This is a fascinating occupational cabinet card featuring on old weaver sitting at his loom. He is smoking a pipe as he poses for a photograph from an unidentified photographer. The location that this photograph was taken is unknown. I wish I knew more about weaving so I could explain a bit more about the occupational component of this image. All I know is that weaving on a loom looks extremely complicated and requires excellent coordination between the weaver’s hands, eyes, and feet. (SOLD)
A well dressed family of five pose for their portrait at Emile Lorson’s photographic studio in France. The business was located in the town of either Strasbourg or Schlettstadt (now known as Selestat). The father of this family is not pictured. Perhaps he is away or deceased. The family in the photograph includes a mother, three sons, and a daughter. The oldest boy is holding his mother’s arm while she is supporting her daughter’s position on the wall. The youngest boy is holding a toy rolling hoop. Note his high top shoes. An inscription on the reverse of the photograph states ” Uncle Michael’s 3 Boys”. I wonder why there is no mention of the little girl? Possibly, she did not survive to the point in time that the inscription was written. Once again, I ask, “Where is Uncle Michael”? The answers to my questions are lost to history. SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features child actress, Miss Renee Mayer, posing in character for photographers Foulsham and Banfield. She is photographically captured in her role as Puck in the theatrical production of “The Sleeping Beauty Re-Awakened”. Note the cute little puppy that she is holding. Mayer was a child actress and dancer who made her stage debut in 1910 as the Pearl Fairy in “The Goldfish”. She is most noted for her performance as Puck in three revivals of “Sleeping Beauty” (1912, 1913, 1914). She acted in pantomimes throughout her teenage years and appeared in films in the early 1920’s including “A Bachelor Husband” (1920). Miss Mayer was born in 1900 which informs us that she was somewhere around thirteen years old when she posed for this photograph. The New York Times (1915) mentions Renee Mayer in an article about a play called “Masque of War and Peace”. Looking at the roster of cast members in this production, it becomes clear that the show had an all-star cast. Performers included Mme Rejane, Lily Elsie, Edna May, Viola Tree, Elsie Janie, Lily Langtry and of course Miss Mayer. The show was performed at the Drury Lane Theatre to raise money for “The American Women’s War Relief Fund”. Great Britain’s National Portrait Gallery has twenty real photo postcard portraits of Miss Mayer. Three of the images are photographs by Foulsham and Banfield and published by Rotary Photo (just like the image above). This postcard is part of the Rotary Photographic Series (no. 6924 B) and was printed in Britain.
The children featured in this vintage photograph are absolutely adorable. The oldest child is a frizzy haired little girl and her younger sibling’s gender is indeterminable. The baby’s outfit looks feminine but baby boys and girls wore similar gowns during the cabinet card and early post cabinet card era. The children are sitting on a fur draped chair.This wonderful portrait was taken by Samuel Mitchell John (1860-1935) who operated a photographic studio in Kenton, Ohio. John was born in Ohio. John is mentioned in the Photographers’ Association News (1916) and his address is listed as Detroit Street. The 1910 US census reveals that John was a photographer who operated his own studio. In addition, we learn that he was widowed (after a 21 year marriage to Florence Almeda Larue John 1867-1892) and lived with his son Gala (age 20) and his daughter Rhea (age 18). He was also listed as a widowed photographer in the 1900 US census. He appears in the Hardin Business Directory (1916) as a photographer in Kenton. At the time of his death, he was married to Lydia Matilda Lesher John. His obituary appeared in the Lima News (1935) and points out that his wife found him dead in his studio after he failed to come home for dinner. Clearly, he was still working as a photographer at age 75. He is buried in Grove Cemetery in Kenton, Ohio. SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features a very beautiful British stage actress named Olive Morrell. She was a successful enough actress to merit having six portraits of her included in the United Kingdom’s National Portrait Gallery. She performed in England and toured in Australia. She was born as Olive Miller; Morrell was her stage name. In 1908, she married Willie Kelly (1877-1960), an Australian politician. The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News (1905) highlights her career including her role in “The Spring Chicken” at the Gaiety Theatre. In researching the play, I was struck by the number of well known actresses appearing alongside her. The cast included Kitty Mason, Kate Cutler, Gaynor Rowlands, Ethel Oliver, and Gertie Millar. This was certainly an all star lineup and any collector of theatrical postcards will be familiar with these actresses. Collectors will also note that these women were quite pretty and their postcard images were, and still are, very collectible. Miss Morrell is also the subject of an article in The Play Pictorial (1905) which mentions her appearance in a theatre production called “The Talk of the Town”. This postcard was produced by Rotary Photo as part of the Rotary Photographic Series (no. 1547 C). It is truly a special portrait of Miss Morrell. After viewing many postcard images of this actress; I believe this portrait is one of the finest portraits of Olive Morrell that a postcard collector can find. This photograph captures her beauty as well as provides a close look at fashion during the turn of the century.
