This cabinet card photograph captures six girls posing for the photographer at the studio of W. T. Nash in Lena, Illinois. The girls appear to be in their teens or early twenties. Perhaps they are sisters born without the smiling gene. In reality, smiling was not a behavior many subjects exhibited in cabinet card portraits.
Marie Burroughs (1866-1926) is the subject of this cabinet card portrait by Newsboy. Newsboy used this cabinet card as a premium to boost sales of their tobacco products. Marie Burroughs was born in San Jose, California and after completing her convent education, she was invited to join the Madison Square Theatre Company (c 1883). She appeared in many productions including “Saints and Sinners” (1885,1887) and “Foregone Conclusion” (1886). She was a prominent leading lady but wasn’t considered to have enough star power to carry a production by herself. In 1890 she married actor Louis Massen who had helped train her to become an actress. They separated within two years and she went on to have two other marriages.
This family portrait cabinet card was photographed by Sorensen Bela in the city of Papa, Hungary. Due to the age of the seated man and woman, it is difficult to determine the family constellation. Is this a photograph of parents with two daughters? Perhaps its a photograph of a set of parents, their daughter, and their granddaughter? The community of Papa is a historical town in northeast Hungary. The town is noted for its baroque architecture and for being the center of the reformed faith in Transdanubia. In addition, Papa was the third to largest Jewish community in 19th century Hungary.
This Cabinet Card was produced by the Electric Light & Daylight Studios of Richard Brown in Liverpool, England. This well dressed family of four poses for their portrait. Both father and son are wearing suits with exposed watch chains. Mom is wearing a beautiful dress and the daughter is adorned with a necklace. Research indicates that advertising one’s studio as “Electric Light & Daylight” was a method of informing people that the studio was capable of evening hour photography.
Mellville is a very cute child who was photographed at the Caspar Studio in Lawrence, Massachusetts. According to writing on the reverse of the card, Mellville was two years and two months of age, at the time of the photograph in 1892. The child could not possibly look sweeter despite being ensconced in the “terrible two’s”. Mellville is a boy’s name whose popularity peaked around 1880 and then steadily declined until near extinction.
This cabinet card is a portrait of an Indian couple posing in the studio of G. W. Lawrie, a well known Scottish photographer who worked in Lucknow, India in the 1880’s and 1890’s. The front of the cabinet card advertises that he also had studios in Naini Tal, and Mussoorie, India. The gentleman in the photograph is wearing a sash and holding an umbrella. Is that a pocket watch on his coat? Note his hat; what is this type of hat called? The woman in the photograph has her head and upper body covered by her clothing. Hopefully, a visitor to this site can illuminate the details of this couples ethnic clothing.
Two children pose for a cabinet card photograph in a studio with fun props. The older child stands next to a goat that is harnessed to a small carriage. The youngest child sits in the buggy and holds the reins. This is an unusual cabinet card. More commonly photographs of goats are seen on cdv’s or photo postcards and the goats are generally harnessed to carts, rather than carriages. The photographer is J. J. Burnett of North Carolina.
Three children pose for this cabinet card photograph by Strunk of Reading, Pennsylvania. The boys are wearing the largest bow ties in America. Are they bow ties or are they scarves, that is the question? The kids are very cute in their fancy outfits. The photographer is John D. Strunk (1856- ?). There are records of his working as a photographer from 1888 until 1910. To view other photographs by Strunk, click on the category “Photographer: Strunk”.
Linda Deitz poses for this cabinet card portrait by famed celebrity photographer, Sarony of New York City. Deitz was a well known American actress in the 1870’s and 1880’s. She was photographed a great deal but her theatrical career was of only about ten years duration. She made her stage debut replacing actress Fanny Davenport in a production at Daly’s 5th Avenue Theatre. View Ms Davenport’s cabinet card image under the category of Actresses located on this site. In 1879 a theatre column in the New York Times announced that Deitz was being cast as a leading lady. The critic reported that the decision “does not strike us as very happy”. The article goes on to describe her as a respectful actress within a limited range of parts but “she can scarcely hope to fulfill worth the severe duties of a leading lady”. Later that year, Linda Deitz left New York to join the Hare and Kendal theatre company at St. James Theatre in London. Deitz died in 1920.
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THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 