Poole, Albert F. 'Bert' (1853 - 1934)

Albert 'Bert' Poole (1853 - November, 1934) was an American painter, cartoonist, and viewmaker active in New England during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Pool was born in Brockton (North Bridgewater), Mass. and was responsible for at least 46 town views published between 1880 and 1905. Early in his career he worked as a clerk and school principle. He turned his attention to the visual arts in 1880, when is fist city view, Bar Harbor Maine, was published by J. J. Stoner. He partnered with another view maker George E. Norris (1855 - 1926), in 1993, published as 'Poole and Norris.' Around the turn of the century, he began publishing under the imprint of 'Bert Poole Co. Boston.' He is known for having a distinctive style employing decorative borders, attractive titles, and vignette imagery. He frequently used a gravure technique, imparting on his images a graduated tonal effect. This is some confusion regarding his death date. Some references (Reps) identify it as 1834, others, 1839. His obituary in the Boston Globe confirm a November 1934 death.