This handsome late nineteenth-century cabinet card presents a formal studio portrait of a family group, likely parents with their three children, posed against an elaborately painted architectural backdrop featuring arches, columns, and draped elements. The composition is carefully balanced, with the seated adults at center and the children arranged standing and seated around them, a conventional and deliberate arrangement that emphasized family unity and social stability during the Victorian era. The father is seated at left, wearing a tailored three-piece suit with vest, bow tie, and neatly groomed mustache, while the mother sits beside him in a high-necked blouse and long skirt, holding a slender object that may be a parasol or riding crop—an accessory sometimes used to lend formality or composure to studio portraits. The children are dressed in refined, period-appropriate clothing: the girls wear high-collared dresses with decorative bows in their hair, and the boy at right appears in a suit with knee-length trousers, stockings, and lace-up boots, suggesting a late Victorian to very early Edwardian date. Their expressions are composed and serious, typical of the era’s long exposure times and social expectations of photographic portraiture. The photograph was almost certainly taken in a professional studio, rather than in a private home, as indicated by the theatrical painted backdrop and controlled lighting. While no studio imprint is visible on the card itself, the style of backdrop, clothing, and posing strongly suggests a North American or Western European studio, most likely in the United States or Canada, where such cabinet cards were extremely popular. Without a photographer’s mark, the exact location cannot be determined, but the aesthetic aligns closely with American studio work of the 1890s. The cabinet card measures approximately 4¼ by 6 1/4 inches, which is slightly taller than the most common standard cabinet card size. This dimension places it very close to what collectors often refer to as a boudoir-format cabinet card or a transitional oversized cabinet, a format that gained popularity in the late 1880s and 1890s for larger, more impressive family portraits intended for parlor display. While not a full boudoir card (which are typically larger still), the proportions suggest a deluxe presentation rather than a basic cabinet card. Based on clothing styles, hair arrangements, and the studio setting, this photograph was most likely taken circa 1890 to 1898. The high collars, structured bodices, and tailored men’s wear firmly anchor it in the late Victorian period, just before Edwardian fashions began to soften silhouettes and lower necklines. The photo’s condition is very good overall for a cabinet card of this age. The image remains clear with good tonal range and fine detail, especially in facial features and clothing textures. There is light, even age toning, along with minor edge and corner wear to the mount. The mount shows some gentle surface wear but remains structurally sound, with no creases or losses. Overall, the card presents attractively.
This cabinet card is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $32.00 or best offer.
Interested collectors may view the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/236576880784
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
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