A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL WITH ATTITUDE POSES WITH HER BEAUTIFUL DOLL (GERMAN CARTE DE VISITE)

porcelin doll

This carte de visite portrait is truly special. The photograph features an impeccably dressed beautiful little girl posing alongside her beautiful porcelain doll. This charming child looks at the camera with confidence. The photograph actually captures her magnetism and spunk. The photographer of this image is Hermann Tietz and the studio was located in Berlin, Germany. Preliminary research indicates that Hermann Tietz is actually “Waarenhaus Hermann Tietz” which is a department store. Apparently, the department store had an in-store photography studio. Hermann Tietz was a German merchant. He was of the Jewish faith and born in 1837 near Posen and died in Berlin in 1907. Tietz invented the concept of a department store chain.  The first store opened in Gera, Germany in 1882. It was opened by his nephew Oskar Tietz. After successfully opening stores in small towns including Erfurt, Rostock and Wismar; Tietz opened a large branch store in Berlin (1911). Stores followed in Leipzger (1900), Alexanderlatz (1904), and Hamburg (1912). By the time 1927 arrived, the Tietz chain included ten stores and 13,000 employees. Nazi Germany seized the department store chain, along with other Jewish owned businesses.  The government found new owners to replace the Tietz family who fled the country in 1938. The store took on the name “Hertie Department Stores” because it was a less Jewish sounding name. It actually was an abbreviated version of Hermann Tietz’s name. The department store existed until 1909 when it closed due to bankruptcy.

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Published in: on July 19, 2016 at 4:27 pm  Comments (1)  
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FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHER SHOOTS FAMOUS POLITICIAN: PORTRAIT OF THEODOR TANTZEN BY CHARLES REUTLINGER (CARTE DE VISITE)

tantzen

This carte de visite image features German politician Theodor Johann Tantzen. The photographer who took this portrait of Mr. Tantzen was the celebrated photographer, Charles Reutlinger (1816-1881). Theodor Johann Tantzen (1834-1893) was from a political family in the Oldenburg State. His father was a member of parliament. Two of Theodor’s children became important political figures. His son, also named Theodor, became Prime Minister of Oldenburg. Tantzen’s grandson was philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969). Theodor Tantzen grew up in Heering and at age twenty-one, he took over his fathers farm. In 1866 he was elected to the Oldenburg parliament. He remained in parliament for several terms and in fact died while still a parliament member. While in parliament he served in a number of other political roles. Now some words about the photographer. Charles Reutlinger was also part of a prominent and talented family. Charles Reutlinger was of German descent and founded the Reutlinger Photography Studio in Paris in 1850. The studio took photographs of many of the city’s rich and famous residents and visitors until 1937. The British Journal of Photography (1867) provides a wonderful description of Reutlinger’s studio. Charles’s brother Emile took over the studio in 1880 and he ran it until 1890. Emile’s son, Leopold took over in 1890 and among his accomplishments was that he developed the company’s esteemed and economically successful postcard business. The studio became known for it’s unusual art nouveau style of postcard designs. These were very notable in it’s portraits of actresses. Leopold also introduced risque/erotic postcards. He operated the business until losing an eye in an accident with a champagne cork in 1930. He died seven years later.

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Published in: on July 11, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN IN CHATHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA AND A STORY OF A STRANGE COINCIDENCE

montana cd

All of us experience coincidences; events that seem to be very unlikely occurrences. The carte de visite portrait above played a role in one of my latest unlikely experiences. I left my home in New York to attend a wedding in Montana. Before I left, I entered a Canadian cabinet card into the Cabinet Card Gallery. While in Montana, I visited several antique stores searching for vintage photographs. I only found one image to purchase, and you can see it above. The day after I returned to New York) I entered my newest image to the blog, I was surprised to notice that the photographer of this carte de visite image is the same photographer of the cabinet card that I entered right before leaving for my trip. Amazingly, the images were both photographs taken by Edwin Poole. The cabinet card image was taken in St. Catharines, Ontario while this CDV image was taken in Chatham, Ontario. To learn more about Mr. Poole, view the description of the image entered in the gallery directly before this one. I am truly amazed by this coincidence although I take little meaning from it besides “strange things happen”.

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Published in: on July 7, 2016 at 4:20 pm  Comments (1)  
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HANDSOME BEARDED MAN IN SUSQUEHANNA, PENNSYLVANIA (CARTES DE VISITE)

cdv beard

A well dressed handsome middle aged man poses for his cartes de visite (cdv) portrait at the Harding Studio in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. The gentleman has an interesting beard. His handsome face is visible because he lacks a mustache. The photographer of this image is Addison Delavan Harding (1847-1908). At one point in time, his studio was located at 42 Main Street in Susquehanna. His obituary appears in the magazine “Snap Shots” (1908). The article reports that he worked over 40 years as a photographer. He was born in Binghamton, New York. He learned the business of photography while in the employ of a photographer in Towanda, Pennsylvania. Harding opened a studio there in 1865. He married Fannie V. Harding (Shipman) (1847-1945) in 1867. He moved his business to Susquehanna in 1873. After Hardings death, his son (D S Harding) took over the business and operated it until 1942. Fanny lived to the age of 98 years-old. Addison and Fannie Harding are buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Pennsylvania.

