Herman P. Emery was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved with his parents to California when he was a child. He had a 40-year career in the theatre business, and for most of that time, beginning in the early 1890s, he worked at theaters in Portland, Oregon, including Cordray's Theatre, the Baker Theatre, the Liberty Theatre, and the Pantages Theater. He was the first stage manager of the Pantages, and was working in that role when, in 1912, he was shot by a man named Otto W. Pence, who was attempting to see an actress at the theater. Emery recovered and continued to work as stage manager for much of the rest of his life, but due to lingering effects of the injury, he instead worked at the Pantages' switchboard near the end of his career. He died in 1924 at the age of 58.

During his years in the theater business in Portland, Emery was an avid collector of pictures of performers and other famous people. After his death, his collection was the subject of a brief article in the Oregonian newspaper, which noted that he had enough pictures "to fill a huge trunk and some besides," hundreds of which were autographed.

Sources: "Enraged suitor shoots in theater," Oregonian, July 10, 1912, page 1; "Stage photos found," Oregonian, April 6, 1924; Section 2, Page 3; obituary in the Oregonian, April 1, 1924, Page 3.