Fassbender Photographic Collection

Historic Black Hills Studios is home to the Fassbender Photographic Collection. The collection may rank among the most significant photographic resources for historians of the American West.

The collection is co-owned by the municipalities of Lead, Deadwood, and Spearfish in South Dakota. Potentially, many never-before-seen images of the early days of the entire Black Hills region are in the collection. The grand opening of Spearfish Canyon road, presidential visits, and a vast selection of early mining photos are among the many images that will have great interest to the general public. Also included are graduation, wedding, and family photos that will be useful to genealogists.

The Fassbenders’ interest in the Lakota culture yielded a large quantity of work documenting day-to-day life on reservations early in the 20th century, as well as traditional Lakota ceremonies on and off the reservation. The Fassbenders’ were accomplished rodeo photographers who shot images year after year at the Days of ’76 celebration and rodeo, Black Hills Roundup, parades, and small rodeo events in the region.

Enjoy browsing the collection at https://www.historicblackhillsstudios.org