This is a charming late-nineteenth-century cabinet card portrait of three adorable young children, photographed by the New York City studio of Spamer & Spier. The portrait presents two little girls and a young boy posed together in an elegant studio setting, creating a delightful and carefully composed family image typical of the Victorian period. The photographer has arranged the children around a decorative studio pedestal and backdrop. One girl sits atop the pedestal while another sits below on a fur-covered studio prop. The young boy stands beside them wearing a tailored jacket with a large bow tie, giving him a slightly more formal and grown-up appearance. One especially appealing detail is the small stick or rod the boy is holding. This object was likely a studio posing stick or decorative prop, sometimes used by photographers to help steady young subjects or simply to give children something to hold so they would remain still during the exposure. It may also resemble a child’s riding crop or toy baton, both of which were occasionally used in portrait studios as props to convey a sense of confidence or playfulness in young sitters. The cabinet card mount itself features attractive scalloped edges, a decorative style that became popular toward the late 1880s and early 1890s. Spamer & Spier operated their studio between 1891 and 1902 and during that time, this cabinet card was produced. The studio was located in upper Manhattan along Third Avenue in the Harlem district. Photographic studios in this area served the rapidly growing population of northern Manhattan during the late nineteenth century. This cabinet card remains in excellent antique condition. The photograph retains good contrast and clarity, and the children’s faces are nicely rendered. The decorative scalloped edges remain intact and attractive. The reverse of the mount is blank. Overall, this is a very appealing and well-preserved Victorian cabinet card portrait (see scans).
This Cabinet Card is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $48.00 at auction.
Interested collectors may view the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/336496805526
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
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