For over 70 years, the Kolb brothers owned and operated a photography studio perched at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Here are some of their most breathtaking shots.
The brothers were frequently photographed in this pose — it became their hallmark.Cline Library/Northern Arizona University Taken from the Kolb studio window, 1908.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr An interior shot of the brothers' studio in its later years, 1930-40.Northern Arizona University Library Pictured on the far left is the Kolb brothers' first studio, a humble tent, pitched beside the Cameron Hotel. 1903.Northern Arizona University Library Ellsworth and Emery Kolb, 1910-1920.Cline Library/Northern Arizona University Library NFS ranger Patrick Fenton and two women on horses on the Bright Angel Trail. Circa 1907. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Kolb studio with the Bright Angel Trail toll gate. Emery is standing, Ellsworth is in the doorway, circa 1904. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Rust's aerial tramway crosses the Colorado River, carrying two women and a man. 1908.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Kolb Studio after the 1911 river trip. Their boat is on display and there is a billboard on the house. Circa 1912.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr One woman sits on a mule while the second tries to push them up the Bright Angel Trail. Circa 1910.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Artist Thomas Moran standing on the Bright Angel Trail. Circa 1909.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Blanche and Emery Kolb in an alcove in the Grand Canyon, 1905-1910. Cline Library/Northern Arizona University Notice Ellsworth Kolb's boat, 'the Defiance' on display outside their studio. 1915.Northern Arizona University Library Two young women — likely posed by Ellsworth Kolb — on the edge of a cliff overlooking Indian Garden and Plateau Point. Trails are visible below.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr A mule party heads down the canyon on Bright Angel Trail, 1909. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Captain John Hance stands on the Bright Angel Trail beside his two mules. Snow covers the ground. Circa 1910.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Kolb expedition member, Burt Lauzon, sleeps in a camp on a rock ledge above the Colorado River. 1911. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Gold dredge mining operation at lees ferry as photographed by Kolb expedition. Oct 1911. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Man walking on wall of rock, 400 feet above the mine on Hummingbird Trail, Mt. Sheep. 1913.Library of Congress View of Grand Canyon through the picture window of the living room of Kolb's studio and house.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Shriners convention group #10, pose on upper switchback of bright angel trail, 1914. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Havasupai chief, Big Jim, wears Emery Kolb's father's preacher's coat and poses for Emery in his studio. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr The first airplane to land in the Grand Canyon, Aug. 8, 1922, piloted by R. V. Thomas. Library of Congress Emery crosses the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon on a ladder. 1925-1940. Emery and Ellsworth Kolb on the Hyde rescue expedition. Glen and Bessie Hyde were newlyweds who disappeared while attempting to run the rapids of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon in 1928. They were never found.Cline Library/Northern Arizona University Emery Kolb with movie camera, Colorado River, 1921.Cline Library/Northern Arizona University Emery and Blanche with daughter Edith and grandson Emery 'Sonny' Kolb at the Edge of the Grand Canyon, 1927-1937. Cline Library/Northern Arizona University Emery Kolb works on the roof of the studio which overlooks the south rim of the Grand Canyon, 1930.Cline Library/Northern Arizona University The Clear Creek Trail was built in 1934 and 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corporation as a mule trail so visitors at Phantom Ranch could gain access to a scenic side canyon. It was stocked with trout so that visitors could do a bit of fishing, too. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Riders pay the toll on the Bright Angel Trail. 1910.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr Portrait of Havasupai Mary Wescogame, known as "Supai Mary," by the canyon rim. 1940.grand_canyon_nps/Flickr A park ranger leads a couple mules saddled with trout to stock clear creek, 1940. grand_canyon_nps/Flickr The Kolb Studio as it stands against the painted canyon today. Michael Quinn/NPS/Wikimedia CommonsLike this gallery?
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When the Kolb brothers officially opened their small photography studio perched on the rim of a monstrous canyon in 1906, they perhaps did not know just how pioneering their stunt was.
This was not just any canyon, it was the Grand Canyon, and for the next 70 years, the photographers Ellsworth and Emery Kolb would document the landmark as it gradually became one of the country's greatest natural attractions.
