PORTRAIT OF AN OLDER GENTLEMAN IN PORTAGE, WISCONSIN

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This cabinet card portrait features an older gentleman with grey hair and a long wiry hair. His mouth is camouflaged by his bushy beard and mustache. Watching him eat must not have been very pleasant. The man is dressed formally and has intense piercing eyes. Sherman L. Plumb’s studio in Portage, Wisconsin produced this photograph. Plumb was born in 1841 in Connecticut. By 1863 he was working as a fireman in Portage. The 1870 and 1880 US census lists his occupation as photographer. In 1872 Plumb married Alice Stanton (1852-?). Plumb was not a man who was consistent occupationally. The 1900 census found him working as a dairy farmer while the 1910 census listed him as running a grocery store in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A 1912 directory reported that Alice was a widow.  SOLD

 

 

Published in: on November 11, 2015 at 3:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF AN OLDER MAN WITH BRIGHT EYES AND A LONG WHITE BEARD (PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA)

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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.

Published in: on April 6, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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OLDER WOMAN IN “PURITANESQUE” GARB IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

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This lovely cabinet card portrait features an older woman dressed in conservative clothing. She is wearing “Puritanesque” clothing. I invented the word “Puritanesque” because I don’t want to go out on a limb and say the is wearing Puritan clothing without finding confirmation. The woman’s outermost garment covers a dark full dress and she is wearing a bonnet.  She is intensely staring at the photographer and is keeping her lips pursed. The photograph was taken at the studio of Heald & Erickson in Providence, Rhode Island. Heald had other partners during his career in that same city. Heald was involved in an important photography related law case concerning ownership and rights to use photographic negatives. To view more of his images and to learn more about him and the case, type his name in the cabinet card gallery’s search box and look for the photograph produced by Heald & Giles.                                                                                     SOLD

 

Published in: on March 2, 2015 at 6:12 pm  Comments (3)  
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AN OLD MAN AND HIS WISPY BEARD IN TIFFIN, OHIO

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An old man with a long pointy wispy beard poses for his portrait at the studio of W. D. Miller in Tiffin, Ohio. The elderly gentleman has a knowing but far away look in his very expressive eyes. He is well dressed for his day at the photography studio. William D. Miller operated a photography business in Tiffin from 1881 through 1887 and then again from 1897 through 1908.

Published in: on February 8, 2015 at 10:32 am  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF HARLEY PLACE: FARMER AND WEARY RESIDENT OF GLOCESTER, RHODE ISLAND

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This vintage photograph features a portrait of a fine looking elderly man named Harley Place (1825-1913). His name appears in a number of state and federal census reports. The 1870 US census indicates that he and his wife Amanda E. Place were living with ten of their children in Glocester, Rhode Island. The 1880 US census indicates that Harley was a farmer. It appears that he lived all or most of his life in Glocester. He is also buried there. His grave is located in Acotes Hill Cemetery in Glocester. The photographer of this image is unidentified. An inscription on the reverse of the image states “Harley Place. Dad’s grandfather. This is the one big picture was made from.”. In this image Harley has the appearance of a wise but weary man. His clasped hands may indicate some tension or impatience. He is wearing work clothing with terrific looking suspenders. Visitors to the cabinet card gallery will notice that this image also appears in the previous blog entry. The previous blog entry was actually blogged in May of 2014 but I moved it so it would follow this entry. I believe that the biographical information in that entry actually belongs to Harley Place’s son who was also named Harley Place. The image is likely not Harley Place, the son; but Harley Place, the father. I am leaving the incorrect information as an illustration of how difficult this type of research can be and to remind me and others to be very careful in our investigative work.

Published in: on February 3, 2015 at 11:36 am  Comments (3)  
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AN OLDER GENTLEMAN SITTING IN A WICKER CHAIR (SUBJECT IDENTIFIED)

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An elderly man sits legs crossed on a wicker chair as he poses for his portrait at an unidentified photographic studio. Note his pocket watch and silvery beard. The reverse of the photograph identifies the subject as “Uncle Andy Norton”.

Published in: on July 17, 2014 at 11:31 am  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF AN ELDERLY MAN: PHOTOGRAPHED BY FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHER ADELE BECKER IN NEW YORK CITY

ADELE BECKERA older gentleman with a bushy mustache poses for his photograph at the Van Dyke Studio in New York City. Printing on the front of the cabinet card indicates that the owner and operator of the studio was Miss Adele Becker. A female owner of a photography studio was a bit unusual during the cabinet card era but the cabinet card gallery has developed a collection of cabinet cards produced by female photographers. Click on the category “Female Photographers”. In regard to Miss Becker, research yielded little information about her life or career. It is likely she bought the studio from Mr. Van Dyke.

 

Published in: on July 4, 2014 at 12:24 pm  Comments (3)  
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FIFTY SHADES OF GREY IN RED BLUFF, CALIFORNIA

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An unidentified old man with a great beard poses for his portrait at the H. Weston studio in Red Bluff, California. Fifty shades of grey is the best way to describe the color of his hair and beard. To view other all-star beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best)”. Henry Weston (1840-1911) was born in Massachusetts. He was listed in the 1885 business directory as a photographer in the Tehama County directory. He is also listed in the 1900 US census as a photographer living in Amador, California. Red Bluff is a town about 125 miles north of Sacramento. The town overlooks the Sacramento River and is in Tehama County.

Published in: on September 6, 2013 at 7:41 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF A WHISKERED OLD GENTLEMAN

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The subject of this cabinet card portrait is unidentified. The photographer and his studio’s location is also unknown. The whiskered gentleman featured in this image is wearing his sunday best for his day at the photography studio. The old gentleman appears as if he has had a lot of experiences over the course of his life. He looks quite wise.

Published in: on August 6, 2013 at 5:00 pm  Comments (1)  

OLDER GENTLEMAN WITH LONG WHITE BEARD IN PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND

RI BEARD_0004The Salisbury studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island produced this cabinet card portrait of an elderly man with a long white beard. His beard is very impressive but one wonders how he ate without wearing his food. To view other interesting beards click on the category “Beards (Only The Best)”. The photographer was Arnold F. Salisbury. His name can be found in many Pawtucket city directories of the 1880’s. At one time his studio was located at 65 Mill Street. He is considered by “Classy Arts” photo history site as one of America’s most productive photographers during the Carte De  Visite era (he  is among over 200 photographers so designated). Salisbury’s obituary appears in the Bulletin of Photography (1918). In the brief article it is mentioned that Salisbury was a civil war veteran. Further research revealed that he was a private in the 1st Regiment Rhode Island Infantry (company E) for three months in 1861. He later served as a second sergeant in the 9th Regiment Rhode Island Infantry (Company A) and as a first lieutenant in the 12th Regiment Rhode Island Infantry (Company H).

Published in: on July 17, 2013 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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