Eddie Martin – The Collector

– article by Jon-Erik Gilot, Director of Archives at the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

Since coming to the Diocese in 2012, I’ve been fascinated by the many hundreds of photographs comprising the Eddie Martin Collection. Recently highlighted in the Winter 2014 issue of Goldenseal magazine, Martin’s photos appear to at long last be reaching a wider audience.

Martin (1922 – 1988) was a prolific Wheeling photographer, learning under the likes of George Kossuth & Charles Gruber. Martin captured hundreds of photos of his North Wheeling neighborhood while also venturing throughout the greater Wheeling area to capture scenes of parades, fires, floods, construction projects and anything else that struck his fancy.

What’s remarkable is that Martin accomplished so much in spite of a physical disability (a disfigurement of the spine which caused a short stature and hunched back) that would have kept many others homebound in early – mid 20th century America. Martin’s dynamic photos are a testament to his personality and dedication to the photographic arts.

Beyond being a professional photographer, Martin was also a collector of photographs. The Eddie Martin Collection contains several dozen photos taken long before Martin’s birth, some of which can be identified to Wheeling whereas others remain a mystery. As Eddie was not known to travel very far from Wheeling we may assume these photographs represent the greater Wheeling locale.

Martin was likewise not prone to label or otherwise identify his own photographs and therefore made no attempt to identify what he may have collected and what may have been earlier family photographs.

The following represents photos that are attributed to the Eddie Martin Collection, though not necessarily attributed to the man himself.

Jon-Erik Gilot is the Archivist for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

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