John E. Reed was a popular Hollywood photographer throughout the twentieth century.

See: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=66625172

Possibly involved with mining claims in Colorado in the 1890s

Decision of the Department of the Interior and the General Land Office in Cases Relating to Public Lands, from January 1898 to May 1898. vol. XXVI, pages 485-487. https://books.google.com/books?id=kc9DAAAAIAAJ