HISTORY &
INFORMATION OF THE ROBERT GRAHAM COLLECTION
Robert Graham was born in 1908 in Stillwater Township, Minnesota. Robert married Margaret Thereau and they lived in Grant Township near Stillwater, MN until his death in 1981. Robert was a bridge architect, but his passion was trains, specifically locomotives. Riding a motorcycle, he and Margaret traveled across the country taking pictures of train locomotives. At home, he developed his photos in his basement dark room and systematically filed them in albums. Upon Robert’s death in 1981, Margaret gave this collection of photos to Myron Gilbertson who was a long-time neighbor, friend, and fellow train enthusiast. Robert Graham was well known in the Upper Midwest, and around the country for his model railroading and was published in several magazines. Gilbertson proudly kept and stored this collection until his death in 2012. At this time, his wife, Kate Gilbertson, retained ownership and kept it in her possession until August 1, 2018, at which time we, Jonah's Online Sales, purchased the entire collection to be broken up and offered on eBay along with spreading the word about this collection of history.
At the time of purchase, we requested Kate Gilbertson write a short note with this historical information, which she gladly did with her signature. Within this collection are several Real Photo Postcards RPPC that we will also be offering for sale. Robert Graham also collected photos from other photographers along the way. These are also in the collection. Most are marked on the back with the name of the photographer.
This is a very large collection. All the photos were kept in extreme organized manner. The collection has been stored in a temperature-controlled environment. They do not have musty or smoky smells. The photos were not exposed to sunlight causing discoloration. The photos were not taped or glued, and nor did they have any plastic film on them which may have had acid. The photos are/were in paper pages with open corners to insert the photos. To find out more information about Robert Graham, an internet search can be done.