Cabinet cards frequently present interesting mysteries. This cabinet card inspired a number of questions. I wondered what the story was behind this unusual image. The cabinet card was out of the ordinary because of the mini photograph in the left hand bottom corner of the image. The previous owner of the photograph suggested it was a memorial card, but I was dubious. I hypothesized that the image was a graduation portrait and that the buildings in the photo insert was the college from which he graduated. I set out to learn what colleges were located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I discovered that the University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls. From 1876 through 1909 the college was called the Iowa State Normal School. The name was changed and between 1909 and 1961, the educational institution was known as Iowa State Teachers College. Further research confirmed my hypothesis. The photo below, from the University of Northern Iowa library web site, shows the same buildings that are in the cabinet card photograph. The building on the left is South Hall (later Gilchrist Hall) and the building on the right is North Hall (later Central Hall). These buildings were located on the campus of the Iowa State Normal School. Research uncovered the photo postcard below which was identified as being from 1885. My initial hypothesis seems to be correct. This cabinet card is most likely a graduation picture. The subject in the image had just graduated from the Iowa State Teachers College. The cabinet card’s photographer was named Hahnemann Lancaster and he was located in Cedar Falls. The reverse of the photograph has printing advertising that Lancaster had won two first place prizes at both the 1884 and 1886 Iowa State Fairs. Lancaster (born in 1858) was 41 years old when he appeared in the 1900 US census. He was born in Canada. He was married to Sarah (age 39) and the couple had two sons and three daughters at the time of the census. This cabinet card portrait has “gold” edges and is in excellent condition (see scans). (SOLD)
THIS PHOTO IS NOT FOR SALE
This real photo postcard features actress Miss Rosalie Jacobi. Little information could be found about her and this particular postcard is very uncommon. Miss Jacobi appeared in the 1900 production of “Herod” which was produced at “Her Majesty’s Theatre” in London, England. Actors in the play included Maude Jeffries and Beerbohm Tree. The Sketch (1900) has an article about the play “Bonnie Dundee”, which appeared at the Adelphi Theatre. The review praises Rosalie Jacobi and labels her as a “child actress”. The article also states that she gave a “remarkably talented performance”. The photograph on the face of this postcard is from 1906 (see the postmark) and it is likely that the photo was taken when Jacobi was in her teenage years. The postcard was published by Rapid Photo of London as part of a series (no.3036). The photographer was Carr & Hopperton. This vintage postcard is in good condition (see scans).
This cabinet card photograph appears to be a wedding portrait. Both bride and groom are attractive. The young woman in the photo seems to be very young. She looks like a teenager while the groom seems to be several years older. This photo was taken in 1897 by the Masters and Skolds studio located in Princeton, Illinois. The photographers were partners between 1896 and 1903. The 1900 census identifies Charles T Skolds (1862-?) as one of the partners. The name “Nora” is inscribed on the reverse of the photograph. It is likely that Nora is the name of the bride. This cabinet card is in excellent condition.
This vintage real photo postcard features Miss Italy, a contestant in the Miss Europe beauty pageant. This beauty contest includes only European contestants. The contest was established by a French journalist in 1927. Most of the women in this contest won their own country’s national beauty contest, and used the Miss Europa contest as a warm-up for the Miss World pageant. This postcard was published by well known and acclaimed photographer, Alfred Noyer. His Paris studio operated between 1910 and the 1940’s. This postcard is from 1931 and the beautiful contestant seen in this photo, is Claudia Di Nocetti. Miss Di Nocetti is wearing a ring and a pretty, but bulky, necklace. The bottom right corner of the postcard has the printed name of “St. Mano”. Generally, the name of the photographer appears in this location on a photo postcard. Perhaps the photo studio was named “Mano Street”. This vintage postcard is in good condition (see scans).
This vintage snapshot is highly unusual. A couple poses with two cute young foxes. The gentleman in the photo is holding the two fox pups on his lap. The woman is wearing pants and sitting on the automobiles side board. The old car is a nice backdrop, Note the man’s cool cap. This photograph measures about 2 3/8″ x 3 3/8″ and is in excellent condition.
This cabinet card photograph was purchased in the Texas Hill Country but was taken at a wedding in Northhampton, Pennsylvania. This group is the “mother” of all wedding parties. The bride is wearing a dark wedding dress and four of the women are wearing tiaras. Some of the children are holding dolls. Note the accordion player sitting in the bottom row. Apparently he was supplying the entertainment at the wedding reception. This cabinet card was photographed by Thomas Lenhart. He operated a studio in Northampton, Pennsylvania. The cabinet card gallery has other images from Mr. Lenhart’s other studio. It was located in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
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