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Charles Ellis "Charlie" Johnson (March 21, 1857 – February 21, 1926) was an American
Latter-day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...
photographer known for his work both in
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
and around the world. He grew up in
St. George, Utah St. George or Saint George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The cit ...
, and gained an interest in
botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
and theater. While operating a drug store in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, he started dabbling in photography and opened a photo studio. He photographed actors and actresses at the Salt Lake Theater, including some artistic nudes. He took photos of Utah attractions, and in 1903 traveled through the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
to take photos for the 1904
St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...
. In 1917 Johnson moved to
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
, where he continued operating a photo studio.


Biography


Early life

Charles Ellis Johnson's father Joseph Ellis Johnson started practicing polygamy in the 1850s and married his third wife, Eliza Saunders, in 1856. Eliza gave birth to Charles on March 21, 1857, in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, after which they lived in small
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
settlements in Nebraska. Charles and his family were members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church). In 1860 Charles, his mother, and four of his orphaned cousins traveled across the plains to
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
. The next year Joseph and his two other wives joined them. Joseph said that he "did not wish for the city life" and purchased land near Payson and
Santaquin Santaquin ( ) is a city in Utah and Juab counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 13,725 at the 2020 census. Geography Santaquin lies southeast of Utah Lake in southern Utah Coun ...
in
Utah Valley Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains the cities of Provo, Utah, Provo, Orem, Utah, Orem, and their suburbs, including Alpine, Utah, A ...
and moved there. In 1865 the Johnson family moved to
St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
. Charles learned how to write and operate printing presses. He worked with botanist C. C. Parry to botanize plants in southern Utah. He also worked for botanist and archaeologist
Edward Palmer Edward Palmer may refer to: * Edward Palmer (d.1624) (1555–1624), antiquary and projector of a university in Virginia * Edward Palmer (socialist) (1802–1886), American religious socialist * Edward Palmer (Canadian politician) (1809–1889), Pri ...
by helping excavate Indian burial mounds and collecting various specimens. Charles learned how to speak some Native American languages to talk to local tribe members. He also gained an interest in theater during this time. Charles did not have a formal education.
Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...
had a winter home in St. George, which was adjacent to the Johnson home. Growing up, Charles became acquainted with the Young family. One of Brigham's daughters, Susa Amelia Young, was a member of Charles's theatrical troupe. Susa arranged for Charles to date her half-sister, Ruth Young. Charles and Ruth were married in the St. George Temple on January 28, 1878. They had three children, two boys and one girl. In 1882 Charles Johnson, his wife, and their child moved to a small house in central Salt Lake City. Ruth eventually left Charles, who then filed for divorce in 1887.


Career

In Salt Lake City, Johnson worked as a druggist for the
ZCMI Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI) was an American department store chain. It was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 9, 1868, by Brigham Young. For many years it used the slogan, "America's First Department Store." Histor ...
. In 1889 he partnered with Parley P. Pratt to operate the Johnson-Pratt Drug Company. Johnson made and sold various family
patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...
s, including his "Valley Tan Remedies." As recited by his niece Maude Fox Fairbanks, this catchy limerick, "Snow in the Mountains, Rain in the Hills, Old Man Died Eating Johnson's Pills," conveys the tragic effects from overconsumption of his laxative preparations, anise in a sweetened coating. The mountains were the Wasatch Front located east of the City ral Fairbanks Family History During the 1890s, he became involved in the
American Star Bicycle The American Star Bicycle was invented in 1880 by G. W. Pressey and manufactured by the H. B. Smith Machine Company in Smithville, Burlington County, New Jersey. It was characterized by a small wheel in front to avoid the problem of tipping fo ...
craze by selling them and becoming vice president of Salt Lake's Social Wheel bicycle club. After dabbling in photography, Johnson joined Hyrum Sainsbury to open a
photographic studio A photographic studio is often a business owned and represented by one or more photographers, possibly accompanied by assistants and pupils, who create and sell their own and sometimes others’ photographs. History Since the early years of th ...
. Johnson soon became the undesignated "official photographer" of the Salt Lake Theatre. He was the official Utah correspondent for the ''
New York Dramatic Mirror The ''New York Dramatic Mirror'' (1879–1922) was an American theatrical trade newspaper published in New York City. History The paper was founded in January 1879 by Ernest Harvier as the ''New York Mirror''. In stating its purpose to cover t ...
''. He started taking risqué photographs, likely because of his work with
burlesque theater American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall, and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in the United States in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nu ...
, and often incorporated elements of
orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
. He took glamour photographs of actresses, artistic nudes, and risqué stereoviews. He was the only Mormon photographer during his time who sold risqué photographs. In the 1890s, Johnson became the unofficial photographer for the LDS Church. He photographed the dedication of the
Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...
and LDS Church leaders. He traveled with the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for o ...
to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and visited San Francisco in 1896. Johnson advertised his studio as an "Information Bureau oreverything about Utah and the Mormons." He became a " social Mormon" by maintaining the appearance of being a Mormon while eventually dissociating himself from the LDS Church. While Johnson spent most of his time in Utah, he also traveled extensively, taking photographs in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. His trademark phrase was "You see Johnson all over the World." In 1897 Johnson photographed and befriended the actress Lydia Mary Olive Von Finkelstein Mamreov Mountford at the Salt Lake Theater. Mountford returned to Utah in 1903 and hired Johnson as a photographer for her
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
exhibit at the
St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...
. They traveled through
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
and Jerusalem in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
taking pictures of the scenery. At the World Fair in 1904, Johnson and Mountford found that the exhibit's management had repudiated Mountford's contract. Johnson tried with little success to market his photos in St. Louis. After returning from his tour, Johnson formed an "unconventional relationship" with businesswoman Minnie B. Ridley and hired her to help him with his businesses in Salt Lake City. Ridley died suddenly from
Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...
in 1914, after working for Johnson for 12 years. In 1917 he liquidated his assets and moved to
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
, to live with the Ridley family, where he operated another photographic studio. He died from a heart seizure on February 21, 1926, and was buried in
Oak Hill Memorial Park Oak Hill Memorial Park is a cemetery in San Jose, California, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest secular cemetery in California. Oak Hill is the northernmost hill in the San Juan Bautista Hills of South San Jose. History The cemet ...
.


References


External links

* *
Short autobiography of Charles Ellis JohnsonJoseph Ellis Johnson Papers
J. Willard Marriott Digital Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Charles Ellis 1857 births 1926 deaths American erotic photographers American Latter Day Saint artists 19th-century American pharmacists Artists from St. Louis People from St. George, Utah Photographers from Utah Sexuality and Mormonism Latter Day Saints from Missouri Latter Day Saints from Nebraska Latter Day Saints from Utah People from Washington County, Utah