PORTRAIT OF A FAMILY AND THEIR AUTOMOBILE (VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH)

ford

“I’m going up the country, babe, don’t you wanna go? I’m going to some place where I’ve never been before. I’m gonna leave this city, got to get away. All this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure can’t stay”. These words are part of the lyrics of  “I’m Going Up the Country” by Canned Heat.  I think the song would be good accompaniment to this vintage photograph. This image shows what appears to be a family on a road trip. They are dressed for a nice drive. One of the women in the photograph is holding a bouquet of flowers which may indicate that she had just wedded. The most likely groom is the man standing in the forefront of the image. I have been told that the car in the photo is an early Ford (unconfirmed). This vintage photo is interesting because it tells an incomplete story that the viewer can use his or her imagination to complete. This photo measures about 5 1/2″ x 3 1/4″ and has no identifying information written on the reverse.

Published in: on January 6, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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DRESSED FOR A DRIVE IN MONAWA, WISCONSIN

BONNIE AND CLYDEAlthough this terrific photograph is from the post cabinet card era, I want to share it with Cabinet Card Gallery visitors. The five individuals in this photograph appear to be dressed for an auto tour. One can easily imagine them sitting in an open motoring car driving down an open country road. The groups wardrobe and good looks bring to mind images of Bonnie and Clyde. Three of the subjects of this photograph are identified on the reverse as Ed Fetzer, Ed Heideman, and Martha Krause. This photograph was taken at the Quimby Studio in Manawa, Wisconsin. The Manawa Wisconsin Gazeteer and Business Directory (1903) lists A. C. Quimby as operating as a photographer in the town of Manawa.

Published in: on September 11, 2013 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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EARLY MOTOR CAR AND CHAUFFEUR IN DUBLIN, IRELAND

This unusual cabinet card is by William McCrae, art photographer located at  Berkeley Road in Dublin, Ireland. His studio was opposite the Mater hospital. He was formerly located at Lafayette. This image features an early motor car and chauffeur. The previous owner of the photograph asserted that this car’s registration plate (ik-29), indicates that the car was from Dublin and the time of the photograph was sometime after 1904, when registration plates were introduced.

Published in: on November 15, 2012 at 12:01 am  Comments (3)  
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MILES TO NOWHERE: COUPLE DRIVING ZERO MILES PER HOUR IN PORTOBELLO, EDINBURGH, UNITED KINGDOM

“Miles from nowhere. Guess I’ll take my time. Oh yeah, ….to reach there.” The lyrics of Cat Stevens’s song, “Miles to Nowhere”, pretty much sums up the driving experience of the couple in the mock car in this photograph. They are going nowhere fast. If you are a regular visitor to the Cabinet Card Gallery, then this cabinet photograph may look familiar to you. There is a portrait in the gallery of a another couple sitting in a mock automobile that is identical to the one in this photograph. That photograph was taken in a studio located in the Isle of Man. To view that photograph, click on the category “Automobile”. The image pictured here was photographed by William Lees of Portobello, Edinburg, in the United Kingdom. The studio address was 28 Bath Street. John Lees, T.Lees, and William E. Lees operated their Portobello photo studio from 1892 until 1952. William Lees kept a stuffed donkey in his studio.  SOLD

Published in: on February 16, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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“ARE WE THERE YET?”, SAID THE WIFE, TO THE HUSBAND, ON THEIR RIDE TO NOWHERE (ISLE OF MAN)

A man and a woman, presumably, a married couple, pose for their portrait in a car that is going nowhere. This automobile is simply a photographer’s prop. The advantage of a married couple being in a car that is going nowhere, is that the man can’t get lost, and then deny it;  and the woman can’t keep telling him to stop and ask for directions. The pictured car is located in the photographic studio of Frederick Johnson. Johnson’s studio was in the town of Douglas, on the Isle of Man. He actually operated two studios there; the Fort William Studio, and the Express Bridge and Battery Studio. The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency located in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. At the time of this photograph, the Isle of Man was a major tourist attraction, and according to many accounts, tourists flocked to photographers during their vacations there. Not much information could be found about the photographer of this image. It is known however, that he operated a studio on the Isle of Man during 1881 through 1894. He may have also been there before, or after, the aforementioned years. As an aside, it is interesting to note that during the early days of automobiles in America, some photography studios were built that were designed to allow  patrons to drive their cars into the studio, and pose alone, or with their passengers, for portraits of them sitting in their cars. This practice was truly a reflection of the history of Americans love affair with their  automobiles.

Published in: on January 13, 2012 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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