THE CABINET CARD GALLERY

This is a wonderful 1890s theatrical cabinet card photograph by the Stein Studio of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The photo shows a costumed actress identified on the reverse as “The Widow.” This refers to the role of Mrs. Guyer, the fashionable widow character from Charles H. Hoyt’s smash-hit musical farce A Trip to Chinatown, one of the great Broadway successes of the Gilded Age. A Trip to Chinatown opened in New York in 1891 and became the biggest theatrical hit of its era, running for a record-breaking 657 performances. Its success led to multiple touring companies traveling throughout the United States, including major Midwestern theater cities such as Milwaukee. The character identified here as “The Widow” was one of the central figures in the play. Her full character name was Mrs. Guyer, a wealthy, stylish, independent widow from Chicago whose presence helps drive the comic plot. The role was originally created by Anna Boyd, a noted Gilded Age stage actress and comedian. While this photograph is not conclusively identified as Boyd, the connection is very intriguing: Boyd was the actress most closely associated with the role, and she is known to have performed with touring companies of the play during its period of national popularity. In comparing the appearance of the actress in this photo to confirmed photographs of Anna Boyd, I am unable to confirm or deny that it is Miss Boyd in this image. The photographer, Simon Leonard Stein,  further supports the theatrical connection. Stein Studio was a prominent Milwaukee photographic studio, and visiting actors, singers, and performers often sat for local studio portraits while appearing at major theaters such as the Davidson Theatre or Grand Opera House. Stein operated from the address on the mount from 1880 through 1895. This cabinet card likely dates from the period when A Trip to Chinatown was touring nationally, approximately circa 1892–1895. SOLD

This attractive original 1910 color art print is titled “Out for a Spin.” It was published by The T. D. M. Co. of Red Oak, Iowa, better known as the Thomas D. Murphy Company, one of the major American producers of advertising art calendars and decorative printed images. The image beautifully captures the romance of the early automobile era. Two fashionable women ride in a bright red open touring car, with brass lamps, a large steering wheel, leather upholstery and the open-air feeling of early motoring. The most interesting feature is that the woman on the left is clearly shown driving the automobile, while her companion sits beside her with a flowing green scarf. The art print has a caption, “Out For A Spin” and the artist is identified as “Arthur”. The Thomas D. Murphy Company was highly important in the American art calendar industry. The National Register nomination for the company’s Red Oak factory states that Thomas D. Murphy was closely associated with the creation and expansion of the advertising art calendar industry, and that his Red Oak manufacturing facility became the largest of its kind in the world. The same source notes that Murphy personally selected artwork for calendar subjects and cultivated relationships with artists whose work appeared on Murphy calendars. The company also had a direct connection to automobile culture: Murphy’s own interest in motoring led him to publish automobile travel books beginning in 1908. This small print dates from just two years after the introduction of the Ford Model T in 1908, placing it squarely in the period when automobiles were still novel, stylish and closely associated with modernity and adventure. The print measures approximately 5¼ x 3¾ inches. SOLD

This original vintage black-and-white photograph was taken by noted Cleveland photographer Jimmy Baynes, whose stamp appears on the reverse. The photograph shows a large group of well-dressed African American women posed together indoors, likely at a social gathering, club meeting, church event, school function, or community organization event. The women are beautifully dressed in 1950s/early 1960s fashions, including tailored dresses, plaid skirts, sweaters, jewelry, high heels, and carefully styled hair. Several women are seated in front while the rest stand behind them, creating a lively and attractive group portrait with excellent facial detail throughout. Based on the hairstyles, clothing, room setting, and photographic style, I would date this to approximately the late 1950s to early 1960s. Jimmy Baynes was a prolific photojournalist and chronicler of Cleveland’s African American community during the mid-20th century. His work documented civic events, political gatherings, cultural programs, entertainment, and the everyday lives of African Americans in Cleveland. Originally a postal worker, Baynes pursued photography as a passion and ultimately founded Baynes Foto Service. His photographs captured the vibrancy of African American social life from the 1950s through the 1980s, including intimate gatherings, beauty contests, live music performances, political events, and community celebrations. Baynes photographed major figures in music and entertainment, including Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Mahalia Jackson, Louis Jordan, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Platters, and the Drifters. His work is recognized today as an important visual record of Cleveland’s African American community and is valued by collectors of African American history, press photography, entertainment photography, and local Cleveland history. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Library and Archives in Cleveland holds a collection of Baynes photographs, especially relating to music and entertainment. The candid but posed composition reflects Baynes’s ability to capture people within civic and cultural spaces, preserving not only the appearance of an event but also its social energy. SOLD

