Rochester, a photographer of “12 years standing” such that thereafter the business would be known as “Palmer and Sinclair”. In later directories, Palmer seems to have disappeared, leaving Sinclair in solo practice. Going forward, he seems lost to history but worthy of deeper historical investigation.
Further reading on the history of the commercial development of West Park Row can be found in this link to the National Register of Historic Places.
https://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Erie_County/Erie_City/West_Park_Place.html
