C. G. Hine Papers

Charles Gilbert Hine was a publisher, editor, local historian, and amateur photographer. Born in 1859 in New Albany, Indiana, he moved with his family in 1868 to the New York area, where Hine's father, Charles Cole Hine, became owner and editor of the "Insurance Monitor." Hine spent most of his youth living in Woodside, NJ, a rural suburb of Newark. The family had a love of sailing and spent summers at their house on Martha's Vineyard, MA.

Hine and his brothers, Thomas and Edward Hine, learned photography from their father at an early age; their house on Martha's Vineyard included a darkroom. In 1883 Charles and Thomas Hine privately published their first book, "Chronicles of Our White Mountain Trip, July 1883," which was heavily illustrated with the brothers' photographs. In 1888 the Hine brothers and their father became founding members of the Newark Camera Club. Charles and Thomas Hine exhibited 157 photographs in the Club's First Annual Exhibit in 1891.

Charles Hine and his two brothers joined their father in the family business, the Hine Insurance Publishing Company. After Charles Cole Hine's death in 1897, the brothers incorporated the company. Charles Gilbert Hine succeeded his father as head of the company, editor of the Insurance Monitor, and head of the Underwriters & Credit Bureau, Inc.

Hine pursued his interest in local history throughout the rest of his life. He traveled primarily by foot and bicycle, taking photographs and collecting historical anecdotes. He focused his work on New York and New Jersey, especially along the Hudson River and on Staten Island where he lived for six years. He published much of his historical work and accompanying photography in a limited edition series under the title "Hine's Annuals" between 1905 and 1915. He published historical books and pamphlets separately as well; his dated works span the years from 1883 to 1928. Like other Pictorialist photographers of his era, Charles Gilbert Hine favored the platinum print, known for its delicate gradation of grays and its varied tonal scale. The majority of his published histories included his platinum prints. Hine made particular efforts to photograph buildings that were threatened with demolition. Hine moved to Staten Island with his brother Thomas in 1909. There he served as a member of both the Staten Island Antiquarian Society and the Staten Island Historical Society. In 1915 Hine married his first cousin Sarah Tilden. They immediately moved from Staten Island to East Orange, NJ, where he resided until his death in 1931.