PORTRAIT OF AN ADORABLE STUDIOUS YOUNG GIRL IN COLUMBUS, OHIO

This wonderful cabinet card portrait captures an adorable young girl sitting at a table with an open book in front of her. She is looking toward the camera and displaying a serious gaze. She is wearing a dress that has lace at the end of her sleeves and around her collar. This photograph was taken at the Urlin and Pfeifer studio which was located in Columbus, Ohio. The cabinet card gallery has photographs by each of these photographers that were taken when they were working independently. John A. Pfeifer (1859-1932) was active in the Columbus area from 1882 to at least 1913. For much of that time, he was partners with George C. Urlin (1854-1942). Their firm was the class photographer of Oberlin College in 1888. Urlin was active in Columbus between 1873 and 1887. The reverse of this cabinet card offers an interesting back stamp. Note the etching of the Urlin & Pfeifer storefront. Behind the gallery’s windows there is a display of  framed photographs. Also on the reverse of the photograph is advertising boasting that the studio had won 47 “Medals and Highest Awards”. One of these medals was issued in 1885 which is about the time that this cabinet card was produced.   SOLD

Published in: on April 8, 2017 at 1:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MARTE HARRELL: PRETTY AUSTRIAN ACTRESS OF THEATER, FILM, AND TELEVISION

Marte Harell (1907-1996) was an Austrian film actress. She was married to Karl Hartl (1899-1978), an Austrian film director. Harell’s filmography includes “Women Are No Angels” (1943), “After The Storm” (1948), and “The Congress Dances” (1955). She was active in film and television between 1939 and 1981. Early and late in her career she also did theater. She made her film debut at age 32. She was in a number of films by Wien-Film. Hartl was the production manager of the company. This photo postcard was made for Wien-Film. The postcard is part of a series (no. A 3645/1). It is likely that this is a photograph of Miss Harell in costume for one of her film roles

Published in: on April 5, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF TWO WELL DRESSED AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

This vintage real photo postcard features two well dressed African American men posing for their portrait at an unknown photography studio. The men look quite fashionable. The shorter man is wearing a single breasted jacket and fedora while the taller gentleman is wearing a bowler hat and double breasted suit.The postcard has an “AZO” stamp box indicating it was produced sometime between 1904 and 1918.

Published in: on April 4, 2017 at 10:48 am  Leave a Comment  
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CABINET CARD PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG CHILD AND A STACK OF CABINET CARDS

This cabinet card portrait of a young child is a bit unusual because the image features other cabinet cards within it. The child is intensely staring at the photographer while holding a cabinet card in his/her hand. There is a stack of cabinet cards lying on the table. One can imagine that the photographer decided to use the cabinet cards as a prop for this image. The photographer of this image is Luther M. Rice. Mr Rice is a familiar name to the Cabinet Card Gallery. The gallery features a photograph by Charles E. Holman, the brother-in-law of Luther Rice. Rice taught Holman the photography business. The pair worked together for a number of years and in 1879 Rice sold the studio to Holman. Rice was born in Massachusetts in about 1886. In addition to being a photographer, he was also a watercolorist. He began working in Warren (Ohio) by 1868. He partnered with Isaac D. Bliss in 1870 and worked independently from 1875 until 1891. He also had a studio in Chagrin Falls (1896-1897). All dates mentioned in this brief career biography are approximate. Rice’s obituary appeared in the “Bulletin of Photography” (1913). He was 86 years old at the time of his death.

Published in: on March 31, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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SNAPSHOT OF A LOVELY COUPLE IN FRONT OF A BEACH HOUSE

Some couple look like they belong together and the pair in this snapshot are one of those couples. This is a handsome couple. They are posing in their bathing suits in front of a quaint beach house. She is wearing a pioneering bikini and he is wearing an unbuttoned casual shirt displaying part of his bare chest. She is holding a swimming cap. In the background you can see the boardwalk that is between the house and the beach. One can also observe the beach vegetation. In addition, there appears to be beach chairs, or some kind of rack, close behind this romantic couple. The scene reminds me of the beach houses on Fire Island, though this photograph could have been taken at many beach communities along the US east or west coast. This snapshot likely dates back to the 1930’s or 1940’s.  (SOLD)

Published in: on March 30, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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THREE YOUNG MEN AND THEIR BICYCLES AND THEIR CIGARETTES