This vintage real photo postcard features British film actress, Queenie Thomas (1898-1977). She was married to British director Bertram Phillips. As an actress, she is most associated with  “Rock of Ages (1918), and “Trousers” (1920), and “The School for Scandal” (1923). Her IMDb filmography gives her 42 film appearance credits ranging from 1915 to 1930. This photo postcard shows Miss Thomas posing with a horse. She appears to be holding the reins and is wearing riding gloves. She is also wearing a great smile. Note her braids. This postcard was published by Beagles Postcards as part of the “Famous Cinema Star Series” (No.145A). This color tinted bas relief postcard was “Made in England” but appears to have been printed by C H. Kiat & Co of Singapore. A bas rlief postcard raises the portrait to create a three-dimensional effect.  There are Pinholes in the top right and bottom left corners of the card. SOLD

This antique photo postcard captures a lively beach scene from the early 20th century. The title, “Scène de bains”, translates to “Bathing Scene” in English. The image showcases a seaside location where people are wading and bathing in the water, wearing modest period-appropriate swimwear. Two women in the foreground stand in the shallow waves, dressed in early 1900s bathing suits, which feature knee-length designs with decorative trim. One of the women has her hair styled in an updo, while the other wears a bathing cap. Their expressions are calm as they look toward the camera. Behind them, a row of bathing machines, or small wooden huts on wheels, line the shore. These mobile changing rooms, common in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, were used for privacy when entering the water. Several people are seen sitting in the doorways of these huts, while others are stepping out into the sea. Further in the background, many beachgoers are seen enjoying the water, with a long pier or breakwater extending into the distance, possibly indicating a well-frequented beach resort. The reverse side of the postcard features handwritten cursive writing, addressed to “M. Henri Beughem” at Antwerp, Belgium. The message, written diagonally across the left side, appears to be a signature or brief note. A Belgian postage stamp, valued at 1 cent, is affixed in the upper right corner. The postmark is dated 1912, confirming that this postcard was mailed over a century ago. Printing on the reverse reveals that the postcard was published by A. S. in Forest-Brussels, Belgium.

This exceptionally attractive late-Victorian cabinet card presents two fashionably dressed young women posed together in an elaborate studio setting. One woman is seated at the left while her companion stands beside a richly carved architectural prop. Their hands meet at the center of the composition in a deliberate and affectionate clasp, creating a feeling of closeness rarely conveyed so clearly in formal nineteenth-century studio portraiture. Whether they were sisters, relatives or especially close friends is unknown. Both women wear remarkably elaborate period clothing. The seated woman’s full-length striped dress is particularly eye-catching, with a fitted bodice, high collar, decorative neck treatment, and a generously draped skirt. Her companion wears a darker fitted dress embellished with floral-patterned trim, numerous buttons, and a prominent light-colored bow. Both women are crowned with exceptional hats lavishly decorated with flowers, feathers, and fabric ornamentation. The women also appear to be wearing gloves or decorative hand coverings. The standing woman’s covering resembles a fingerless glove or gauntlet that leaves her fingers exposed. The seated woman’s hand in her lap appears to be gloved, although the precise construction is somewhat difficult to distinguish from the extended cuff of her sleeve. The studio setting is unusually detailed. The women pose against a painted urban or architectural backdrop, surrounded by a massive carved balustrade ornamented with scrollwork and grotesque or lion-like faces. Draped fabric, simulated masonry and artificial grass complete the scene, giving the portrait a grand, almost theatrical atmosphere. This photograph was taken at the Staiger studio in Michigan City, Indiana. The Indiana Album’s Directory of Indiana Photographers confirms that Staiger was a studio owner or partner in Halladay & Staiger in 1887, and later in Jungerman & Staiger during the 1890s. Unfortunately, the historical directory has not yet established Staiger’s first name. Professionally, the available evidence places him firmly within Michigan City’s commercial photography trade from at least 1887 into the 1890s. SOLD

This antique mounted photograph, measures approximately 6 x 5 inches, and shows a posed family group outside a wooden farmhouse or homestead. The scene includes two women standing near the center, a seated man in a bowler-style hat at right, a young girl seated on a donkey at left, and another young girl seated in a chair near the center. The girl on the donkey appears to be holding a doll, while the seated girl appears to be holding a small dark dog, possibly a pug or pug-like dog, which adds great charm and personality to the image. Behind the group is a small stand or table holding what appears to be household or garden items, possibly a pail, planter, or container. The seated girl’s chair may have a textile or throw on it, but from the image it is difficult to say for certain; the bold patterned area may be part of the standing woman’s skirt or apron rather than a quilt on the chair. The photograph has a great rural domestic quality, with the clapboard house, bay window, family members, donkey, doll, and dog all contributing to a memorable turn-of-the-century homestead scene.  SOLD