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Published in: on June 14, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PRETTY AND FASHIONABLE TEENAGER IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS (CARTES DE VISITE)

worcester

A pretty young woman poses for her portrait at a studio belonging to photographer C. R. B. Claflin in Worcester, Massachusetts. I suspect that the woman in this photograph is in her teenage years. She is handsomely dressed in her high collared tailored dress. She is wearing a pin on her dress as well as earrings. The reverse of this cartes de visite image reveals that the photograph was taken in 1879, during the transition from cdv’s to cabinet cards. Note the misspelling on the reverse of the cdv. The word “Photographer” is spelled as “Photographir”. It seems unlikely that Mr. Claflin was unaware of the printer’s error. My guess is that he felt a need to not waste his money and utilized the card stock despite the mistake. Charles Ripley Burnett Claflin (1817-1897) was a photographer during many decades. He operated studios in Worcester during part of the 1850’s through part of the 1890’s. On of his images appears in the book American Victorian Costume in Early Photographs (2013). Claflin was married to Emma Claflin.   SOLD

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Published in: on May 10, 2016 at 2:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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PRETTY LITTLE GIRL ON THE DAY OF HER FIRST COMMUNION IN THOUARS, FRANCE (CARTES DE VISITE)

thouars

This cartes de visite features a long haired pretty young girl having her portrait taken on the day of a religious ceremony (first communion). Note the roses on her long veil and her necklace. She is has a cross which can be seen on the forefront of her dress on the right side of the photograph. She also has a purse. The girl is wearing white gloves and is holding a small bible. The photographer of this CDV is A. Chevy. He operated a studio in Thouars, France.  (SOLD)

Published in: on May 2, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL SHOWING RESTRAINT IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS (CDV)

brace

This is an unusual cartes de visite portrait because of the method utilized to hold the posing child in an optimal and safe position to be photographed. It was not unusual to restrain a young child during a photograph session but usually the restraints are hidden. The safety belt was usually hidden under clothing, a blanket or some other material. In addition, sometimes a child’s parent might hold the baby in place while being covered by a blanket or some other material. In addition, to showing the safety belt, this image is a wonderful portrait of a little girl. The photographer of this cdv is Amory Nelson Hardy (1835-1911). He was born in Cumberland, Maine. He was married to Angeline Davis (1833-1920). Early in his photography career he worked in Bucksport, Maine. He then moved to Boston and during his work there had a studio on Washington Street (1868, 1879-1887) and Winter Street (1873-1878). These dates are only a partial representation of his career. This photograph was taken at the Winter Street studio. It has been brought to my attention that it is very possible that this little girl may not be tied into her seat at all. Instead, both the black bows around her sleeves as well as the wide black band around her abdomen may be symbols of “mourning”. I certainly agree that the ribbons around her sleeves are typical mourning symbols. However, I have not seen similar mourning bands employed around a subject’s waist or abdomen. I wonder what visitors to the cabinet card gallery think about these black bands. Please feel free to leave a comment. To view other photographs by Mr. Hardy, click on the category “Photographer: Hardy”.

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Published in: on March 13, 2016 at 1:26 pm  Comments (1)  
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HANDSOME GERMAN OFFICER WEARING DRESS UNIFORM IN ULM, GERMANY (CDV)

officer

This vintage photograph is a cartes de visite (pre cabinet card era). The image captures a German officer looking quite handsome in his fine uniform. Note his long coat and cap. He is holding his dress gloves in is left hand. The photographer of this cdv is Emil Burger and his studio was located in Ulm, Germany. Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg and is situated on the Danube River.

SOLD

Published in: on May 7, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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ADORABLE CARTES DE VISITE: CUTE LITTLE GIRL SHOWING LOVE TO HER PRETTY MOTHER (WHAT IS A CDV DOING IN THE CABINET CARD GALLERY?)

mom and kid

The Cabinet Card Gallery was born in 2008 and at that time I decided not to include any cartes de visites in the collection. I believed that it was important I keep the scope of the gallery narrow so cabinet card aficionados had  a site that specifically catered to their interest. Every once in awhile I would come across a cdv that I wanted to include in the gallery but I always managed to control the impulse. Today the impulse won. This Cartes de Visite photograph is an incredible portrait. The photographer did an excellent job of capturing a little girl’s love for her mother. The little girl, wearing a white gown, is adorable. She is standing on a chair and leaning into her mom. The viewer can see the child’s quest for love and security from the mother that she adores. The child’s mother is a pretty woman and very well dressed. She is holding her hat in one hand and has, what looks like a scarf, draped over her other arm. The photographer of this terrific cdv is the J. E. James studio in Galena, Illinois. James Edward James (1842-1878) was born in Liverpool, England. After immigrating to the United States he served in the 96th Illinois Infantry (Company A) during the civil war. He entered the service as a Private but was discharged as a Commissary Sergeant. He died while still a young man and left his wife Kitty to raise their four children and operate his photographic studio.

Published in: on April 3, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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