Baron (“Mister”) Siroon Missakian was born in 1891 or 1892 in Istanbul, Turkey, of Armenian parents. As a youth he apprenticed to the official photographer for the Ottoman Empire. A patron from Boston, impressed when he heard the boy’s voice in an Armenian church, brought him to this country in 1913. Missakian enlisted in the Army during World War I and spent most of his service time singing for Liberty Bond Campaigns. After the war, he managed a Chicago portrait studio, later moving to Kansas City in 1925. Known as a “creative photographer,” Missakian captured the images of Kansas City's resident and visiting performers during the Jazz Age, a time when Kansas City was one of the most dynamic arts centers in America. His camera not only documented the worlds of classical music and dance, but also the new popular entertainments, vaudeville and the movies. By 1926 he was well established and garnered awards for his studio portraits. Among those photographed were Missakian’s friend and neighbor Walt Disney, Milton Berle and Sir Carl Busch, founder of the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. Baron Missakian died July 7, 1964 after a long illness
Girl identified as "Baby Peggy" in bow front dress posed in front of painted backdrop with her body turned to her left and her head turned facing...
Girl identified as "Baby Peggy" in bow front dress posed in front of painted backdrop with her body turned to her left and her head turned facing...
Girl identified as "Baby Peggy" in bow front dress posed with her hands in her lap in front of painted backdrop.
Girl identified as "Baby Peggy" in bow front dress posed with her hands in her lap in front of painted backdrop.
Girl identified as "Baby Peggy" in bow front dress with index finger in mouth.
Boy identified as "Little News Boy" in sweater posing holding cap in left hand and right hand in pants pocket.
Boy identified as "Little News Boy" holding cap to his chest looking to his left off camera.
Boy identified as "Little News Boy" holding cap to his chest.
Boy identified as "Little News Boy" holding his hands over his ears.
"Little News Boy" in sweater and flat cap eating a loaf of bread.
Boy identified as "Little News Boy" face in profile wearing sweater and holding cap.
Boy identified as "Little News Boy" in sweater posing holding cap to chest.
Boy identified as "Little News Boy" in overcoat, sweater, and flat cap posed against a wall.
Head shot of Arthur Donaldson in three piece suit.
Baron Missakian with a group of unidentified white male soldiers, cow, sheep, calf, and unidentified white woman posing for a picture outside a barn...
Bettye Arens holding tambourine with one leg raised dressed in gypsy costume.
Bettye Arens in ballet dress and antenna doing a kick.
Bettye Arens in costume being held up by one hand by Vaughn Atkinson
Bettye Arens being held aloft by Vaughn Atkinson who's right hand is on the small of her back.
Bettye Arens in dress in dance pose with her back to Vaughn Atkinson who wears a tuxedo.
Bettye Arens holding tambourine with one leg raised dressed in a costume.
Bettye Arens in insect costume doing a ballet pose.
