Since 1898, the Morris Studio has been in the same building on the east side of Main Street. The studio actually opened 6 years earlier when photographer George W. Morris set up shop above Madame Juliette’s Millinery Shop in 1892. Morris is a dapper fellow who was loved by many of his friends. His portrait shows him in bow tie and bowler assuming a Chaplinesque, jaunty pose. He came from Sayville to Southampton at age 21. He had apprenticed in photography while in Sayville. For an up-and-coming photographer a flourishing resort for the affluent and glamorous Southampton seemed to be the best bet. Morris just had one issue troubling his art: he had left his heart in Sayville. By all accounts, Morris was a master of his craft during the time when images were still being captured on plates made of glass by a very complex process.
Since it was necessary for the plates to be kept moist, he would float them in a sticky essence of coffee. While out in the field, the artist captured invaluable views of vintage automobiles, dirt roads, and long-forgotten citizens who were engaged in long gone pursuits. He would capture the photographs with his primeval camera then go back to his darkroom in the studio, and mix his own chemicals so as to produce the photographs that are the best record of Southampton. The Morris Studio has been providing the population in Southampton with everything from passport photos and framing services to photo restoration.
