The Roeliff Jansen Historical Society 

The History and Mystique of the Bash Bish Inn

Captured in the 1912 Autochromes of 

Paul G. Giuillumette

 

Presented by Kim and Linda Crossman

Sunday, May 19th at 2 PM

At the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society.  8 Miles Road, Copake Falls, NY 

 

Includes special Bash Bish Site Tour with RJHS Board member Jane Peck after the talk!

By the mid-nineteenth century, the awe-inspiring cascade of the Bash Bish Falls, originating in Massachusetts and flowing through Copake Falls, became the object of romantic pilgrimages. America had entered an Industrial Age, and a movement had begun to represent, and rescue "American Paradise" through art. Inspired by the beauty of this natural wonder, the falls were painted by many artists, including famed Hudson River School painters Kensett, Durand and Martin.

  

(Above left) The Bash Bish Inn captured in an Autochrome,

early color photograph.   

(Above right)

The iconic Bash Bish Falls      photo: Taconic State Park

As early as 1850, this same unspoiled wilderness and mountainous terrain also inspired what became a series of rustic taverns and retreats, the last and most successful of which was The Bash Bish Inn. Built in the early 1900s at the foot of the falls, the Bash Bish Inn was located on 300 acres of woodland and boasted many quaint and charming buildings, breathtaking views, and a world-famous French chef. A 1910 brochure declaring the Inn a “perfect place to rest and play,” enticed clients from far and wide, including

Paul Guillemette, who, along with his wife Marthe, fell in love with the Inn and its environs.

 

In 1912, Guillumette, a pioneer in color photography, recorded the haunting and spectacular beauty of the Inn and surrounding countryside in a series of autochromes.The autochrome process, the earliest viable form of color photography, was invented by the Lumiere Brothers, and an autochrome by Paul Guillumette was the first natural color illustration to appear in National Geographic Magazine in July of 1914.

 

In 2023, Linda and Kim Crossman donated the 1912 autochromes of the Bash Bish Inn to the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society. This was done on behalf of the pioneering photographer’s daughter, the late Doris Guillumette. The April 28th presentation will be an opportunity to revisit the once renowned Bash Bish Inn, and to learn about the life and work of Paul Guillumette, who, in his daughter’s words, “had a tremendous love of natural settings…and yearned to preserve this beauty in a form that would endure.”

 

Admission Free. Location: The Roeliff Jansen Historical Society, 8 MilesRoad,

Copake Falls, NY. Please visit our website and follow us on social media.

THREE AUTOCHROME COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL GIULLUMETTE

 

 

 

(Above left to right)

Bungalow porch on the Bash Bish Inn grounds,           Flag ceremony at the Bungalow,                      Marthe Guillumette by the Rose Cottage

Special Bonus: Following the presentation, attendees are invited to join a guided “Walk-About” in nearby Taconic State Park to visit actual remnants of the Bash Bish Inn on its former grounds, including the likely site of the hillside bungalow. The walk-about, lasting about an hour, will involve some short, steep inclines, and will be led by RJHS Board member Jane Peck, who has walked these trails all her life. (Important: Sturdy, comfortable walking shoes suggested.)