Robert W. Tebbs

Robert W. Tebbs (1875–1945) was an American photographer professionally active in the early to mid-twentieth century who specialized in architectural photography. Tebbs is most noted for his 1926 historical photo-essay of the plantations of Louisiana.

While much of Tebbs's photography work in Louisiana remained unpublished during his lifetime, historian Richard Lewis published a book of Tebbs's work in 2011.

Early life and immigration Robert W. Tebbs was born on August 17, 1875, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, to parents Charles Harding Tebbs and Lillian Marie Tebbs (née D'Almaine). He had two older siblings. His family immigrated to the United States in 1888, initially settling in Oakland, California, and then later Berkeley, California. Shortly thereafter, his parents adopted a child, Lillian Yeo, who later became noted as a deaconess in the Episcopal Church.

In 1896, Tebbs joined the United States Marine Corps, serving during the Spanish-American War and mostly serving at the Mare Island military base.

Legacy Although the American Institute of Architects project that Tebbs was originally commissioned for was canceled before completion, fourteen of Tebbs's plantation photographs were published in 1938 in Pencil Points, a publication of the American Institute of Architects. In 1956, his widow Jeanne Tebbs sold his collection of architectural photographs to the Louisiana State Museum, where it continues to reside as of early 2022.

In 2011 historian Richard A. Lewis published a book about Tebbs's project to photographically document the plantation homes of Louisiana includes 119 previously unpublished photographs. Fifty-two plantation homes and their surrounding grounds are subjects of the book.