This vintage photograph features a portrait of a “Florodora Girl”. You may be wondering “what the heck is a Florodora Girl”? I was asking myself the same question when the previous owner of this image described the pretty woman in this photograph as a “Florodora Girl”. Being curious, I did a little research and found that “Florodora” was an Edwardian musical comedy that became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the twentieth century. The show opened in London in 1899. Actresses Evie Greene and Ada Reeve were among the show’s performers. The Broadway production was performed at the Casino Theater in 1900 and ran for 552 performances. The show achieved some of its success from it’s chorus line of “Florodora Girls”. A wikipedia entry describes the six female performers comprising the line as being”tall, gorgeous damsels, clad in pink walking costumes, black picture hats and carrying frilly parasols (who) swished onto the stage and captivated New York for no other reason than they were utterly stunning”. Please pardon my brief excursion to the land of theater history. Now, lets get back to this image. The reverse of this photograph has an inscription that states “Maid and the Mummy”. It is probably a safe bet to conclude that the subject of this photograph was an actress that appeared in the production of “Maid and the Mummy”. “The Maid and the Mummy (1904)” was a musical comedy that played at the New York Theater in New York City. The show played 42 performances. Actresses in the play included May Boley, Adele Rowland, Janet Priest, and Annie Yeamans. The Cornell Daily Sun (1905) reviewed the play and reported that the production was “one of the most elaborate the stage has seen in recent years”. Interestingly, the article also states that ” “The Maid and the Mummy’ is the biggest success since “Florodora”. After some investigating, I strongly believe that the actress seen in this image is Adele Rowland. Take a look at the photograph below which is a photograph of Miss Rowland taken by photographer Joseph Hall, the same photographer of the photograph seen above. Do the women in these two images resemble each other enough to be the same person? I think so. Who is Adele Rowland? Adele Rowland was born in 1883 in Washington D.C.. Her sister, Mabel Rowland (1882-1943) was also an actress. Adele was a soprano with an “effervescent personality” who excelled in musical comedies. The New York Times (1904) reviewed “The Maid and the Mummy” and wrote that Rowland and May Boley “had something to say and sing, but their chief duty was to be looked at”. In 1915, she introduced the song “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag”. That song has stuck around over time. She also had a film career; appearing in six films between 1941 and 1950. She died in 1971. Here is some information about photographer Joseph Hall. He had studios in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York. He pursued his career between 1865 and 1915. Hall mass produced carte de visite portraits and albumin prints for the public. He also was a pioneer in producing photo-illustrated books in the 1860’s. He also was well known for being a premier photographer of professional baseball teams and players in the 1880’s. In addition, Hall did a lot of work in the area of photographing theatrical stars and productions. He died in 1915. To view more of Joseph Hall’s photographs, click on the category “Photographer: Hall”. SOLD
Close-Up of Floradora Girl
Confirmed Photo of Adele Rowland
Reverse of Floradora Photograph
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 