A woman poses for her portrait at the studio of A. L. Bisaillon in Marieville, Quebec, Canada. She displays a look of disinterest. Her expression looks like it belongs on a modern day drivers license, a portrait that few people put much effort into their appearance. The subject of this photograph does seem to care about jewelry, and that is reflected by the fact that she is wearing a great deal of it. She also is wearing a lace collar and black ribbon tie. Little information could be uncovered concerning Alphe-Leon Bisaillon, photographer of this image (SOLD)
“You’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette”. An adorable little girl stands on a chair as she prepares a meal of eggs. She holds a large frying pan in one hand and an egg in the other hand. Broken egg shells lie on the chair near her feet. The child has a sweet smile. This vintage postcard was published by Reunies de Nancy. Les Imprimeries Reunies de Nancy (IRN) was founded in Nancy, France in 1905. The firm was associated with the printers Humblot and Helmlinger. The company employed 400 workers. It’s founder was publisher Albert Bergeret (1859-1932). He headed the firm until his death in 1932. Bergeret was also an art industiralist and a member of the “Ecole de Nancy” movement, an Art Nouveau movement founded in 1901. Bergeret trained in Paris and learned several printing techniques. He first worked for Nancy Royer printing press in 1886. In 1898 he established his own business publishing postcards which later became “IRN” in 1905. At the 1900 Universal Exhibition, Bergeret won a Photography gold medal and a silver medal in Typography. This vintage postcard is part of the Bergeret series. SOLD
This cabinet card photograph features a formally dressed young woman. The reverse of the photograph lists her name as “Marie Botana”. The inscription also reveals that the photo was taken in 1899. I have reason to believe that this image is a graduation photo. I hold that hypothesis because I found this cabinet card for sale along with a large group of similar portrait photographs; all featuring other young women. This cabinet card is of great interest because of the man who took the photo. The photograph was taken by Beckford Photo, a studio located in Boston, Massachusetts. David C. Beckford was African American. He received mention in the book, “Boston: Its Commerce, Finance, and Literature”. His studio is described as a leading photo studio in the country. The business was established in around 1872 as the Chickering Photo Company. The proprietor, Walter E. Chickering (not to be confused with Elmer Chickering, a well respected Boston photographer of the era) was a notorious swindler. He was especially known for his dishonesty and blatant resistance to paying his bills. Walter must have been a tough boss to tolerate. Beckford took over the business in 1888. Beckford’s establishment employed four assistants. Beckford was a native of Jamaica. He came to Boston in about 1872 and worked for Chickering for several years. According to one source, Beckford operated a Hardware business in Jamaica, at least part of the time, while he ran his photo studio in Boston. A Massachusetts directory of photographers asserts that Beckford was active as a photographer until 1909. Beckford is cited in an article appearing in the “Southern Workman” (1909). The title of the article was “Improvement in Housing Negroes in the North”. The writer states that Beckford had recently returned from a business trip to Jamaica where he directed the rebuilding of his properties; and reestablished his hardware business which had been destroyed in an earthquake. The “Southern Workman” article was the first reference that I found that indicated that David C. Beckford was a Black man. Examining the 1900 US census data provided confirmation that Beckford was indeed a Black man. Census data conflicted with other legal documents in regard to where Beckford was born. It appears he was born in either England or Jamaica. He was born in 1856 and immigrated to the United States in 1872. He married Elvira P. Gott in 1881. She was a Black woman born in Massachusetts. She was close in age to Beckford. Photographs by Black photographers are not common, making this image a great find. (SOLD)
This vintage advertising postcard was published for “The Prudential Insurance Company”. The firm’s home office was in Newark, New Jersey. The company started in Newark in 1875 and only had one product, burial insurance. It’s founder, John F. Dryden, became a US Senator. This postcard delivers the message that Prudential’s customers and non-customers were were eligible to receive, free-of-charge, 8″ x 10″ calendars for 1910. The illustration on the front of this postcard shows a little girl and her small dog. The child is blowing bubbles from a bowl of soapy water that sits between her and her dog. This postcard has a Canadian stamp and a 1909 postmark from Peterboro, Ontario, Canada. Peterboro is located 78 miles northeast of Toronto, and was once known as “The Electric City”, because it was the first town in Canada to utilize electric streetlights. The postcard was mailed on December 28th, just a few days before the New Year. This vintage postcard is in good condition (see scans). SOLD
This cabinet card features a portrait of burlesque actress and impresario, Ada Richmond. Richmond was from Chicago and when her businessman father died she was sent to Boston to study music. She was encouraged by a theater manager to try the burlesque stage and she became very successful in that genre of theater. The Milwaukee Daily Journal (1885) has an article in it’s theater section about the opening of Ada Richmond’s American Burlesque Company’s version of “The Sleeping Beauty”. She headed the company and performed in it. She was known as the “handsomest woman” on the burlesque stage. The article also points out that Ada Richmond was the widow of Billy Bost, a well known New York politician and “sporting character” who was shot and killed three years earlier in a political dispute. This cabinet card was photographed by celebrity photographer, Benjamin Gurney. Ada Richmond looks quite angelic in this portrait and is wearing exquisite matching jewelry. The photographer’s logo on the reverse of the photograph has a symbol with the following words “I have chained the sun to serve me”. This likely is an advertisement for the studio’s electric lights which would improve the quality of customer’s photographs. A stamp on the reverse of the cabinet card notes that it was part of the “Harold Seton” collection. Harold Seton was a journalist, author and collector of theatrical photographs. He wrote a column for Theatre Magazine. (SOLD)
This vintage real photo postcard features an adorable toddler deep in thought. The child is dressed in a very cute manner. This photograph was taken at the private studio of E. Bach. The embossed stamp seen in the bottom right hand corner of the image, indicates that the photo was taken in a Spanish speaking country. The word “calle” is Spanish for “street”. The Artura stamp box on the reverse of this postcard reveals that the postcard was published sometime between 1908 and 1924. This vintage portrait postcard is in very good condition. Note the adhered sticker with the number “8” on the bottom left hand corner of the card’s reverse (see scans).
