THE CABINET CARD GALLERY

This is a wonderfully evocative and visually striking cabinet card photograph depicting a young female performer posed in an elaborate theatrical costume, seated within a carefully constructed rustic studio setting of vines, flowers, and a cottage-like backdrop. The composition has a distinctly staged, almost storybook quality, with the sitter turned slightly while looking directly toward the camera, her expression calm, thoughtful, and self-assured. She appears quite young, yet carries herself with the poise of a performer accustomed to being observed. Her costume is particularly eye-catching and strongly suggests a theatrical or exhibition role rather than everyday dress. The fitted jacket is decorated with bold, evenly spaced button-like accents running along the seams and edges, giving it a stylized, almost uniform-like appearance. The outfit is paired with lighter-toned trousers or leggings, an unusual and somewhat progressive choice for the period, reinforcing the impression that this is a stage costume rather than conventional attire. Her long hair is parted at the center and falls naturally, softening the otherwise structured look of the costume. What makes this cabinet card especially intriguing is the identification written on the reverse that reads: “Anita (soubrette) ‘Buffalo Bill Show’.” The show operated between 1883 and 1915. The term soubrette refers to a young female stage performer, often associated with lively, theatrical, or light operatic roles. While Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show did not operate as a traditional play with fixed characters, it featured a wide range of performers presented in stylized roles, particularly during its European tours. Although a performer named Anita is not prominently documented in surviving records, the show employed many individuals who were billed under first names or stage names. Also on the reverse is a faint but readable stamp identifying that this photograph was once owned by Culver Service, a company known for distributing historical and theatrical imagery to the press and book publishers. The photograph itself has a pleasing sepia tone with good clarity and contrast, and the image retains strong visual impact. There is some honest age-related wear to the mount, including corner rounding and light surface marks. The reverse shows expected signs of age, including a partial paper label, an inventory bar code, and faint stamp impressions, all of which add to the piece’s authenticity and history (see scans). This is a compelling and somewhat mysterious cabinet card, combining theatrical costume, early entertainment history, and a direct written association with the Buffalo Bill Wild West show. 

This Cabinet Card is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $75.00 at auction

Interested collectors may view the listing here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/336553194886

This is a beautiful and highly evocative early 20th-century hand-colored actress postcard featuring the stage performer Violet Wegner. The portrait captures her in a soft, intimate pose, gazing directly outward with a calm, engaging expression. Her face is delicately tinted, with subtle pink coloring to the cheeks and lips, while the rest of the image retains a warm sepia tone typical of the period. She is dressed in refined Edwardian fashion, wearing a large, sweeping hat in a deep burgundy tone, dramatically styled and framing her face. Her hair is softly arranged beneath it, full and carefully dressed in the fashion of the era. Around her shoulders is a rich, fur stole or coat, lending the portrait a sense of elegance and status. At her neck she wears a gold-toned necklace with a pendant, highlighted in color, which stands out vividly against her pale blouse. The overall composition is quite striking. Violet Wegner (1887–1960) was an actress who performed in cabaret. In 1924, she married Prince Peter (1889–1932), the youngest son of Nicholas I Petrović-Njegoš, the first and last king of Montenegro. She died in Monte Carlo.” At the lower right appears a small printed marking, “1036/6 G.L.C.P.”, which likely identifies the publisher and series number. The G.L.C.P. mark is associated with a European publisher of photographic postcards from the early 1900s, quite possibly German or Continental in origin. The reverse is equally interesting, bearing a clear 1907 postmark and a green 5 öre stamp from Sweden, featuring the crowned profile of King Oscar II. The handwritten message appears to be in Swedish and reads approximately: “Heartfelt congratulations on your name day. Dear greetings from …”. The postcard remains in good antique condition overall, with some light corner and edge wear. The image itself presents very well, with strong contrast and attractive hand-coloring. The reverse shows postal markings. See Scans.

This vintage postcard is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $14.00 

Interested collectors may view the listing here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/236778528715

This item is a beautiful and softly romantic hand-colored French postcard (no.2236) featuring a striking portrait of a young woman in an elegant wide-brimmed hat and flowing dress, delicately enhanced with pink tinting. The subtle coloring highlights the fabric and rose. This postcard was issued by the famous Paris studio of Reutlinger, one of the most important photographic publishers of the Belle Époque era. Founded by Leopold-Émile Reutlinger, the studio became renowned for its glamorous portrait photography of actresses, models, and fashionable women. Reutlinger images were widely distributed as postcards throughout Europe. The caption at the bottom of the card reads “La cruche cassée,” which is French and translates to “The Broken Pitcher” (or “The Broken Vessel”). The phrase carries artistic and symbolic meaning, often associated with themes of innocence, fragility, or lost virtue, and was a popular motif in European art and literature. Based on the style, format, and publisher, this postcard can be confidently dated to approximately circa 1905–1910, during the height of the golden age of postcards. This is a lovely classic Belle Epoque glamour portrait. SOLD

