This cabinet card features a portrait of “Master Willie Wainwright” at two years-old. A dedication on the reverse of the card states “to his friend Mable Ayers”. Master Willie is wearing a straw hat which is covering his long blond locks of hair. The photographer is Edgerton Reyerson Higgins (1845-1911) of Fresno, California. Higgins was born in Canada. His mother was Canadian and his father was from Connecticut. He attended high school and Business College in San Francisco, California. He helped out at the photographic gallery of his brother, Thomas J. Higgins while attending school. Higgins worked as a photographer in a number of California towns, including Sacromento, Snelling, Stockton, Merced, Hanford, and Fresno. He worked for at least two well known photographic studios, one of which is represented in the Cabinet Card Gallery collection; Bradley and Rulofson. The second famous photography studio was Thomas Houseworth & Company. Click on the category Photographer: Bradley & Rulofson” to view their photographs. While working in Snelling, Higgins was quoted as saying he took “pretty pictures, even of ugly people”. This cabinet card is from Fresno and it appears that he worked there at two different times. He was there temporarily in 1879. This cabinet card was published during his second stint, which began in 1887. Higgins did much to help his community. In 1889 he was one of the principal founders of the Fresno Volunteer Fire Department, and from about 1889 until the early 1890’s, he served as chief of the department. In 1898 he renamed his gallery the “Rembrandt Studio” and a year later, entered a partnership with a photographer named Howland. The California Historical Society has a small collection of Higgins’s photographs. (SOLD)
MASTER WILLIE WAINRIGHT: TWO YEAR-OLD POSES FOR PHOTOGRAPHER IN FRESNO, CALIFORNIA
PRETTY GIRL IN LUDINGTON, MICHIGAN
A pretty girl poses for her portrait at a photographic studio in Ludington, Michigan. The photographer was Fred C. Silver (1848-?). Silver was born in Ohio, and came to Ludington in 1871 from Elkhart, Indiana. Upon his arrival, he opened a photographic gallery, becoming the first photographer in Ludington. The town was originally named Pere Marquette, but was later named after industiralist Jmes Ludington. Ludington’s logging operations were the reason the town developed. Ludington became an incorporated city in 1873. The late 19th century brought a boom to the area as a result of the lumber business and the discovery of salt deposits. The young lady in this photograph is wearing a nice dress, and jewelry at her collar. She is displaying a very serious expression in this image.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS PHOTOGRAPHED BY FALK IN NEW YORK CITY (BELLE ARCHER?)
This cabinet card features an unidentified flower adorned actress. She is photographed by Falk, a well known celebrity photographer in New York City. The photograph is dated 1886. To view other photographs by Falk, click on the category “Photographer: Falk”. ADDENDUM: An informed visitor to the cabinet card gallery has identified this actress as Belle Archer (see comment below).
PORTRAIT OF A LOVELY COUPLE IN FORT WAYNE, INDIANA
This cabinet card is a portrait of a fashionable couple posing in a Fort Wayne, Indiana, photographic studio. Note that both subjects are wearing gloves; the man is wearing black gloves while the woman is wearing white gloves. The photographer is John A. Shoaff (1836-1921). Shoaff was born in Juanita, Pennsylvania and moved with his family to Fort Wayne at the age of twelve. He operated his business in Fort Wayne until his retirement in 1894. He died at the age of 85, in Fort Wayne. To view other photographs by this photographer, click on the category “Photographer: Shoaff”.
CHILD WEARING A SAILOR’S CAP IN COBURG, GERMANY
A very cute, but unsmiling child, poses for a portrait by the Haussler Brothers. Note the sailing ship pin attatched to the nautical cap. Although the child’s clothing looks feminine, it is not clear whether this young sailor is a boy or a girl. The studio that published this cabinet card was in Coburg, Germany. Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany.
TWO PRETTY YOUNG WOMEN: SISTERS WEARING LEATHER CAPS IN COLUMBUS, OHIO
This cabinet card features two attractive young women, obviously sisters, posing in white clothing and wearing dark leather caps. What is the story concerning the caps? The headwear is certainly quite unusual to be seen in a photograph from this era. Are the caps part of an occupational uniform? One wonders if the caps are driving caps, but the automobile was likely not around all that long when this photograph was taken. Any theories about the hats would be welcome from cabinet card gallery visitors. Please leave a comment with your theories. This cabinet card was photographed by the Baker Art Gallery of Columbus, Ohio. To learn more about the gallery and to view other photographs by the Baker’s, click on the category “Photographer: Baker Art Gallery”.
