A young couple poses with their baby at the studio of White and Hugus in Ottumwa, Iowa. The couple are well dressed and the family is nicely posed for their portrait. The husband is sitting on an interesting and ornate seat (prop). The woman has her hand affectionately placed on her husband’s shoulder and the husband keeps a careful hold on the couple’s extremely alert baby. No information about the photographers was found in preliminary research. The town of Ottumwa is in southeast Iowa. It was a coal mining town. The state mine inspector reported that there were 15 mine shafts in the town in 1889. From 1890 through 1892 an exhibition center was built in the town. It was called the Coal Palace. Perhaps the gentleman in this photograph was associated with the mining industry.
FAMILY OF THREE IN OTTUMWA, IOWA
STAGE ACTRESS MARIE JANSEN IN FOUR IMAGES (1887,1888, AND 1892 PHOTOGRAPHS BY FALK)
Marie Jansen (1857-1914) was an American actress and vocalist. She was a well known star of comic operas. She was born in Boston and her birth name was Hattie Johnson. Jansen made her theatrical debut in Boston at the Park Theatre in 1881. Her first major success occurred in 1883 with her appearance in “The Beggar Student”. In 1884 she was engaged by Charles Wyndham to create the title role in “Featherbrain” which ran in London, England. She then appeared in the United States for several years as the leading woman in Francis Wilson’s comic opera company. In 1901, Jansen formed her own company that she took on tour. The top image was photographed by famed celebrity photographer Falk of New York City. This image shows Jansen in costume for the play, “The Oolah”. “The Oolah” was a comic opera produced by the Francis Wilson Company in 1887. The music was written by Charles Le Cocq and the libretto was written by Sydney Rosenfeld. The second image of Jansen was also photographed by Falk. This cabinet card is dated 1888 and is a bit risque for that time in history. The third image of Jansen also captures her in a bit risque costume. It was photographed by Falk in 1892 and the cabinet card was used as a premium for Newsboy tobacco products. The fourth image of Jansen features her in costume and sitting on a wicker chair. She is holding a cane and wearing gloves. This undated photograph is also by Falk. To view other photographs by Falk, click on the Cabinet Card Gallery category “Photographer: Falk”.
TWO ADORABLE CHILDREN POSE FOR CARL PIETZNER IN OLMUTZ, AUSTRIA
Carl Pietzner produced this wonderful portrait of two children posing at his Olmutz, Austria studio. The kids are adorable. Big sister is holding her sibling’s hand who has a smile wider than the Danube River. The reverse of the photograph has a printed advertisement for the studio that states “Jnhaber: Adolf Muller”. Thanks to google translation, the entry indicates that Mr. Muller was the owner of the studio. It seems to indicate that Pietzner is the photographer but not the owner of the studio. Perhaps a knowledgeable visitor to the cabinet card gallery can clarify this issue. To learn more about Pietzner and to view more of his photographs, click on the category “Photographer: Pietzner”.
CORNHUSKER WEDDING PORTRAIT: LOVELY YOUNG COUPLE IN NEWMAN GROVE, NEBRASKA
This photograph is a portrait of a young wedding couple taken by the Olson studio in Newman Grove, Nebraska. The wedding couple is well dressed and the bride is wearing a non white wedding dress adorned with flowers.Thorsten Olson established Newman Grove’s Olson studio in 1888. Research indicates that the studio operated until the 1950’s. Newman Grove is an agricultural community that was settled in the late 1860’s and incorporated in 1888. In 1886 the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad established a route through Newman Grove.