Step back into the late 19th century with this remarkable cabinet photograph from December 15, 1898. Captured by a photographer named A. Hallberg in South McAlister, Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma), this image is a piece of frontier history. In the photograph, we see a strongman or performer posing confidently in an unusual athletic costume. His attire includes a fitted outfit adorned with decorative ribbons around his knee and waist, and a pair of laced-up boots, all reminiscent of a circus or vaudeville performer of the era. The man’s muscular build suggests he might be a strongman or an athlete, common in traveling shows of the time. The photographer, identified by the elegant “A. Hallberg” logo on the card mount, is a rare but authentic figure from the Indian Territory. Indian Territory at that time was a region set aside for Native American tribes and encompassed much of what is now Oklahoma. It was a place of diverse cultures and a hub of early frontier activity before statehood. On the back of this cabinet card, there is a handwritten inscription that reads: “To my old friend Georgia – Dec 15th 1898 from [illegible].” The signature on the card may be “Charles M. St. Clair”. While the sender’s name is faint, it adds a personal historical touch, making this piece even more unique. SOLD

This attractive early twentieth-century lithographic postcard depicts East Main Street, Northport, New York, capturing a quiet yet telling moment in the village’s everyday life during the pre-automobile era. The view looks along a gently curving, unpaved road lined with tall, leafless trees, suggesting late fall or early spring. A single horse-drawn carriage proceeds down the center of the street, while well-kept houses with porches and railings line the left side and a wooded rise with additional residences appears to the right. Utility poles and overhead wires mark the gradual arrival of modern infrastructure, creating a scene that neatly bridges nineteenth-century village life and the early twentieth century. The caption at the lower edge of the image reads “East Main Street, Northport, N.Y.”, and directly beneath it appears the name C. E. Robertson, which can be confidently identified as the publisher of the postcard. Robertson was active as a regional publisher of New York view cards during the early 1900s, and his name appears on a number of Long Island and greater New York area postcards of this period. Historically, East Main Street in Northport corresponds to what is today considered the eastern stretch of Main Street, running eastward from the village center toward Fort Salonga Road. While modern maps generally refer to the entire thoroughfare simply as Main Street, period postcards and local usage often distinguished the eastern section as “East Main Street,” particularly when emphasizing views beyond the immediate village green and dock area. The scene shown here aligns well with that eastern approach into the village. Northport is located on the north shore of Long Island and the village sits at the edge of Northport harbor on the Long Island Sound. The village is part of Huntington township. The reverse of the postcard bears a clearly legible handwritten message and a Northport postmark dating to 1911, firmly placing the card within the early postcard era. The message reads: “Dear Friend, I thought you would like this. Mrs. Stewart.” The card is addressed to a woman/girl in Lynn, Massachusetts.  ADDENDUM: A Cabinet Card Gallery visitor left a comment asserting that the motor vehicle seen on the postcard is actually an automobile and that the only horse in the photo is “under the hood”. She is absolutely correct on both accounts. SOLD

This original real photo postcard (RPPC) features two men posing together in front of a studio backdrop, both wearing exceptionally heavy, full-length fur coats. The pair stand beside a Mission-style wooden chair on an Oriental-patterned rug, giving the photograph a distinctly rustic and frontier appearance. The coats appear to be made from buffalo or bear fur, both of which were popular among hunters, trappers, and outdoorsmen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The texture and length of the fur suggest a coarse, thick pelt designed for extreme cold, possibly buffalo hide with wool lining, though some early Western coats were indeed made from bear or sheepskin. These garments were prized by ranchers, lawmen, and settlers of the northern plains and mountain regions. Both men wear wide-brimmed hats typical of early Western or frontier fashion. The man on the right holds a cigar, his expression relaxed and confident; the man on the left rests one hand on the chair, gazing directly at the camera. The neutral background and interior setting suggest this photograph was taken in a small-town studio, possibly in the northern United States or western Canada. This specific Velox stamp box style was in use between about 1907 and 1914. The postcard’s reverse bears a divided back. (SOLD)

This striking French vintage postcard features an elegant early 20th-century artistic nude study, photographed in the refined continental style popular in Paris before the First World War. The image shows a reclining young woman posed on a richly upholstered chaise longue, her body partially draped with tulle fabric. She holds a three-panel folding mirror, creating a captivating visual effect as her reflection appears from multiple angles. Her expression is relaxed and absorbed, as if admiring her reflection in a private boudoir moment. The photographer has arranged the scene with great care—soft lighting, painterly shadows, and the ornate studio backdrop all work together to evoke classic French glamour photography of the Belle Époque and early Art Deco period. The number “136” appears in the lower right corner of the card, a typical cataloging mark of French postcard studios known for producing tasteful figure studies intended for artists, collectors, and students of drawing. The sepia tone heightens the vintage aesthetic and reflects the warm printing style used in many early 1900s French photographic ateliers. This card is unposted and has a blank reverse, consistent with collectible “carte photo” nudes of this era. (SOLD)