RUFFIAN LOOKING MAN POSES FOR RUFFIAN PHOTOGRAPHER WITH A NEW IDEA IN PICTURE HANGING (NEW JERSEY)
An intense looking gentleman poses for his portrait at the studio of Albert Vetter. Vetter operated two photographic galleries in New Jersey; one was in Jersey City, while the other was located in Hoboken. The man in this photograph is dressed formally, like a gentleman; but he has the look of a ruffian. Could be an interesting story about the discrepancy, but no identifying information is available about the man in this photograph. On the subject of ruffians, wait until you hear about the photographer of this image. The magazine, The Camera and the Darkroom ( 1904) reported that Vetter was at odds with the family that lived in the house that was also the home of his studio. Vetter got a picture of the head of the family, who recently died. He enlarged the picture and fastened a rope around it at the neck, and hung it out the window. The daughter of the late man, got a step ladder and removed the photograph. A “war of words” followed and Vetter was arrested. He was arraigned in front of a judge for disorderly conduct and he was put up for bond to maintain the peace. The magazine used a humorous headline to describe this incident; “New Idea in Picture Hanging”.
DREAMY EYED LITTLE GIRL WITH LOTS OF HAIR IN BANGOR, MICHIGAN
“Gimme head with hair. Long beautiful hair. Shining, gleaming streaming flaxen, waxen. Give me down to there hair. Shoulder length or longer.” The photograph reminds one of the lyrics of the song “Hair” which was performed in the play of the same name. It seems likely that the adorable little girl in this cabinet card photograph, heard many comments about her beautiful hair. She is wearing a pretty dress and is holding a copy of Wilson’s Photographic Magazine. Posing the girl with this magazine, probably because it was conveniently available in the studio, doesn’t seem quite appropriate. The photographer could have had her bring something personal (ie a doll) from home, or provided her with a prop more relevant for a child. The dreamy eyed little girl in this photograph is sitting on a very interesting and unique bench. She is wearing flowers near her collar and a necklace with a locket. Northrup, the photographer of this cabinet card, was located in Bangor, Michigan.
VICTORIAN STAGE ACTRESS IN COSTUME IN STEUBENILLE, OHIO
A young woman poses for her portrait at the studio of Filson & Son in Steubenville, Ohio. The woman is likely a stage actress and is dressed in a somewhat daring fashion. She is carrying a picnic basket as she prepares to walk through a swung open gate. The basket has a checkered napkin covering the food she is carrying. To learn more about the Filson & Son studio, and to see other photographs by Filson, click on the category “Photographer: Filson”.
“AND WE’RE LIVING HERE IN ALLENTOWN” FAMILY PORTRAIT IN PENNSYLVANIA
This cabinet card features a family portrait taken at the Lenhart’s studio in Allentown, Pennsylvania. There is a real contrast of facial expressions between mother and father in this image. The mother of this family appears calm and bright eyed; and she has a pleasant smile. The father is looking quite haggard, depressed, and disoriented. Maybe he is finding the children exhausting, or perhaps; he has fallen upon hard economic times. Writing on the reverse of the photograph provides the answer. “Well I’m living here in Allentown. And it’s hard to keep a good man down. But I won’t be getting up today. And its getting very hard to stay. And we’re living here in Allentown”. Ok. These words are not really on the back of the image. The words are actually lyrics to Billy Joel’s hit song, “Allentown”. Sorry, I couldn’t resist the temptation. The photographer of this cabinet card is Thomas Lenhart. He was a talented photographer and one of his photographs is exhibited in the American Museum of Photography. The cabinet card displayed is a double self portrait. It is called a double self portrait because the image captures Lenhart taking a photograph of himself. In other words, he assumes two different poses in the same photograph. Lenhart is known to have operated in Allentown between 1894 and 1899. It is very possible that he was located there before and after those years; but no documentation for other years has been found. To view other photographs by Lenhart, click on cabinet card gallery’s category “Photographer: Lenhart”.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 