This carte de visite portrait features a handsome well dressed gentleman with a carefully manicured beard and mustache. The photographer of this cdv photo is Rudolf Krziwanek (1843-1905). He operated a photographic studio in Vienna, Austria between 1870 and 1905. He also ran a summer studio in Ischl (Austria) between 1879 and 1900. He took portraits of the Hapsburg Court. His photographs are part of the collections in the J. Paul Getty Museum, the National Portrait Gallery (UK), and the New York Public Library. At this point in time, there are three of Krziwanek’s photos in the Cabinet Card Gallery. Krziwanek was also an inventor. In 1905, he received a patent for a device which was used in an “air gas system”. He committed suicide that same year. Print on the reverse of the photograph states that the studio was next to the Cafe Weghuber, a popular coffeehouse. The establishment was in business between 1806 and 1865. It was founded as Cafe Eichhorn and renamed Cafe Weghuber in about 1840. Later, a park was built in front of the cafe and it became a venue for concerts and large parties. Since the Cafe Weghuber went bankrupt in 1865, it is safe to say that this photo was taken before 1865. This carte de visite photograph has excellent clarity and is in excellent condition (see scans).

Buy this Carte de Visite Photograph (includes shipping within the US) 3428
To purchase this item, click on the Pay with PayPal button below
$35.50

Buy this Carte de Visite Photograph (includes International shipping outside the US) #3428
To purchase this item, click on the Pay with PayPal button below
$44.50


























This carte de visite photo is special because it is an occupational photograph. Many vintage image collectors search for and value occupational photographs. This CDV features a man at work but what is his occupation? It is clear that a clamp vice is one of the tools that he utilizes. There are strips of some material on the table in front of the vice. Are they strips made from medal? The worker appears to be wearing a uniform. I wish I knew his story? The photographer of this image is named Vaino Anshelm Rautell. As a photographer, he went by the name of VA Rautell. He was born in Lahti, Finland in 1875, and died there in 1942. Rautel studied art (painting) in Helsinki during the early 1890’s. He worked as a photographer in Lahti from about 1895 through 1927. In 1918, he photographed events of the Finnish civil war in Lahti. Teresia Dahlbom, his wife (m.1905) , worked with him in his studio. The couple divorced in 1927 and it appears they both ended their photography careers that same year. The pair had two children. At least one of Rautell’s photographs can be found in the collection of the Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki. SOLD
