A FASHIONABLE WOMAN AND HER PARASOL IN ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO, CANADA

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A fashionable woman holding a parasol poses for her photograph at the Poole studio in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. She is wearing a lot of jewelry; her earrings, collar pin, ring, and a chain on her jacket are quite evident. She is also wearing half gloves and holding a purse. The woman is exhibiting an “all business” expression. Printing on the reverse of the cabinet card notes that the studio was located on St. Paul Street and the studio had received an “Honorable Mention” award at the Paris exposition in 1878. Edwin Poole was born in Abington, England and educated in London. He emigrated to Canada in 1866 and moved to St. Catharines in 1876. In 1900 he opened a photography studio. His work was published in the Toronto Globe and he won many photographic awards during his career. He retired in 1921 and died in St. Catharines in 1931. I believe the image below is a portrait of Edwin Poole. To view other portraits by this photographer, click on the category “Photographer: Poole”.  (SOLD)

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cropped Poole

Published in: on June 30, 2016 at 9:25 pm  Comments (2)  
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BEAUTIFUL FRENCH THEATRE ACTRESS MISS LILLIANE WEARING A POLKA DOT BIKINI

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This vintage real photo postcard features French stage actress Miss Lilliane wearing a turn of the century bikini, kerchief, and cape. She is dressed and posed in a risque manner. The photograph was taken by Walery of Paris, France. Stanislaw Julian Ignacy, Count Ostrorog (1863-1935) followed in the footsteps of his father Stanislaw Ostrorog (1830-1890) to become a photographer. He also kept his father’s “photographer name”. The senior Ostorog had changed his name to “Stanislaw Walery” for professional purposes. The last name of “Walery” was derived from his wife’s name, “Waleria”. The elder Walery had set up his London studio in 1883. To view other photographs by Walery, click on the category “Photographer: Walery”.This postcard was published by Papier Guilleminot and is part of a series (#17). The postmark is from Brotteaux, France. Brotteaux is a neighborhood in Lyon, France. It is located between the Rhone River and the railway.   (SOLD)

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Published in: on June 29, 2016 at 7:02 pm  Comments (4)  
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AN ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL AND HER GIANT RABBIT (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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This real photo postcard features an adorable little girl hugging a giant toy rabbit. The rabbit appears very life like, save it’s size. The young girl exhibits an expression that looks more like fear than than affection. The postcard was published by Rotophot Berlin (RPH). Rotophot made it’s debut in Berlin, Germany around the turn of the century (1900). The company had other European offices including London and Budapest. They published many different postcard topics including stage stars. Many of their early postcards were tinted. Eventually Rotophot morphed into “Ross Verlag” a postcard company that collectors know for the many postcards they produced featuring actors and actresses. The postcard’s postmark indicates that it was mailed in 1907. It is addressed to someone in Tuscany, Italy.

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Published in: on June 22, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN WEARING ROSES IN DENVER, COLORADO

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A pretty young woman with smiling eyes poses for her portrait at the Bellsmith Studio in Denver, Colorado. She appears to be in her teenage years. She is wearing a lovely dress and a corsage of roses. The photographer of this image is Harold S. Bellsmith. At one point his business was known as Gold Medal Studio. Bellsmith is listed as a photographer in the Denver business directory from 1890 through 1898. The Photographic Times (1890) announced the opening of his Denver studio. The Photographic Times (1892) reported that Bellsmith experienced a great deal of success as a “high class” photographer. If this cabinet card represents the quality of his work, than he was a talented photographer.          SOLD

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Published in: on June 21, 2016 at 3:34 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF EDWIN PHELPS IN ROME, NEW YORK AND THE EASTMAN KODAK CONNECTION

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An inscription on the reverse of this cabinet card portrait reveals that the subject’s name in Edwin Phelps. The photograph was taken at the Brainerd Photo Company in Rome (Oneida County), New York. Preliminary research tells us a little bit about Mr. Phelps. He was born in Oneida County in 1829. He was married to Amanda Howard (1832-1904). The 1880 census indicates that the couple had three sons living at home with them. He worked as a carpenter during at least four decades.  He died in 1902 in Baltimore, Maryland and is buried in Forest Park Cemetery in Camden (Oneida County), New York. The images seen below include a portrait of Phelps taken at a later date than the portrait seen above, and a photograph of Phelps’s gravestone. The photographer that produced this image is Jonathan Millard Brainerd (1851-1926). Brainerd was born in Oneida, New York. After finishing school, Brainerd began working for photographer H. Hovey and after two years the two men became partners in a firm named appropriately Hovey & Brainerd. The business partnership lasted ten years until Brainerd bought out Hovey. Brainerd was married to Sarah C. Knight in 1874. Brainerd’s studios included locations in Rome (112 West Dominick Street) and in Oneida (28 Main Street). He had an interest in public service which is reflected in the three years that he spent as an alderman and his position as treasurer of State Custodial Asylum. He died in Utica, New York and is buried in Rome Cemetery in Rome, New York. His obituary appeared in the Rome Sentinel (1926) and the article included an interview with his colleague, photographer Betty Filchard. She noted that Brainerd was a friend of the famed photography entrepreneur George Eastman, one of the founders of Eastman Kodak. She stated that Brainerd was a genius and had invented a new camera shutter that Eastman had patented under his own name and “broke Jonathan’s heart”.  SOLD

