This cabinet card is an image of three grand ladies gathered around a table. Atop the table is one closed and one open book. This meeting of the Geneva Ladies Book Club was the forerunner of the modern day version of women’s book clubs. The previous statement may be false, but it does raise the value of this cabinet card. The photographer of this image is Woodworth, of Geneva, Ohio. James P. Woodworth (1845-?) was born in Kingsville, Ohio. He was active as a photographer in Geneva by 1869. He and his wife (Ruby M. Thorp) operated Woodworth’s Fine Art Gallery in Geneva until 1886. SOLD
PIONEERING BOOK CLUB IN GENEVA, OHIO
PORTRAIT OF AN OLDER MAN WITH BRIGHT EYES AND A LONG WHITE BEARD (PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA)
This cabinet card portrait features a well dressed handsome older gentleman with a wonderful long white beard. The man has striking eyes. They are bright and soft and he projects a certain sweetness and friendliness. This photograph was produced by the Dabbs gallery in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Benjamin Lomax Horsley Dabbs was born in London in 1839. He immigrated into the United States while still in his childhood. His father was a pioneer in the American photographic supply trade. Dabbs learned the photography field from his father, George Dabbs. Benjamin came to Pittsburgh in 1861 and opened a business selling photography supplies. That same year he also bought a gallery from a Mr. Rorah. He grew the business dramatically and in 1869 he sold his supply business to concentrate on being a photographer. During his tenure as a photographer in Pennsylvania, he was considered by many to be the best photographer in the state. In 1868 Dabbs married Sadie Dickson and the couple ultimately had nine children. Dabbs was a close personal friend of Abraham Lincoln and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Dabbs drew some attention for his stance on free resittings for customers who were not satisfied with the portraits taken by his studio. Unlike many other photographers, he refused free resittings because “the public do not value what they can get for nothing”. In his later years, Dabbs was debilitated by rheumatism and other illness. He died at age sixty in 1899. His celebrated portrait of Andrew Carnegie can be viewed today at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art. There is very light writing on the reverse of the cabinet card. The writing includes the name E. E. Headley. This cabinet card has minor edge and corner wear and is in overall good condition (see scans).
This Cabinet Card is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $36.00
Interested collectors may view the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/336204531912
PORTRAIT OF AN ELDERLY COUPLE : LAPEER, MICHIGAN : VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH
This photograph features a fashionable wonderful looking elderly couple photographed by David’s Studio in Lapeer, Michigan. The image presents a dignified and deeply human study of age, partnership, and character. The gentleman is seated on the left. He wears a dark suit with vest and tie, formal but modest, and has a full white beard and mustache, with thinning hair brushed back from a high forehead. His expression is calm and direct, conveying a sense of quiet authority and lived experience. The woman, seated beside him, wears a patterned high-neck blouse beneath a darker jacket, consistent with late Victorian / early Edwardian styles worn into the 1910s. Her hair is neatly parted at the center and pulled back tightly, and her expression is steady, reserved, and attentive. The pair sit closely together against a plain dark studio backdrop, emphasizing their faces and posture rather than surroundings. The photographer’s imprint at the lower right reads “Davies Studio, Lapeer, Mich.” Measurements are as follows: 6 x 8 inches (mount & photo), 5 1/2 x 3 7/8 inches (image itself). This photo is in fair condition due to the mount’s top right corner is missing (see scans). The corner loss does not affect the image. The photograph itself is sharp with strong tonal range and good contrast.
This vintage photograph is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $24.00 or best offer.
Interested collectors may view the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/336438735918
PORTRAIT OF AN OLDER COUPLE : FORMALLY ATTIRED : MARTIN, IOWA : VINTAGE PHOTO
This vintage photograph features a formally dressed older couple posing at the J. Paul Martin studio in Boone, Iowa. The gentleman has some sort of button on the lapel of his three piece suit. A pocket watch chain can be seen resting against his vest. He also has a wiry mustache and beard as well as a sparkle in his eyes. The woman in the photograph has embroidery on her dress as well as a lace collar. This is a classic couples pose used by photographers of the era that this photo was taken. SOLD
DISTINGUISED LOOKING OLDER GENTLEMAN IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
A distinguished looking older gentleman poses for his portrait at the Steckel studio in Los Angeles, California. The subject is very well dressed and has neatly cut hair, a walrus mustache, and a nicely shaped beard. The beard is shaped like the letter “V”. (To view other noteworthy beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best). Note that the gentleman is wearing a lapel pin which is probably representing a fraternal organization. George Steckel (1864-1938) was a highly skilled photographer and won many important awards for his work. In the book “Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea” (1921), author, John Steven McGroarty, provides some biographical informaion about the photographer. Stecker was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and dropped out of public schools at age thirteen. He then worked for a photography studio for two years. He moved to Philadelphia and did photography work there. He then returned to Allentown and opened his own studio which was in business for three years. His next stop was Kansas City, where he worked in the Real Estate field until 1888. He then travelled to Los Angeles and opened a studio, partnering with Joseph H. Lamson (see images by Lamson by clicking on category “Photographer: Lamson”). The partnership eroded after two years, and Stecker opened his own studio in Las Angeles. It is interesting to note that posters made from his 1894 photograph of Eugen Sandow (1867-1925), nude, with the exception of strategically placed fig leaf, are available for sale today. Sandow was a Prussian pioneering body-builder who was a celebrity of his era. SOLD
AN IDENTIFIED OLD MAN : WATERLOO, IOWA : CABINET CARD
An older man, looking quite intense, poses for his portrait at the studio of La Tier, in Waterloo, Iowa. The gentleman is named Albert G. Porter and he was born in 1816. His place of birth was Seneca, New York. His identification information is derived from an inscription on the reverse of the card. The date 1892 is written on the front of the card (center bottom) and this is likely the date that the photograph was taken. The photographer, James D. La Tier, was the first president of the Photographic Association of Iowa. During his career he operated studios alone, as well as part of Simmons & La Tier, as well as Simmons, La Tier, and King. La Tier is mentioned in a number of photographic publications (1890 & 1898).
