This item is a cartes de visite (cdv) featuring a cute long haired little girl sitting on a chair and posing at the Erna studio in Berlin, Germany. She has bows in her hair and is holding a toy in her lap. She is wearing a beautiful lace dress. Take note of the chairs nicely carved arm rests. This cdv is in excellent condition. An embossment on the bottom right of the image indicates that the photograph was taken in 1911.
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”.
A pretty teenage girl poses for her cabinet card portrait at the Richardson studio in Marlboro, Massachusetts. She is wearing a thick chained necklace and has flowers pinned to her collar. She is wearing her hair down and has pretty curls as her bangs. The photographer, E. P. Richardson was a civil war veteran from a Massachusetts regiment. He is listed as a photographer in a Boston directory (1871) as well as in a Marlboro directory (1894).
This vintage real photo postcard features an angelic looking little girl posing for her portrait at the Kalmar Studio in Budapest, Hungary. This bright eyed little girl is a photogenic cutie pie. The stamp box indicates that this postcard was published by K Ltd and that the photo was taken sometime between 1918 and 1936.
An adorable little girl wearing a cute dress and large hair bow poses for her portrait alongside her “spooky doll”. There may be a better word than “spooky” to describe the doll but the doll’s face is so lifelike that it it’s a bit creepy. The doll may have a haunted look but the little girl is a sweetheart. This photograph was taken by the Roe studio in Barcelona, Spain. (SOLD)
This vintage real photo postcard features two beautiful children with colorful butterfly wings. One can suppose that they are also being symbolically represented as fairies or angels. This postcard was used in France and was postmarked in St. Vincent in 1906. The postcard was mailed to Sisteron, France. The postcard was published by the GL Company and is number 1174/5 in a series. The G. L. Company (1903-1920’s) was located in the Netherlands and was known for their real photo postcards featuring children and women that were used as holiday and general greeting cards. The also produced postcards that featured actresses and nudes as subjects. Most of the postcards they produced were hand tinted.
A pretty young girl is dressed in a beautiful white dress and veil for her portrait at the Borgia studio in Los Angeles, California. She looks like a young bride but she is but she is almost certainly dressed in her finest on the occasion of her communion. She looks quite proud as she poses for the camera. Note the necklace with a cross that she is holding in her left hand. Preliminary research revealed little about photographer F. Borgia although there are a number of collections that include his photographs. One citation was found. The book “Los Angeles’s Little Italy”, by Mariann Gatto, states that Nick Borgia (located on San Fernando Street) was one of three of Little Italy’s favorite photographers (the other two were Mr. Ricci and Mr. Del Beato). There is a disparity between first names (F. vs. Nick) but it is very likely that Nick could have been the photographers middle name or nickname. Did I really just say that Nick may be his “nickname”? This portrait measures 5″ x 7″ and has excellent clarity.
An adorable little girl poses for her portrait at the studio of Marie Gleissner in Vienna, Austria. The girl has long curly hair and a sweet smile. She is holding an umbrella. I could not find biographical information about the photographer but it is my assumption that the photographer is a woman (Marie). An inscription on the reverse of the photograph indicates that it was taken in 1916. The Cabinet Card Gallery has other images by the Gleissner studio. Click on the category “Photographer: Gleissner” to view the additional photographs. (SOLD)
Two adorable little girls and their sweet little brother pose for their portrait at an unknown German photographic studio. They are beautifully dressed and each child is holding a basket of flowers. This image likely dates back to the 1920’s.
This cabinet card portrait features a nicely dressed little girl (possibly the subject is a boy) by the studio of “Stiff The Photographer”. The back stamp of this cabinet card indicates that the studio’s address was 414 Main Street, Brockton, Massachusetts. The back stamp also confirms that the photographer did indeed call himself “Stiff The Photographer”. What do we know about Mr Stiff? We know that Thomas P. Stiff once operated a studio known as Munroe and Stiff which was located at 64 Warren Street in Boston. We also know that in the 1880’s he had studios in Taunton and Fall River, Massachusetts. His studio in Brockton was there at least between 1882 and 1892. He was born in 1836 and died in 1908. He is buried in Melrose Cemetery in Brockton. He also must have had a sense of humor. I imagine his friends and customers must have a good time over his advertising motto “Stiff The Photographer”. The immediate humorous thought is that customers were being encouraged to not pay for the photographs they receive. I’ll leave additional interpretations to the reader.
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