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                                                                                                                               LATER PORTRAIT OF EDWIN PHELPS

 

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                                                                                                                                     GRAVESTONE OF EDWIN PHELPS

 

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                                                                                                                           PORTRAIT OF JONATHAN MILLARD BRAINERD

 

 

Published in: on June 17, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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WHATS MY LINE? PORTRAIT OF FOUR FIREMEN OR TRAINMEN

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Between 1950 and 1967, CBS television ran a popular game show in which four panelists asked question in order to guess the occupation of a guest. The name of the game was “What’s My Line?”. Now you get to play the game except that you have to use observational skills rather than ask questions. What do you think is the occupation of the four men seen in this cabinet card photograph. Three of the men are in uniform and wearing hats displaying identification numbers. At least one of the three is wearing striped pants. The fourth man is well dressed and wearing civilian clothing and a light colored hat. He is also chomping on a cigar. My guess is that the men work for a railroad. It is also possible that they are firemen. Any comments conjecturing about their line of work, would be appreciated. The name of the photographer and the location of his/her studio is unknown.

Published in: on June 15, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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HANDSOME BEARDED MAN IN SUSQUEHANNA, PENNSYLVANIA (CARTES DE VISITE)

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A well dressed handsome middle aged man poses for his cartes de visite (cdv) portrait at the Harding Studio in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. The gentleman has an interesting beard. His handsome face is visible because he lacks a mustache. The photographer of this image is Addison Delavan Harding (1847-1908). At one point in time, his studio was located at 42 Main Street in Susquehanna. His obituary appears in the magazine “Snap Shots” (1908). The article reports that he worked over 40 years as a photographer. He was born in Binghamton, New York. He learned the business of photography while in the employ of a photographer in Towanda, Pennsylvania. Harding opened a studio there in 1865. He married Fannie V. Harding (Shipman) (1847-1945) in 1867. He moved his business to Susquehanna in 1873. After Hardings death, his son (D S Harding) took over the business and operated it until 1942. Fanny lived to the age of 98 years-old. Addison and Fannie Harding are buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Pennsylvania.

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Published in: on June 14, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL RIDING A BEAUTIFUL PONY IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS (VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH)

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The little girl riding this beautiful pony is very adorable. She is plainly dressed and wearing high socks and sandal type shoes. She is likely not an equestrian, judging by her clothing.  The little girl and pony were photographed by W. J. Nolan & Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Preliminary research found other photographs by the Nolan firm that featured children on the same pinto as seen in this photograph. Apparently, Nolan liked to use the pony as a prop in his photographic work. (SOLD)

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Published in: on June 13, 2016 at 11:11 am  Comments (3)  
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ADORABLE LITTLE BOY POSES WITH HIS COASTER EXPRESS WAGON AND HIS CUTE DOG

wagon

This vintage real photo postcard features an adorable little boy posing with his Coaster Express wagon and his cute dog. The freckle faced boy is displaying a sheepish grin, and why shouldn’t he? After all, he is spending time with his favorite toy and his very best friend. Boy, toy, and dog are posed outside and in front of a wooden house. The AZO stamp box indicates that the postcard dates to sometime between 1904 and 1918.

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Published in: on June 7, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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TWO YOUNG WOMEN WITH GREAT SMILES DRIVING A JALOPY (REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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This vintage real photo postcard features two young woman posing for a studio photo portrait while sitting in a faux automobile. Their car is decorated with American flags. The women in this image are flashing wonderful smiles. The young lady in the passenger seat has movie star good-looks. Note the country road backdrop. Examination of the reverse of the image (see below) reveals that it is the front of a postcard. The glue residue on the back of the photograph tells us that the image formerly resided in someone’s photo album or scrap book.

Scan 1

Published in: on June 6, 2016 at 3:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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