MYSTERY PHOTOGRAPH: POSSIBLY FRENCH CAVALRY SOLDIERS AND THEIR SWORDS AND HELMETS (HELP NEEDED FROM CABINET CARD GALLERY’S VAST AND UNPAID RESEARCH DEPARTMENT)
The previous owner of this photograph described the subjects in the image as World War I French Cavalry soldiers. The soldiers are wearing collar pins that identify their military unit as being the “29th”. They are drinking glasses of wine from a bottle on the table. The men have long swords and there are three helmets on the floor in front of the men. My uneducated guess is that these military men are part of a fencing team. There is a within the photograph which would provide more information but I can not decipher the script on the label. A stamp on the reverse of the photograph identifies the photographer as Moraux and the location of his studio as Provins, which is in north central France. Assistance is clearly needed from the cabinet card gallery’s vast and unpaid research department. The visitors to the cabinet card gallery have a history of contributing informed and thoughtful knowledge via their comments. Knowledge that helps us further our appreciation and understanding of the gallery’s images.
LOVELY YOUNG COUPLE SIT AT TABLE WITH UNIQUE TABLECLOTH IN FAYETTE, OHIO
This photograph is included in the cabinet card gallery more for the photographers name than for any particular merit of the image. The photographer of this cabinet card is C. Burr Marsh and he and I share the same last name. As a result, I’ve adopted him as a ancestor and include his work in the Cabinet Card Gallery. You can see more of his photographs and learn more about him by clicking on the category “Photographer: Marsh”. The reverse of this photograph indicates that it was 1888 when Marsh photographed this couple in his Fayette, Ohio studio. This image is features a lovely young couple sitting at a table that is topped with two books laying side by side. The table cloth in this photograph is interesting and unique. I do not recall seeing a similar patterned table cloth on other cabinet cards. Perhaps a visitor to this site can give us better understanding of this type of tablecloth.
ALLURING YOUNG WOMAN LETS HER HAIR DOWN IN NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
The pretty and vivacious looking young woman in this photograph has been assigned a number of adjectives by observers. She has been described as exotic, lusty, beautiful, seductive and alluring. She is unidentified but is likely a performer (dancer, singer, actress). The photograph may be considered somewhat risque for its time. The image is a product of La Marseillaise Photo Studio which was located on Lexington Avenue in New York City, New York.
LTTLE GIRL STANDING ON A CHAIR IN DOUGLASS, KANSAS
F A Cooley was a photographer located in Douglass, Kansas and he produced this cabinet card portrait of a well dressed little girl standing on a chair. She looks a bit uncertain as to how to pose for the portrait. It was a difficult task to photograph children and part of the photographers job was to put the child at ease. Mr. Cooley was unsuccessful at this venture. It must be pointed out that there is a possibility that the child in this portrait may actually be a boy. Douglass, Kansas was established in 1869 by a trader named Joseph Douglass. He established the town along cattle trail that began in Texas. In 1877 the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line that in 1881 was extended to Douglass. Initial research uncovered no information about the photographer of this image.
GROOM AND THIN WAISTED BRIDE IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA
This cabinet card appears to feature a Reading wedding couple. The couple is well dressed and the bride is wearing a feathered hat instead of a veil which lends some doubt to the wedding theory. The woman is wearing and holding flowers. Note her thin waist and his large hands. The photographer is John D. Strunk who operated in Reading, Pennsylvania. To view other photographs by Strunk, click on the category “Photographer: Strunk”.
A WOMAN AND HER LABRADOR RETRIEVER IN HONESDALE, PENNSYLVANIA
J A Bodie of Honesdale, Pennsylvania photographed this lady and her lab at the Bodie Art Studio located on the Keystone Block. The woman is holding a wonderful large hat featuring what appears to be long feathers. The lady and her canine companion are posed atop bales of hay. The dog is likely a labrador retriever and he or she has very expressive eyes that seem sad and lonely and begging for attention. The photographer of this cabinet card is either Joseph Alonzo Bodie (1852-1935) or his son, Joseph A. Bodie Jr.. Junior followed his father into the family business. The senior Bodie learned photography from E. I. Stearns and in 1875, Bodie bought half interest in Stearns’s studio. By 1878, Bodie became the sole proprietor of the studio. The Bulletin of Photography (1912) reported that Bodie’s studio was totally destroyed by fire and the loss was valued at $2500.00 and was only partially covered by insurance. In a later issue, the same journal stated that Bodie had rebuilt the studio.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 