An elderly man poses for his portrait at the Gibson & Morgan studio in Howell, Michigan. The gray haired gentleman appears to be missing his teeth and is wearing an unusual beard that occupies much of his neck and little of his face. To view other interesting beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best)”.
Photographer R. D. Crum produced this terrific portrait of an older woman whose hairstyle and fashion choices allows one to say that she is dressed for the part. Before I am accused of being an ageist, let me say that I am well aware that there were, and are many older people who are quite fashionable and contemporary. The fact is though, that if I was casting a movie and needed a character to play an elderly 1890’s woman, this lady has got the part hands down and doesn’t even need to audition. The subject of this photograph has her gray hair parted in the middle and she wears it close to her scalp. She is wearing a black dress, as well as a black shawl which is clasped by a piece of jewelry. There appears to be lace or needle work on her shawl and sleeves. She holds a book on her lap with her thumb holding a place in the volume. She has an extremely serious expression on her face. The photographer, Richard D. Crum was located in the 1860 census and he is listed as working as a “Dagarian Artist” (photographer) in Watkins, New York. The 1870 census finds Crum working as a clerk in New York City and living there with his wife and three children. The 1880 census finds Crum still married to his wife Maria and working as a photographer in Watkins. He lived in a residence with his wife and three children and a 21 year old boarder named, George Stanley, who worked as a photographer (likely “apprenticing” to Crum). Interestingly, living nearby was a Fred Crum, who was listed as a photographer (one of Richard Crum’s children?). An application that Crum made for a passport in 1897 is on record and lists his birth year as 1831. By 1900, Crum had left the field of photography and was living in Ocean, New Jersey. He died in 1913 and is buried in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
An older man poses for his portrait at the studio of Adolph W. Rothengatter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While looking at this photograph I thought of a line in the lyrics of Billy Joel’s song “Piano Man”. “When I wore a younger man’s clothes” popped into my head. Something about the image made me think that this elderly man was wearing clothing that he had not worn for many years. At the time of this photograph, I think he looked a bit out of place in his “business clothes”. My thoughts on this matter probably reflect some sort of ageism. However, they are my thoughts and for some reason I wanted to share them. The photographer of this cabinet card operated his own business but during his career he also had partnerships which included “Rothengatter & Dillon” and “Rothengatter & Casselberry”.
The subject of this cabinet card portrait is an intense looking man with piercing eyes. He has a handsome beard and wavy hair. He wore his fancy clothing for his encounter with the photographer. The photographer of this image is a studio called Dobler Brothers of Beloit, Kansas. C. W. Dobler (1860-?) is listed in the 1880 census as a 20 year-old photographer living with his sister and brother-in-law. His brother-in-law, Frank Dawson, was 26 years old and also worked as a photographer. Directories show that by 1885, Dobler had married a woman named Sarah (age 22) and had a baby daughter named Pearl (age 1). The city of Beloit was settled in 1868 with the aim of improving water power in the area. Legend has it that local Native Americans advised the settlers to locate the town at a certain bend of the Solomon River to protect the town from tornadoes. The settlers followed their advice and the town has never been hit by a tornado while nearby areas have been less fortunate.
An elderly gentleman poses for his portrait at the studio of Christensen and Morange, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The grey haired man, dressed in a suit, is sitting in a chair next to an open book, which lies on a desk or table. The man’s pocket watch can be seen behind his open jacket. Note the interesting design of the chair that the gentleman is occupying. The old man’s facial expression is open to interpretation. At first glance, he looks quite serious; but upon further examination, he seems a bit amused as he stares at the photographer. The Christensen and Morange studio photographed a number of well known people in Denmark. Some of the photographer’s portraits are held by the Royal Library, in Copenhagen. To view the Cabinet Card Gallery’s collection of photographs from Denmark, click on the category, “Denmark”.
This handsome older gentleman with white hair and a white beard, is named Adrian Manley (1826-1906). The U.S. census of 1880 reveals that he was married to Elizabeth Manley and that he was employed as a clerk. He and his wife lived with their son Leny, a twenty nine year-old laborer. The 1900 census finds Mr Manley in his seventies living with his wife and two grandchildren, Wane (age 8), and Sylvia (age 6). Adrian Manley’s death certificate lists his occupation as a farmer which likely indicates that farming was his primary work for most of his life. The photographer who produced this photograph was John Morrison Brigham (1863-1933) whose studio was located in Plainwell, Michigan. Brigham attended Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, Indiana. He studied photography in Plainwell and owned his first gallery there. In 1898 he moved to Battle Creek, Michigan where he opened a photography studio that became very successful. In 1885, Brigham married Ida M Potter of Mankato, Minnesota. Photo Beacon (1897) printed a review of some of Brigham’s work and it was not complimentary. The reviewer simply wrote, “lots of dead eyes”.
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 features an older man with a scruffy, but nicely shaped, pointy beard. In the style of his day, he has just the top button of his jacket fastened. The photographer of this image is Howard M. Smith of Portland, Maine. Smith operated studios at 2574 Middle Street and at 478 Congress Street, in Portland. Smith’s studio is listed in an 1891 Portland business directory. To view other photographs of unusual beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best)”.
This cabinet card is a portrait of three sisters with a strong family resemblance. The woman are attractive and nicely dressed. Note that the woman on the right is wearing a necktie, and the sister in the center has ribbons on her collar. The photographer is W. F. Kellogg of River Falls, Wisconsin. The Kellogg studio was established in 1877 by Douglas Wright Kellogg (1840-1913). The studio was built on the southeast corner of Main and Walnut Street. In 1878, Douglas Kellogg sold the studio to to his older brother, Wilbur Fiske Kellogg (1836-1920). Wilbur Kellogg is the photographer who produced the above portrait. Another brother, John D. Kellogg operated a gallery in Red Wing, Minnesota from 1868 until 1899. Douglas Kellogg eventually moved to Reedsburg, Wisconsin and opened a gallery there. All three brothers were born in Danby, New York, and learned photography in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Wilbur was a farmer prior to entering the photography business. In 1900, he was thought to be the oldest photographer in Wisconsin. When he sold the studio, Wilbur and his wife moved to Spokane, Washington. In 1899, he partnered with John R. Boals (1872-1959) to establish a photographic studio which was eventually sold to Stella Thayer (1875-1934).
An elderly man poses for his portrait at the studio of Arthur Rugg in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The man has a very distinguished appearance. His long grey goatee is his entry ticket into cabinet card gallery’s category “Beards (Only the Best)”. To view other photographs by Rugg, and learn of his unethical behavior as a photographer, click on the category “Photographer: Rugg”.
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