"Peg Leg" Decker Photographs

Collection

Identifier: MC 1025

Staff Only
Select files to request

Scope and Content Note

Glass plate negatives of businesses and people in Leslie (Searcy County), Arkansas, 1907-1921. At least some of the portraits in this collection were obviously taken outside houses, with a backdrop hung to make a "studio" portrait. Some images were identified by people attending a Homecoming at Leslie; their notes, from the photocopies, are included in contents descriptions.

Unless otherwise noted, the plates are 6 1/2" x 8 1/2". Many, especially the portraits, have two images per plate (designated "a" or "b").

Dates

1907-1921

Creator

Decker, D. E. (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

RESTRICTIONS APPLY. Access to glass plates only with special permission.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Delania Emerson “Peg Leg” Decker was born August 12, 1875, in Brazil, Indiana to Elmond A. and Gabriella (Ella) Cropley Decker. During Decker’s childhood, his family traveled with the circus, with his mother performing as a sharpshooter. During his teens, Decker’s left leg was injured in a train accident, leading to his use of a prosthetic, and his later nickname. Once his family left the circus and settled in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Decker became involved in photography.

In 1900, at age 24, Decker moved to Leslie, Arkansas and managed a boarding house in partnership with his mother. He established the Decker Art Studio in Leslie, specializing in portrait photography, and he also taught painting. Lorna Lack Cates reported that he also had a studio on the south side of Main Street in Marshall, Arkansas for a summer, possibly around 1914. On January 1, 1911, he married Goldie Gustin in Leslie; she passed away the following year at age 25.

Around 1923, Decker married Esther Matilda Hubbell. Soon after the birth of their daughter, Pauline, the couple moved back to Jeffersonville. In 1925, the couple had a son, Elmond E. Decker; in that same year, Decker established Decker Art Studio at 212 Spring Street in Jeffersonville. Around 1930, the family headed west, eventually settling in Salem, Oregon, where Decker ran the Salem Watch Shop and taught mining and photography courses for Salem’s adult education program. In 1932, he was awarded patent 1,858,661 for a camera with an innovative negative plate holder design. In April 1953, he moved to San Antonio, Texas, to live with his son; Decker passed away October 5th of that year at age 78.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (95 plates in 4 boxes)

Additional Description

Arrangement of the Papers

Plates are numbered in consecutive order. Prints have been made of many of the plates; they are numbered the same as the plates. Photocopies of prints (including photocopies of some prints not in the possession of Special Collections) are in the "Pictures from Manuscript Collections" photocopy files.

Acquisition Information

The "Peg Leg" Decker Photographs were donated to the Special Collections Department by Lorna Lack Cates and Merl Lewis in December 1987 of Leslie, Arkansas on December 1987. The plates were found around 1976 or 1978 in a building being demolished. Lorna Lack Cates purchased the plates from the contractor.

Processing Information

Processed by Nan Lawler, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in June 1991. Biographical information updated and links to Flickr scans added by Katrina Windon in April 2018.