The Kolbs captured almost every incident of any importance in the area — and they loved it. As the author of The Amazing Kolb Brothers of Grand Canyon, Roger Naylor, said:
"The Kolbs dangled from ropes, clung to sheer cliff walls by their fingertips, climbed virtually inaccessible summits, ran seemingly impassable white-water rapids, braved the elements, and ventured into unknown wilderness — all for the sake of a photo. Well, a photo and a thrill. Sometimes it was hard to tell which was more important."
Everything about the Kolbs' venture was novel: photography was still an emerging art form and the brothers had no electricity or running water.
But it was from these humble beginnings that the Kolb brothers developed techniques specifically for the canyon's unique challenges and curated some of the most iconic images of the national landmark that persist today.
For this, they are a revered part of Grand Canyon's — and photographic — history.
The Founding Of Kolb Studio
Ellsworth, Emery, and Blanche Kolb outside the Kolb Studio in 1904.
The adventurous spirit of Ellsworth Kolb saw him out of his Pennsylvania hometown and on a train westward-bound at 20 years old. For five years Kolb would wander the west until 1901 when he stepped off a train near the Grand Canyon — and found his fate.
Ellsworth Kolb first found work as a lumberjack and a porter at The Bright Angel Hotel, one of the few lodges in the area.
A year later, he persuaded his more cautious younger brother Emery to join him at the canyon. Emery arrived in October of 1902 with a guitar and his photography equipment.
At first, Kolb Studio was nothing more than a tent pitched next to the hotel. The brothers took photos of tourists on mule rides, heading down onto the canyon trails. The brothers built a wooden dark room in an abandoned mine shaft nearby, and every day after snapping the tourists' photos, Emery ran down the five-mile gorge where he quickly developed the photos and ran back up the five miles to try and sell the tourists the images as they returned.
The brothers hiked deep into canyon chasms that tourists couldn't reach to snap photos for sale. They also befriended the Havasupai Native Americans that lived inside and around the canyon — photographing them as well.
Cline Library/Northern Arizona UniversityEmery, Blanche, and Edith Kolb with a telescope in the studio, 1911.
Between 1905 and 1906, the Kolb brothers expanded their enterprise. They built a small, wood-framed cabin on the canyon rim — at the head of the Bright Angel Toll Road. That year proved to be a busy one for Emery, who married Blanche Bender and moved her into the cabin he shared with his brother.
Bender immersed herself in the business, bookkeeping and operating their small gift shop. She and Emery Kolb had one daughter, Edith, who at the time was the only Anglo child that lived in or around the canyon. All the other children were Havasupai.
Inside The Studio From 1911 Onwards
During the winter of 1911-1912, the Kolb brothers took an adventurous 1,200-mile boat trip down the Colorado River that winds through the canyon.
Ellsworth Kolb wanted to film the venture and make it into a movie. So the two brothers set out on their own, rowing and operating a new motion-picture camera that filmed on celluloid reels.
The venture wouldn't be easy and the river had some dangerous rapids, but Ellsworth Kolb assured his brother that, "If I capsize, I'll film it first."
The brothers did actually capsize a few times, in fact, and they had to dry out all the equipment before they could resume filming. But by the end of the trip, they had about a half-hour of usable content.
Northern Arizona University LibraryThe Kolb brothers aboard their dinghy in 1928.
When they took the footage on a country-wide tour, the brothers became famous. In Boston, the brothers met Alexander Graham Bell, who introduced them to the President of the National Geographic Society and the August 1914 issue of the magazine featured a large spread on the Kolb brothers' trip.
Just like that, they were transformed into national heroes.
But not long after this, the brothers' personalities began to clash so much so that they disagreed on how to continue to operate the business. A coin toss, of sorts, saw that Ellsworth left the entire business to Emery.
Ellsworth left the Grand Canyon and received a stipend of $150 per month from his brother until his death. The brothers remained on good terms, though.
In 1915, Emery Kolb added a room on to the studio in which to continuously play their film. He played the film every day until his death in 1976. That reel remains the longest continually running movie in United States history.
Today, the Kolb studio is still open, operational, and owned by the National Park Service. The Grand Canyon Association renovated the studio during the 1990's — and it now contains an art gallery, bookstore, and museum.
Next, check out these 25 Grand Canyon facts that you may not know. Then, for more breathtaking natural wonders, check out Scotland's magical Fairy Glen on the Isle of Skye.
