This Cabinet Card is the image of Nellie Hutchins and she is photographed by Appelquest of Middletown, Connecticut. Nellie has great eyes. Her staring eyes speak paragraphs. What do her expressive eyes say to you? Your comments are appreciated.
THE INTENSE GAZE OF NELLIE HUTCHINS IN MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT
NAVAL OFFICER IN SHANGHAI (PHOTOGRAPHED BY AH FONG)
A naval officer, wearing his dress white uniform, poses for his portrait at the studio of Ah Fong. Fong had photographic studios in both Shanghai and Wei-Hai-Wei. Ah Fong was active in photography in the 1860’s through the 1880’s and beyond. In 1937, he published a photo album entitled “The Sino-Japanese Hostilities”. Fong was a Chinese photographer trained by western photographer around Canton. He later opened his own studio and it operrated through World War II. His photographs of Nanjing in 1937 documented for the West the “Rape of Nanking” and Japanese denials were shown to be lies. The dates cited in this description come from research and some of them are likely inaccurate unless Fong lived an extremely long life. In regard to the pictured officer, no identifying information of the officer is available but perhaps a visitor to the site will recognize his uniform and leave a comment.
BIZARRE FACIAL HAIR IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
The gentleman photographed for this cabinet card wears his beard in a most unusual style. His place in the Cabinet Card Gallery’s category of “Beards (Only the Best)” is well deserved. The photographer of this portrait is Alexander C. Brownell of Providence, Rhode Island. Brownell’s death notice appeared in a 1916 photographic magazine. The article stated that Brownell died in New York City of “hardening of the arteries” but that his health had been less than robust for the previous 30 years due to his accidentally poisoning himself thirty years earlier while experimenting with chemicals to be used for zinc etchings.
EXTREMELY COMPOSED COUPLE IN GRANTHAM, ENGLAND
This cabinet card features a very cool and composed couple posing for their portrait at the photographic studio of J. H. Miller in Grantham, England. Grantham is 24 miles east of Nottingham and is the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher. Grantham is also noted for being the first locale in Great Britain to employ female police officers (1914).
RISQUE THEATRE ACTRESS SYLVIA GERRISH
Sylvia Gerrish (1858-1906) is the subject of this Cabinet Card published by Newsboy. The photograph of the noted comic opera actress and singer was a premium given to users of Newsboy Tobacco products. Sylvia Gerrish was a stage beauty noted in the United States as well as England. She was born in California, sang in her church choir and came to New York and pursued the theatre life. Millionaire Henry Hilton became enamored of her and sacrificed his marriage and fortune to be with her. The story of their relationship was extensively covered by the newspapers of the time. Gerrish ended up dying in poverty.
BRIDE AND GROOM IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
This photograph is a portrait of a bride and groom posing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The bride is holding a bouquet of flowers and appears to have flowers pinned to the front of her dress as well as to her shoulders. Perhaps a visitor to this site knows if such pinnings were the practice of that era. The bride, in a high collar gown, is also wearing flowers in her hair and white gloves. The groom looks dapper in his three-piece suit. Note that the ends of his mustache curve upwards. The photographer is Charles Brodesser (1857- ?) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Brodesser was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States in 1872. He settled in Milwaukee in 1877. Further biographical information about Brodesser has not yet been found.
PRETTY WOMAN IN RUFFLED LACE DRESS (LEEDS, ENGLAND)
This cabinet card is an image of a very pretty woman who is also quite fashionable. She is wearing a ruffled lace dress and appears very comfortable in front of the camera. She is wearing matching bracelets around each of her lower arms. Hopefully a visitor to the site can explain the reason she is wearing two matching bracelets and why they are worn higher than her wrists. The photographer is J.Garratt of Leeds, England.
MELVILLE ELIJAH STONE: NOTED CHICAGO JOURNALIST
This cabinet card is a portrait of Melville Elijah Stone (1848-1929). Stone was a reporter when in 1876 he founded Chicago’s first penny paper, “The Chicago Daily News”. In 1881 he established the “Chicago Morning News” which became the “Chicago Record”. In 1893, while employed with a bank, he was named General Manager of the “Associated Press” which under his stewardship became a major news agency. Stone retired in 1921. The photographer who produced this portrait was W. J. Root, a celebrated Chicago photographer.
LITERARY MAN STANDING NEXT TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN HAYWARD, WISCONSIN
Ok. So, he’s not exactly standing next to Abraham Lincoln but he is standing next to Abe’s picture on the binding of a very well known book of the time. The title of the volume is “Giants of The Republic”. The book was written by a “Corps of Competent Biographers” and covers the “lives, deeds and personal traits of eminent men and women” in American history. Some of the subjects profiled are Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Charles Sumner, William Sherman, Robert Fulton, John Jacob Astor, and Edgar Alan Poe. The well dressed gentleman in this cabinet card photograph must have thought that the book had historic potential or at the least, was worth remembering. It is unusual to see someone posing with a specific book title (unless its the bible). The book in this photograph is clearly meant to play a prominent role in the photograph. The photographer of this cabinet card is G. H. McElroy of Hayward, Wisconsin.
A MAN AND HIS MEDAL IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
This dapper gentleman is wearing a medal and ribbon as he poses for this portrait at the studio of Applegate, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. What does this medal and ribbon represent? Is this gentleman a veteran of the civil war? Is he a member of a fraternal organization or political party? The answer to these questions will be very difficult to obtain but perhaps a visitor to this site may have some ideas to share about the type of medal and ribbon the subject is wearing. The gentleman’s beard is quite interesting. He has no mustache or whiskers immediately under his lower lip. He qualifies for Cabinet Card Gallery’s category of “Beards (Only The Best). The photographer of this cabinet card led an interesting life. In 1860, James R. Applegate had a photographic studio in Philadelphia that was three floors high. In 1877, a St. Louis photography magazine visited Applegate’s studio and wrote that he “encases 50 portrait faces every minute…. with a bevy of young ladies finishing the same and scores waiting to be set”. In 1884, Applegate opened the first successful amusement pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The boardwalk included one of his photography studios. In 1891, he moved the carousel from the boardwalk to Philadelphia and a year later, the police raided the carousel and arrested him and 200 guests. He was charged with “keeping a disorderly house” and an unnamed more serious offense.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 