Buy this Cabinet Card (includes shipping within the US) #6173
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Buy this Cabinet Card Photograph (includes International shipping outside the US) 6173
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A DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN AND HIS LOVELY WIFE IN STEUBENVILLE, OHIO
An older couple poses for their portrait in the studio of Filson an Sons in Steubenville, Ohio. The senior partner in the Filson studio was Davison Filson (1829-1899). He was a plain and ornamental painter and photographer. He was born in Pennsylvania and was of Irish descent. He settled in Steubenville in 1851. He worked as a master painter and bookseller before taking up photography in about 1863. In 1867 and in 1881, he made visits to the Far West where he did much outdoor photography. He was renowned locally for an exhibit he presented which was a montage of portraits of 12,223 deceased local residents and distinguished visitors (1897). Filson’s son was Charles P. Filson (1860-?). He was a sculptor, photographer and a portrait, landscape, and still life artist. He used crayon, ink, watercolor, and oils. He joined his father’s studio as a photographer in about 1879. He moved to La Jolla, California in 1937. Among his better known portrait subjects were civil war notables, Edward Stanton and Colonel George McCook. Daavison Filter also had a daughter that was a noted artist. Anna Filson (1857-?) was an artist active in Steubenville. To view other photographs by Filson, click on the category “Photographer: Filson”. SOLD
MEMORIAL CARD FOR OLE JOHNSON (1808-1902)
When Ole Johnson passed away at ninety-four years of age, it is likely that his family commissioned a photographer to produce this memorial cabinet card. Due to the commonality of the name Ole Johnson (especially in the North Central states where many Scandanvians settled) , research yielded no biographical information about the Mr. Johnson pictured in this photograph. To view other Remembrance cabinet cards, click on the category “Memorial Card”. SOLD
PORTRAIT OF A BEFUDDLED GRANDFATHER AND YOUNG GRANDCHILD IN JAMESTOWN
This photograph is likely a portrait of a grandfather and grandchild. “Generation Skipping” family photographs were not at all unusual during the era of cabinet card photography. The white haired and bearded grandfather seems to have forgotten to attend to his grooming before sitting for this image. The old man and his grandchild both appear to be quite befuddled by their session with the photographer. This image was produced by the Stanton studio in Jamestown. There are a number of towns named Jamestown in the United States. It has been impossible, so far, to identify the state in which Stanton’s studio was located. This cabinet card portrait is in very good condition (see scans).
Buy this Cabinet Card (includes shipping within the US) #3917
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$31.75
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PORTRAIT OF REVEREND ALBERT TYLER (1823-1913): PUBLISHER AND HISTORIAN IN WEBSTER, MASSACHUSETTS
This cabinet card is a portrait of Reverend Albert Tyler (1823-1913) who was a publisher and historian in Worcester, Massachusetts. Tyler was a Universalist minister. Tyler’s portrait was done by the studio of Davis & Woodward, located in Webster, Massachusetts. Tyler’s name, date of birth, and date of death are listed in an inscription on the reverse of the photograph. This image was taken in his later years and he has a long gray beard that becomes very wispy at its bottom. In the book, “History of Worcester Massachusetts” , by Lincoln and Hersey (1862), Tyler is said to have been born in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The publication states that Tyler was ordained in 1851 from the Union Association of Universalists in Warren, Massachusetts. He then became pastor of churches in Oxford, Ma. (2 years), Granby, Connecticut (6 years), and Quincy, Ma.. Next he moved to Worcester and entered the printing business. The Webster Times (1889) supplies an interesting story about Reverend Tyler. He was in attendance of the 28th reunion of the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Company E) when he displayed some unusual behavior. Tyler “created a sensation” among the 25 veterans in attendance “by rising and saying he received a “spiritual communication” from Lieutenant Nelson Bartholomew who had died during the war. The message that Tyler received stated that the Lieutenant’s spirit was attending the meeting and found it “most enjoyable to him” and that he loved his comrades, just as he had in 1861. This cabinet card photograph is in very good condition (see scans).
Buy this Cabinet Card (includes shipping within the US) #3785
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$28.75
Buy this Cabinet Card Photograph (includes International shipping outside the US) 3785
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