This cabinet card portrait features a young newsboy holding a stack of newspapers. Soon after the photograph was taken, he was probably delivering the newspapers or hawking them on the street. The young entrepreneur is displaying a serious business like expression. He is wearing an outer jacket, knee pants, long black stockings, and lace boots. Note his flat cap. The photographer’s name and location are unknown.
SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features a lovely image of an adorable little girl holding a beautiful doll. The child is wearing a lacy dress, a necklace, and a pink ribbon in her hair. She is so photogenic. This postcard was sent by a woman named Suzanne to her younger brother living in Argentan, France. The postmark dates back to 1906. Suzanne wrote her name on the top right hand corner of the front of the postcard. She wrote it in red which is the same color ink she used to write her message on the reverse. The postcard was published by Germany’s Neue Photographische Gesellschaft (NPG) (New Photographical Society). The company was in business between 1894 and 1948. It was founded by Arthur Black (1862-1943) and it became of the most well known and largest companies involved in the production of postcards. Over time, NPG opened subsidiaries in London, Paris, Rome, and New York. Interestingly, the company was one of the “Best Companies to Work For”. Employees were given free medical treatment and illness benefits. Employees also received bonuses and life insurance. The company offered it’s employees a library, a casino, and a dining room which sold food for cost. In addition, the company offered it’s workers a reading room and a theater for lectures and theatrical performances. Now we know where Google and other employee friendly companies got some of their ideas from. Printing on the reverse of this postcard mentions that this postcard is an “Oranotypie” and also lists the name “A. G. Steglitz”. An oranotype is a trade name for a type of glossy real photo postcard published by NPG at the beginning of the 20th century. These cards are hand colored. I am unsure if Steglitz was a postcard publisher or a photographer. I have seen postcard aficionados refer to him as both a photographer and a publisher. My guess is that most of these “experts” are as unsure as I am about his role in producing postcards.
This vintage post cabinet card era photograph is charming. A little boy in a sailor suit stands beside his baby sibling who is sitting in a wagon. The baby is wearing a gown and bonnet. Big brother is holding the handle of the wagon. Note the large back wheels on the wagon. The wheels are metal, not the rubber wheels that came later in time. The photographer and the location of the photo studio are unknown. The photo measures about 4 1/2″ x 6 1/4″ and the mat may have been trimmed.
This rare vintage real photo postcard features an advertisement for a Hungarian medicinal water company. The product is named “Hunyadi Janos” and it was produced by Andreas Saxlehner of Budapest, Hungary. On the reverse of the postcard is the advertising phrase “Le purgatif des Famiiles” which google translate reveals to mean “The family laxative”. Interestingly, the label on the bottle is more reminiscent of a wine label than a laxative label. The print on the reverse of the postcard is written in French, so the postcard was likely produced in France. Research reveals that Andreas Saxlehner (1815-1889) was the owner of Hunyadi Janos Mineral Water Company. The business was established in 1863. The brand was named after Hanyadi Janos (1407-1456) who was a fifteenth century Hungarian military hero. Janos was acclaimed for driving the Turks out of the Balkans and stopping a Turkish siege of Belgrade. Saxlehner’s company was very successful. His residence became the home of Budapest’s Post Office Museum. His portrait can be seen below.
