THE CABINET CARD GALLERY

This truly unique vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman peering out of a roof top trap door. The town/city can be seen below. It appears that the woman is at the top of a multiple floor building. There is a message on the reverse of the card. The following is a rough translation. “I want to see Portugal for once! Who do I see? It’s Graça. I think I would make such a face if I saw you once. for my Graca, von Sfrer girlfriend, 1938.  Pricajeras  SOLD

This unusual early advertising paper item promotes Social Delights, “a delicious assortment of sandwich cakes” made by the National Biscuit Company, advertised here under the familiar “Uneeda Bakers” name. The colorful front shows a box of Social Delights surrounded by several individual sandwich cakes. Visible names include Social Tea, Doris, Triton, Oreo, and Manor. The presence of Oreo is especially significant, as Oreo was introduced by the National Biscuit Company in 1912, making this a very early piece of Oreo-related advertising. The reverse is printed as a request slip for the National Biscuit Company booklet “Biscuit in Choice Recipes.” The text states that a copy would be sent free on request to the Advertising Department in New York City. This is best described as a thin paper advertising insert or recipe-booklet request slip, rather than a standard trade card. It is thin card (paper) stock. It was likely distributed as a small advertising giveaway, package insert, store counter handout, or recipe-booklet request form. This is a wonderful early food advertising item with strong appeal to collectors of Nabisco / National Biscuit Company, Uneeda Bakers, early Oreo advertising, antique grocery advertising, and American food-brand history. This advertising item is from circa 1912–1915. The style, typography, product presentation, and National Biscuit Company wording all suggest the early 1910s. The item measures approximately 4 x 2½ inches. SOLD

This striking circa-1885 cabinet card presents American stage actress Ida Lillian Olcott (1861–1888) in an elegant profile portrait. She wears an elaborate floral headpiece, dangling earrings, a multi-strand pearl necklace and an ornately decorated theatrical costume. The restrained profile pose emphasizes her classical features and is particularly appropriate for an actress best remembered for performing dramatic and tragic roles. Born in Brooklyn in 1861, Olcott was the daughter of prominent Brooklyn physician Dr. Cornelius Olcott. She first attracted attention as an amateur actress, playing Juliet with the Williamsburg Amateur League in 1882. She subsequently appeared professionally at the Brooklyn Theatre, again portraying Juliet. In 1884, she toured as the star of the melodrama Dark Days. Olcott’s most important role was the title character in Victorien Sardou’s spectacular historical drama Theodora. She traveled to Paris in 1885 and purchased the American performance rights to the play, achieving considerable artistic success with it during the following two seasons. Her ownership of the American rights led to a serious dispute when Sarah Bernhardt was permitted to perform Theodora in the United States. Olcott sued the Franco-American Dramatic Agency for $25,000, alleging that it had violated the exclusive rights she had purchased. The litigation contributed to her company being disbanded in Chicago shortly before her death. Olcott’s promising career ended tragically on April 8, 1888, when she died at New York’s Westminster Hotel at only 26 or 27 years of age. Contemporary accounts reported that she had contracted a severe cold after exposure during the great New York blizzard and subsequently developed an intestinal inflammation. She initially concealed the seriousness of her illness from her parents because she did not wish to worry them; only her maid was with her until her condition worsened. She was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. I have a few cabinet cards of actor and song writer Chauncy Olcott and I wondered if he and Lilian were related. I found no evidence that the two were related. This cabinet card comes from the studio of Charles Eisenmann (1855-1927). He was German born and a well known celebrity photographer during the 1880’s and 1890’s in New York City’s Bowery District. Not only did he photograph celebrities (ie Mark Twain and Annie Oakley) but he also was known for his portraits of “human oddities” (ie. side show acts and people with birth defects). His son in-law, Frank Wendt, took over his studio in 1898. He later became the director of photography for Dupont. His work is very collectible.  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 group of well-dressed men posed inside what appears to be a community hall, social club, church hall, lodge room, or performance space. The men, all African American, are dressed in dark suits with white shirts and narrow ties, suggesting a date in the late 1950s or early 1960s, most likely circa 1960. There is a strong musical element to the scene. Several musicians can be seen in the background holding instruments, including saxophones and guitars. An American flag is visible at the far left, and seated attendees appear along the side of the room. The photograph may document a civic, musical, fraternal, church, political, or community event in Cleveland, although the people and specific occasion are unidentified. The composition has a wonderful mixture of formality and warmth. Some of the men face the camera in a formal pose, while others smile broadly or lean toward one another. The man near the center places his arm around another man’s shoulder, giving the image a feeling of camaraderie. 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 advertising postcard was published for Bebe. The sexy rare card shows a beautiful blonde woman wearing clothing from the fashion house Bebe. The fashion model is dressed in a beautiful blue sleeveless dress with a studded collar. Bebe Stores Inc. is a women’s retail brand that was founded in 1976.  SOLD

Up for auction is an over 115-year-old piece of sports and collegiate history: a 1909-1910 T51 Murad Cigarettes trading card featuring Johns Hopkins University Lacrosse. The card is part of the  “College Series 51 to 75”. Depicted on the card is a vignette of an early lacrosse player in his period-accurate orange-and-white athletic uniform. He is holding a vintage wood and leather lacrosse stick. The background features the university’s historic athletic “JHU” pennant flag alongside the official Johns Hopkins University academic crest/seal. Printed on the card is a credit to the manufacturer, S. Anargyros (New York). During the early 1900s, the American tobacco landscape experienced an explosion of interest in exotic, premium “Oriental” and Turkish tobacco blends. S. Anargyros was a prestigious, New York-based Greek tobacconist renowned for manufacturing high-quality, pure Turkish leaf cigarettes. Their flagship brand, Murad, became a household name and one of the dominant forces in premium cigarettes. Murad advertisements relied heavily on luxurious, bold graphics to highlight their elite standing. To capture the business of high-society smokers, young professionals, and Ivy League academics, S. Anargyros marketed Murad under the tagline “The Metropolitan Standard”. This slogan positioned the brand as the absolute benchmark of urban luxury, sophistication, and taste. The iconic T51 “College Series” was born from this marketing initiative. These premium cards served a dual purpose: they structurally stiffened the soft cigarette paper packs while encouraging immense customer loyalty as smokers raced to collect and complete full sets of their favorite schools. This specific card holds legendary sports value because it catches the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men’s lacrosse program right during its first golden era. Under legendary player-coach William C. Schmeisser, Hopkins was an absolute juggernaut around the time this card was issued. Johns Hopkins captured consecutive USILA National Championships in 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1909. The card features the vintage orange color that heavily dominated early Hopkins athletics before the program permanently shifted towards its modern blue branding. The card features beautiful, rich color lithography that remains remarkably vibrant for an antique paper item. The intricate border of “Murad” script and hearts frames the imagery beautifully. SOLD

This vintage real photo postcard features American musical theatre actress, May Yohe (1866-1938). She began her career with the McCaull Comic Opera Company in New York and Chicago (1886). By 1893, she had great success on the London stage. The next year she played the starring role in the hit, “Little Christopher Columbus”. She married Lord Francis Hope, and by addition, she married the “Hope Diamond”. She continued her acting in the West End of London and the US. In 1902 she divorced Hope and married a succession of adventurous but financially unstable men. She had multiple dysfunctional relationships with men. She performed in music halls and vaudeville to earn money, but frequently found herself in financial distress. In 1924, she died in near poverty. This vintage postcard portrait was published by Rapid Photo as part of a series (No.1482). Miss Yohe’s photograph was taken by L. S. Langfier (Glasgow, Scotland).  SOLD