Louis Alman

American, 1835-ca. 1903

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Louis Alman was born in Turin, Italy, arrived in the US in August, 1862. He was listed as a photographer at 630 Broadway on the 1863 draft registration and had a studio on Broadway in New York in 1865 and 1866. By 1872 he had a regular studio on 5th Avenue, and had operated a seasonal studio in Lake Mahopac, New York since at least 1869, as the Philadephia Photographer noted a "number of interesting, and some very beautiful stereographs of scenery in the delightful region he lives in." That branch operated into the 1880s.In 1875, Louis Alman partnered with James B. Lewis as L. Alman & Co. at his studio address of 172 5th Avenue in New York. By 1880 Alman's partner was Harriet H. Lewis (Mrs. J. B. Lewis) but the business relationship had soured, and the partners were in negotiations to dissolve the company. On March 24, a William S. Molo sent a sealed note by messenger to Mrs. Lewis. Alman intercepted the note from the messenger, and opened and read it, prompting charges filed against Alman. He countered that he assumed it to be buisiness correspondence to which he was entitled, that he saw no seal and "the envelope opened of itself." He further alleged, though it was not permitted in court, "intimate relations existed" between Molo and Mrs. Lewis. On June 25 appeared notices of the dissolution of L. Alman & Co. as "Mrs. J. B. Lewis is retiring."In July, Molo filed a $10,000 slander suit against Alman, who was arrested just before embarking for Europe. Alman, it was alleged, had publicly stated that Molo was a "beastly drunk" who "lives up at Mrs. Lewis' house two or three times a week and is supported by her." Molo had been fired from his job as a result. The outcome of that suit is not known.Lewis Alman continued the studio without a partner until about 1893, when he revived "L. Alman & Co." with Pauline Scheible and Frank Rudd as partners. In 1893, he opened a branch in Newport, Rhode Island that was managed by Scheible. She married Floyed E. Baker about 1899, and they were associated with the studio both in New York and Newport thereafter. Louis Alman had become a US citizen in 1897, and promptly returned to Turin for two years. He appeared in the 1900 New York directory, but returned again to Turin, where he drafted his will in the US Consulate in 1901. He had died by February, 1903 when his will was entered into Surrogate Court in New York. It is possible he died in 1901 or 1902, for in that year the company was incorporated in West Virginia, with partners Floyd E. Baker, president; Frank Rudd, secretary; and Pauline S. Baker, treasurer. The headquarters remained in New York. The company remained prominent into the 1940s. It was not found in the 1953 New York city directory.