THE CABINET CARD GALLERY

Striking oversized 5 x 7-inch Bebe fashion and fragrance advertising postcard featuring model and actress Olga Kurylenko before her international film fame. The card promotes Bebe Eau de Parfum and shows Kurylenko holding the distinctive red heart-shaped perfume bottle in a dramatic fashion portrait. Kurylenko began as an international model and later became widely known for playing Camille Montes opposite Daniel Craig in the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace. Dating to approximately 2002–2003, the card reflects her early Bebe modeling work. SOLD

This wonderful uncommon antique real photo postcard, dating to approximately 1905–1915, features a mustachioed lacrosse goalkeeper posing in front of a net with his traditional wooden lacrosse stick. The athlete wears a distinctive striped wool jersey, white knee-length trousers, dark stockings, and heavily padded gloves, providing a fascinating glimpse of lacrosse equipment and sporting attire from the early twentieth century. The beautifully composed oval portrait captures the early days of organized lacrosse, a sport with origins among the Indigenous peoples of North America that became increasingly popular in Britain, Canada, and the United States during the nineteenth century. The divided reverse is unused and bears a penciled identification that appears to read “Harry Barkendale,” along with the word “Lacrosse,” although the player’s identity has not been independently verified. SOLD

This original cabinet card photograph features a tender portrait of two young siblings—likely sisters—captured in a professional studio setting during the 1890s. The older child stands with composure and curiosity, her expression calm and observant, while resting one hand gently on the baby’s arm. She wears a smocked white dress with full sleeves and a pleated hem, along with white stockings and dark buckle shoes. Her hair is carefully styled with a large ribbon bow. The younger child, likely under one year old, is seated securely in a studio chair draped with an ornate floral fabric. Dressed in a voluminous white gown with a scalloped lace collar, the infant gazes directly at the camera with wide, steady eyes and a serene expression. The careful posing and formal attire reflect the significance of this portrait—likely marking a milestone such as a birth or baptism. The backdrop is typical of the era, with a softly blurred painterly background to keep focus on the subjects. The overall composition and tone evoke warmth and elegance from a bygone era. The photographer’s mark at the bottom mount reads: Abercrombie – Pottstown, PA – Gold Medal 1893, identifying this as the work of the Abercrombie Studio of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Photos by Henry A. Abercromby can be found in the collections of the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library. Abercromby was born in England in 1850 and died in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1906. He was active in Orlando, Florida (1891-1895) and Pottstown (1898-1906). SOLD

Up for auction is a beautiful, highly collectible 1914 hand-colored antique postcard capturing the monumental architecture of the historic Temple Israel Jewish Synagogue in St. Louis, Missouri. The grand Neoclassical structure pictured here was built in 1907 at the corner of Kingshighway and Washington Boulevards. Designed by acclaimed local architect Harvey Ellis, the building was modeled explicitly after the classical Temple of Piety in Rome, defined by its massive, towering Corinthian columns. Founded originally in 1886 by Reform Jewish families, Congregation Temple Israel made this specific structure a landmark of American religious unity. In 1931, Temple Israel joined forces with neighboring St. John’s Methodist and Second Baptist Church to form the famous “Holy Corners Fellowship”, a pioneering interfaith alliance that shared dinners, services, and community work across decades. The vibrant street-level view on this card shows a large, bustling crowd gathered on the steps during the height of its Kingshighway era.  The reverse features a fantastic snapshot of early 20th-century rural Missouri life. Sent from Chesterfield to Lohman, Missouri, the cursive message written by Arthur Hensel to his cousin Benjamin Stroble reads: “Hello Ben how are you we are all well we are done digging potatoes we are shucking corn now and we are done sowing wheat I am going to school I am having a fine time at school playing ball this is all the news I know for this time. From your cousin Arthur Hensel.” The card is completely intact with its original green 1-Cent George Washington postage stamp and a crisp, bold “Chesterfield, MO. 1914 postmark.  SOLD

This exceptionally handsome circa-1880s cabinet card presents a distinguished unidentified gentleman photographed by the celebrated San Francisco photographer Isaiah West Taber (1830–1912). The sharply focused bust portrait is presented in an elegant embossed oval vignette and shows the sitter with neatly groomed hair and a substantial mustache, dressed in a dark three-piece suit with contrasting lapel edging, high white collar, and broad cravat or ascot-style neckcloth. A cravat was a wide piece of formal neckwear, an ancestor of the modern necktie, that could be folded or arranged decoratively at the throat and tucked into the waistcoat; this gentleman has further embellished his with a striking jeweled cravat pin or stickpin, apparently fashioned as a small floral or cross-shaped cluster. The stones have considerable sparkle in the photograph and may have been diamonds or another gemstone, although their material cannot be determined from the image alone. Taber was one of the most important commercial photographers working in late-19th-century California. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1830, he went to sea on whaling vessels as a teenager, traveled to California during the Gold Rush in 1850, worked for a time as a miner and farmer, and later studied dentistry before photography became his life’s work. He returned to California in 1864 to work with the prominent San Francisco firm Bradley & Rulofson and established his own Taber Gallery in 1871; his business became especially well known for society portraiture. Taber’s clientele and assignments reflected his considerable reputation: he photographed King Kalākaua of Hawaii, operated one of San Francisco’s premier photographic establishments, and was later selected for major international photographic work. His personal life is also unusually well documented for a 19th-century photographer: he married Annie Slocomb in 1871, and the couple had two daughters, Daisy and Louise; numerous photographs of Taber, his wife, his daughters, and their Oakland home survive today in the Bancroft Library’s Taber Family collection. Taber’s career effectively ended when the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed his studio and enormous archive of glass negatives, a particularly important loss to California photographic history. This photograph dates to circa 1885. SOLD