A European (probably French) photography studio created this portrait of three young men posing with two bicycles. The men are well dressed but give the appearance of ruffians. The cigarettes hanging from their lips create a roguish look. Two of the boys are wearing high boots which indicate that they are the bike owners. Tucking pant bottoms into the boots prevented bike accidents. This photo postcard of a trio of bikers is a rare find and likely dates to the 1900’s decade.  SOLD

Published in: on March 29, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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SENORITA CHRISTIANA: A BEAUTIFUL BRAZILIAN STAGE STAR IN PARIS, FRANCE

This is an opportunity to meet Christiana. One unsourced writer asserts that she was a Brazilian stage star.  I was unable to confirm that assertion. However, I can confirm that Christiana was quite beautiful. This vintage real photo postcard features a profile view of the stage star. She is dressed in a pretty flower patterned dress and is wearing flowers in her long flowing hair. Senorita Christiana’s portrait is by the Walery Studio which was located in Paris, France. The hand tinted postcard was published by the Parisian firm  “ELD” (E. Le Delay) and was part of a series (no. 2002). The postcard advertises the Casino de Paris which was one of the better known music halls in Paris. Christiana clearly performed there. Lucien Walery was a celebrated Paris photographer known for his portraits of artists and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He is very well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Walery did a lot of work in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. You can view other images by this talented photographer by clicking on the category “Photographer: Walery”.

Published in: on March 27, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY TEENAGE GIRL IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (PHOTOGRAPH BY J. K. STEVENS)

chicago teeen

This cabinet card portrait of a pretty teenage girl is by esteemed Chicago photographer John Kimball Stevens. A number of photographs by Stevens can be viewed in the cabinet card gallery by clicking on the category “Photographer: Stevens”. Stevens operated his gallery out of the McVicker’s Theatre building. The young woman in this photograph is bright eyed and has a terrific pleasant expression. She is clearly holding back a smile. She apparently liked jewelry as evidenced by her interesting necklace, collar pin, and earrings.

A visitor to the Cabinet Card Gallery, named Jon, left a comment indicating that he had found a cabinet card image at a flea market that appeared to be the same woman as the one pictured above.He was kind enough to send a copy of the image that he found (see the image below). I definitely see the similarity in appearance that Jon is referring to. However, the woman in the top cabinet card has a rounded face and springy curls while the woman below has an oval face with thick tight curly hair. In addition, their eyes and smiles are vastly different. Both photographs were taken by the Stevens Gallery which was quite prolific. It is no surprise that they likely had many instances of photographing people that had similar appearance. Thank you Jon for sharing the photograph and your observations.
Reader photo sent Stevens

Published in: on March 26, 2017 at 7:15 am  Comments (9)  
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TWO PRETTY TEENAGE GIRLS READING “THE LETTER” (CIRCA 1911 REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

This vintage real photo postcard features two pretty teenage girls reading a letter together. One wonders about the content of “the letter”. It certainly has put smiles on these girl’s faces. Both girls are well dressed and wearing necklaces and hair accessories. The girl holding the letter is also wearing a bracelet and a ring. This postcard was published by AZO sometime between 1904 and 1918.

Published in: on March 25, 2017 at 5:11 pm  Leave a Comment  
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TWO YOUNG DANDIES AND AN OPEN BOOK

This vintage real photo postcard features two young dandies viewing an open book. They are exquisitely dressed and look like perfect gentlemen. A script of their dialog is printed below the image. Bacarel states to Paul, “A superb point of view”. Paul responds “What an enchanting landscape”. The men are seated on outdoor furniture. The fabric of the chairs present a nice checkered pattern. In the distance are snowy mountain caps. This postcard image is from a studio, yet creates a pretty scene. The postcard is addressed to a central French town named Mezieres en Brenne. The postcard was published by “AS”. I have no exact  identification of this company. Possibilities include “Alfred Schweizer” (Hamburg, Germany), Arthur Schurer & Company (Schoneberg, Germany), or A. Scheers (Brussels, Belgium). The postcard is part of a series (no. 747,  no. 3228).

ADDENDUM : A viewer from New Zealand has provided more information about this postcard. He has advised me that this image is a scene from the operetta “Miss Helyett”. He adds that the ‘point de vue’ is the heroine fell over a cliff and displayed ‘what only a husband should see’.

Published in: on March 24, 2017 at 7:09 pm  Comments (2)  
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