This cabinet card portrait features a pretty and fashionable young woman. She was posed in a manner which suggests she was having a pensive moment. The photographer of this image is either Moritz or Arthur K. Liebich. Arthur K. Liebich (1834-1905) was an active photographer in Cleveland between 1874 and his death in 1905. He was the son of Moritz S. Libich (1825-1888) who was born in Germany and came to America in 1862. Moritz was a trained artist and he taught art for twelve years at the Jewish Orphan Asylum. Moritz was of the Jewish faith. Moritz and his son Arthur opened their studio on the corner of Ontario and Huron in 1876. In 1885 they added a branch studio on Broadway. In 1890 they moved their primary studio to a street called Euclid. Moritz was married to Alice Gerlach while in Germany and the couple had five children. Moritz’s son Arthur was born in Germany. Arthur came to Cleveland in 1863. He began his photography career working with William Case North and than joined his father’s studio eventually becoming partners with his father (1881-1888).Arthur was a major in the Spanish American War with the Cleveland regiment. In 1881 he married Alice Lacey of Aurora. An interesting fact about the reverse of this cabinet card is that the Liebich’s gallery had a slogan which appears on the card. The quotation is “The light that serves me shines for all.” Research reveals that this slogan appears on the reverse of a number of other Ohio photographer’s cabinet cards. “The Daily Record” (2003), a small Ohio newspaper describes a cabinet card from Harrington’s Gallery (Orville, Ohio) as having the same company motto. In addition, Teeple’s French Light Galleries (Wooster and Ashland, Ohio) also used the same quotation. Research failed to find the origin of this quotation or for it’s relevance in cabinet card photography. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
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