A bride and groom are posing for their wedding portrait in this Cabinet Card by Drago of Bay City, Michigan. The groom is wearing a three piece suit, flowers, and a pocket watch. The bride is wearing a dark wedding dress with a white veil. Check the “Wedding” category in the Cabinet Card Gallery to find some interesting comments about the history of dark wedding dresses. Research found little about the photographer except that his complete name was Albert Drago.
THE BRIDE WORE BLACK: WEDDING COUPLE IN BAY CITY, MICHIGAN
FORMALLY DRESSED COUPLE IN PORTSMOUTH, OHIO (WEDDING PICTURE?)
This Cabinet Card photograph captures a very well dressed couple at the studio of Lutz, in Portsmouth, Ohio. The couple may be posing for a wedding portrait, or perhaps, they’re dressed for another special occasion. It is interesting to note that the man, rather than the woman, is sitting for this photograph. This is typical of many photographs of this time period. In modern day times it would be more common to see poses where the woman is seated and the man is standing. Research reveals that L. B. Lutz was a photographer in Portsmouth between 1896 and 1897. It was also discovered that John N Lutz was a photographer in Portsmouth between 1873 and 1879. John Lutz was born in Germany in 1842 and arrived in America in 1855. He studied photography with W. S. Porter in Cincinnati, Ohio for five years; before opening his own studio.
CALIFORNIA COUPLE LOOKING NONE TOO PLEASED
A couple poses for a photograph at the studio of Hardesty & Armstrong in Santa Ana, California. Both the man and woman in this cabinet card photograph look very unhappy. She looks particularly sour. The couple are nicely dressed; the woman is holding a fan and the man is holding a rolled piece of paper. Is he holding a wedding certificate for a wedding picture? Has he just graduated from a college? Is this a brother and sister? The answer is lost to history. Note the gentleman’s pocket watch.
ATTRACTIVE COUPLE WEDS IN CLARINDA, IOWA
Alvin Eugene Leighton and Samaria Cecilia McFarland pose for their wedding portrait in the studio of O. H. Park in Clarinda, Iowa. Note the dark wedding dress. Perhaps someone can leave a comment explaining why dark wedding dresses were sometimes worn during this period in history. The Photo-beacon, a book published in 1897, considered Park to be just a mediocre portrait photographer. This cabinet card is interesting because of the appearance of the subjects and is certainly not a wonderfully posed photograph. The photographer set up the pose in such a way that the groom appears to be missing the lower part of his arm and the groom seems to be afraid to get to close to the bride. To view other photographs by Park, click on the category “Photographer: Park”.
CHILD BRIDE AND CHILD GROOM IN NEW YORK
What an interesting image! The subjects of this Cabinet Card photograph appear to be a young girl and boy dressed as bride and groom. Another possibility is that this may be a photograph of two midgets, perhaps from a traveling show. My guess is that judging by their appearance, these are children and probably siblings as they seem to show a family resemblance to each other. What do you think? The photographer is F Donahue of Hornellsville, New York. Hornellsville is in Steuben County, New York and is near the Pennsylvania border. Check out the comments left concerning this cabinet card. Knowledgeable visitors recognized this photograph as a portrait of a “Tom Thumb Wedding”. Click on the category of “Tom Thumb Wedding” to see other examples.
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