This cabinet card portrait features an adorable and well dressed brother and sister. The cute little girl sits in a chair holding an open book in her lap. Her younger brother stands beside her holding his hat by his side. The photographer of this fine image is Homer C. Reed. The “History of Baron County” (1922) reveals that Reed bought the Rice Lake studio of T. H. Webster in 1893. The Wisconsin Photographers Index, compiled by the Wisconsin Historical Society reports that Webster operated his Rice Lake studio until 1928. Homer Reed was born in Michigan and began his photography career in Forest City, Iowa. He married Adda A. Smith in 1895 and she served as an assistant in his photography studio. (SOLD)
Meet Ottillie Hedwig Biar. This vintage photograph captures a cute baby bundled up in a gown and hat. The child is sitting on a wicker chair and is likely held there by a brace hidden under her clothing. The baby is holding a rattle. An inscription on the reverse of the photograph identifies the child as “Hedwig Biar”. Preliminary research revealed some biographical information concerning this little girl. Her full name is Miss Ottillie Hedwig Biar and she was born in 1906 in Thorndale, Texas. The town is forty miles northeast of Austin. Her parents were both native Texans. Her father was Otto Biar (1879-1956) and her mother was Lydia Moerbe (1885-1957). Otillie had five brothers and four sisters. Perhaps you noticed that Ottillie’s name is similar to her fathers name (Otto). Wikipedia reveals that Otillie is a given name stemming from the German boy’s name Otto. The name means “wealth” or “prosperity”. Unfortunately, poor Otillie didn’t prosper in life. In fact she lived a short life. After living in Houston for a year and a half working as a housekeeper, she succumbed to typhoid in 1927 at the age of twenty-one. She died in Houston’s Baptist Hospital and was buried in Thorndale. SOLD
This vintage photograph features an adorable African American baby posing for her portrait at an unidentified studio. The baby is so cute and appears uncertain but inquisitive about her visit to the photographer. The child is wearing a necklace and holding a rattle. The reverse of the image has an inscription. It appears that the baby lived at “182 Yale Avenue N.” in Seattle, Washington. It also appears that the baby’s name was “W. G. S——“. I can not decipher the name and would welcome any help that anyone can provide. This photograph was purchased in Austin, Texas and was part of a collection of African American images that were originally found in San Antonio, Texas. (SOLD)
This vintage real photo postcard an adorable little girl and her beautiful dog. The girl is flashing a smile and has a twinkle in her eyes. She is wearing a frilly cute dress and note her long stocking and tied high boots. She is also adorned with hair ribbons and a ring. I don’t recognize the dogs breed so it may be mixed. I certainly see some terrier in this noble looking canine. The postcard has a 1908 postmark and a German stamp. The postmark on the card is from Rawitsch (currently Poland). The postcard is addressed to someone in Berlin, Germany. (SOLD)
A young girl with blonde hair poses for her portrait at Wards studio in Hounslow, England. Her simple dress and her eyes gazing upward gives her an angelic appearance. Hounslow is a suburban district in Greater London. Wards studio receives mention in the British Journal of Photography (1908). I have been made aware by a vintage photography enthusiast that the photographer is Lorraine Ward and she operated her business from the Stainesroad address from 1896 to 1922. The studio continued it’s existence under other ownership until 1937.
This cabinet card portrait features a poised little girl posing behind a chair. She appears to be wearing a costume and is standing on a prop to gain some extra height. She appears to be an actress and an inscription on the reverse of the photograph supports that hypotheses. The inscription states “Little May Sabrini as Eva” and lists the girl’s age as 7 years old. The Stewart & Lokke (Oscar) studio produced this photograph and The Directory of Early Michigan Photographers lists the pair as conducting their photography business in Escanaba in 1890. The town of Escanaba was involved in some pretty interesting protective business practices focused on helping local photographers. The Bulletin of Photography (1913) reports on an interesting law passed by the city council in Escanaba. The politicians decided to charge itinerant photographers for coming to town and conducting business. Traveling photographers who took pictures in the town’s street were charged 1 dollar for their first days work and fifty cents each day thereafter. Photographers who used tents or temporary quarters were charged two dollars for the first day and a dollar for each successive day. If a traveling photographer used flash photography, a fee of five dollars for the first day and two dollars for each day thereafter was required. Any photographer that did not comply with the law would be subject to at least a hundred dollar fine or up to sixty days in the county jail. I wonder what it cost the local photographers to encourage city council to pass such an unfair trade law to discourage visits from itinerant photographers.
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