This striking cabinet card shows a well-dressed gentleman posing in a Western studio setting at Palace Studio, Anaconda, Montana. He stands three-quarter length beside a painted garden balustrade, one gloved hand resting on a faux stone post. He wears a bowler/felt hat, a three-button sack coat over a matching vest, and striped trousers. A watch chain drapes neatly from his vest pocket. His prominent handlebar moustache, tidy collar, and composed posture give him the look of a professional or merchant who wanted to project steadiness and success. The neutral backdrop, classical urn, and stonework props are typical of late-1880s/1890s Western studios and frame his face and attire nicely. The heavy taupe mount is embossed “Palace Studio – Anaconda – Montana” along the bottom margin in handsome script. The Reverse is blank (no ID), with only light age toning and no album lift or writing. The cabinet card is in very good condition (see scans). The Palace Studio in Anaconda was operated by Winfield S. Hawes, listed in the Montana Historical Society’s Photographer Index as “Hawe’s Palace Studio,” with a number of locations noted. The index also records that Hawes “started as apprentice under A. J. Dusseau.” The same index shows Thomas J. White active in Anaconda as “Hawes and White” (circa 1889)—evidence of Hawes’s partnerships in town during the territorial/statehood transition years. Another partnership was noted when the studio was entitled, Hawes & Elliott. The date of this photo, based on mount style, clothing and the Palace Studios Imprint, is circa late 1880’s-1890’s. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
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