This sexy advertising postcard was published for Bebe Fashion. The pretty model is wearing a low cut white dress with a red rose floral print. Bebe Stores Inc.is a women’s retail brand that was established in 1976. This postcard was published by Max Racks. SOLD

This striking Belle Époque portrait depicts Geneviève Lantelme (1883–1911), one of the most photographed and fashionable actresses of turn-of-the-century Paris. She developed a successful theatrical career during the first decade of the 20th century. The Bibliothèque nationale de France identifies her as a theatrical actress, the wife of newspaper magnate Alfred Edwards, and records that she died by drowning during a cruise on the Rhine in 1911. Lantelme began appearing on the Paris stage in the early 1900s. Surviving theatrical records place her in Le Secret de Polichinelle at the Théâtre du Gymnase in 1903 and as Suzette in Paris-New York at the Théâtre Réjane in 1907. Her fame increased considerably during the later years of the decade, and she became closely associated with the glamorous world of Belle Époque theater, fashion, and celebrity culture. She was repeatedly photographed by leading Paris studios and appeared in fashionable dress in the illustrated press. The portrait offered here is particularly appealing. Lantelme is shown in a close, softly modeled head-and-shoulders study, wearing an elaborately patterned off-the-shoulder gown, a necklace of large beads, and a decorative hair accessory. Her carefully arranged coiffure, direct gaze, and refined costume reflect the fashionable theatrical portraiture for which the Reutlinger studio became famous. A faint pencil notation along the upper reverse reads “Lantelme.” The Reutlinger studio was one of the major portrait photography establishments in Paris. The photographic business began with Charles Reutlinger in the mid-19th century and continued through Émile and Léopold Reutlinger. The New York Public Library records the studio as operating at 21 Boulevard Montmartre during the 1890s. Under Léopold Reutlinger, the studio became especially successful at photographing actresses, dancers, singers, fashionable women, and other celebrities of the Paris stage. Reutlinger photographs of performers survive today in important museum and archival collections.The Palais Galliera in Paris owns a Reutlinger portrait of Geneviève Lantelme wearing an evening gown by the celebrated couturier Doucet, specifically dated 1909; its reverse also carries a handwritten identification of Lantelme. The photograph of Lantelme presented for sale here, was taken circa 1909.  SOLD

This handsome turn-of-the-century cabinet card presents Miss Cecil Vane, a British stage actress or theatrical performer. Vane is shown in a softly focused bust-length portrait, gazing directly toward the camera with a calm, serious expression. Her hair is arranged in a fashionable upswept style, and she wears a light-colored gown with a puffed sleeve, two delicate necklaces, and a ring on the hand supporting an abundant bouquet of daisy-like flowers and foliage. The portrait has the refined, romantic appearance associated with late-Victorian and early-Edwardian theatrical photography. The large bouquet dominates the lower half of the composition and provides an attractive contrast to Vane’s pale gown and finely modeled face. A faint “PROOF” mark appears within the lower-left portion of the image, indicating that this was a studio proof or sample copy rather than an ordinary retail portrait. Reliable personal information about Cecil Vane remains scarce. However, historical records and theatrical trade publications, including The Era, place her on the British stage during the late 1870s and 1880s, performing in music halls, variety entertainments, and pantomimes alongside other notable performers of the period. Her professionally printed identification and appearance before the prestigious Ellis & Walery studio further suggest that she had sufficient theatrical standing and public recognition to merit a formal publicity portrait. The photograph was produced by Alfred Ellis & Walery. The partnership brought together English theatrical photographer Alfred Ellis and Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg, who worked under the celebrated professional name Walery. Their Baker Street studio photographed actors, actresses, musicians, writers, royalty, and prominent society figures; the National Portrait Gallery associates the partnership with nearly 100 portraits. Walery was the son of a Polish-born photographer who had established successful studios in Paris and London, while Ellis had operated his own Baker Street studio from 1884. Museum records differ slightly regarding the precise years of their collaboration, but the partnership was active around the turn of the twentieth century and used the Baker street address printed on this mount. The ornate reverse advertises the firm’s “Day and Electric Light Studios,” states that it was established in 1884. Based upon the studio address, mount design, costume, and hairstyle, the portrait likely dates from approximately 1899–1905.  SOLD