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This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman, clad in a bathing suit, sitting in a shaded wicker chair at the beach. She is wearing a necklace, two bracelets, and a straw hat. A magazine lies next to her on the seat of the chair. On the ground, in front of the chair, one can see her shoes and some other article of clothing. This is a “Rotophot” postcard, published by London’s, Giesen Brothers & Company. The postcard was printed in Berlin, Germany. The Rotophot firm had a number of affiliates scattered around Europe. The clover logo on the front of the postcard indicates that this postcard was produced by the Vienna (S. Blueh) branch of the company. This color tinted vintage portrait postcard is in very good condition (see scans). SOLD
The young girl seen in this cabinet card portrait is quite the fashionista. She is dressed to the max. She likely is a member of a wealthy family. Note her leather gloves and her complex bandage-like hair bow. The photographer of this lovely image is Edgerton Reyerson Higgins (1845-1911) of Fresno, California. Higgins was born in Canada. His mother was Canadian and his father was from Connecticut. He attended high school and Business College in San Francisco, California. He helped out at the photographic gallery of his brother, Thomas J. Higgins while attending school. Higgins worked as a photographer in a number of California towns, including Sacromento, Snelling, Stockton, Merced, Hanford, and Fresno. He worked for at least two well known photographic studios, one of which is represented in the Cabinet Card Gallery collection; Bradley and Rulofson. The second famous photography studio was Thomas Houseworth & Company. Click on the category Photographer: Bradley & Rulofson” to view their photographs. While working in Snelling, Higgins was quoted as saying he took “pretty pictures, even of ugly people”. This cabinet card is from Fresno and it appears that he worked there at two different times. He was there temporarily in 1879. This cabinet card was published during his second stint, which began in 1887. Higgins did much to help his community. In 1889 he was one of the principal founders of the Fresno Volunteer Fire Department, and from about 1889 until the early 1890’s, he served as chief of the department. In 1898 he renamed his gallery the “Rembrandt Studio” and a year later, entered a partnership with a photographer named Howland. The California Historical Society has a small collection of Higgins’s photographs. This cabinet card portrait has a name penciled on it’s reverse. I was unable to decipher the name. (SOLD)
Marion Winchester (1882- ?) is the subject of this real photo postcard portrait. She was born in California. She began her professional career in 1899. She was trained at the Alviene Stage Dancing and Vaudeville School of Acting, at the Grand Opera House in New York. Winchester’s London premiere occurred in 1903 when she performed at the Oxford Music Hall where she was billed as the “World’s Champion Cake Walker”. She left London to appear in Paris where she received accolades for her dancing ability. In 1921, she applied for an emergency passport at the American Embassy in Paris. Her paperwork indicated that she resided in Paris where she studied music. She later married Italian pianist and composer, Count Aldo Solito de Solis (1905-1973). The pair divorced in 1940 and De Solis then married actress Gale Page. A photograph of Miss Winchester can be found in England’s National Portrait Gallery. Marion Winchester has appeared on Broadway four times between 1900 and 1902 and once again in 1934. She was mainly active within her career between 1899 and 1908. She was known for being a specialty dancer. An article in “London Week by Week” (1904) tells an interesting anecdote about Winchester. The article refers to the actress as the “Sugar Queen” and explains the origin of this nickname. It is reported that one day she was in the corridor of a fancy hotel and she was sucking on a piece of candy. She happened on the path of the “Emperor of the Sahara”, Jacques Lebaudy. The eccentric sugar magnate said to her, “Give up sugar-stick, and buy sugar stock”. It is said that she took the tip, and made a great deal of money, keeping her well stocked with furs, beautiful dresses, and diamonds. This portrait postcard was photographed by Lucien Walery. He 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. Walery does an excellent job of capturing Miss Winchester’s loveliness. Note her beautiful long hair. This postcard is part of a series (no. 2200). (SOLD)
The star of the cast of six characters seen in this vintage real photo postcard, is a cow. This is not an ordinary cow. Although this is not a photograph of Elsie the Cow, or Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow; the cow seen in this image is a prize winning cow. Standing behind the cow are three well dressed men and two women. Judging by an abundance of smiles, all five people seem pretty happy. Behind the row of people is a small house, possibly a farm house. Speculating about the story behind this picture, I formulate the following hypothesis. I believe that our bovine friend has just won a prize for being superior to other cows, one way or another. The gentleman seen by the champion cow’s head, appears to be wearing a flower and an award ribbon by his lapel. When I looked at a close-up view of this cow, I noticed that it had horns. I began to think that this cow is actually a bull. However, some quick research revealed that female cows are born with horns. I was udderly surprised to learn this fact. This postcard was published by Cyko. The stamp box indicates that it dates to the time period between 1904 and 1920. This postcard is in very good condition (see scans).
Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #3270
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THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 