The previous owner of this photograph described the subjects in the image as World War I French Cavalry soldiers. The soldiers are wearing collar pins that identify their military unit as being the “29th”. They are drinking glasses of wine from a bottle on the table. The men have long swords and there are three helmets on the floor in front of the men. My uneducated guess is that these military men are part of a fencing team. There is a within the photograph which would provide more information but I can not decipher the script on the label. A stamp on the reverse of the photograph identifies the photographer as Moraux and the location of his studio as Provins, which is in north central France. Assistance is clearly needed from the cabinet card gallery’s vast and unpaid research department. The visitors to the cabinet card gallery have a history of contributing informed and thoughtful knowledge via their comments. Knowledge that helps us further our appreciation and understanding of the gallery’s images.
MYSTERY PHOTOGRAPH: POSSIBLY FRENCH CAVALRY SOLDIERS AND THEIR SWORDS AND HELMETS (HELP NEEDED FROM CABINET CARD GALLERY’S VAST AND UNPAID RESEARCH DEPARTMENT)
Wounded Fencers from Jena, Germany
This Cabinet card image captures a fencing team after what must have been a tough match with another fencing club. Note the wounds and the little dog at the feet of the fencer furthest to the right of the photograph. Perhaps a reader of this blog can help identify the team and the words on the board in the center of the photo. The reverse of the card has German writing which I can not translate. It may list the two teams which competed. “Alleurarria contra Aruriscia” is the best interpretation I can make of the handwriting. Once again, I hope a fencing authority can comment and identify the competing teams. This is the second fencing Cabinet card that I have posted (look up the first under the category of sports). The photographer of both Cabinet cards is Friedr. Haack of Jena, Germany.
Three Fencers in Jena, Germany
This Cabinet card is a terrific image of three fencers photographed by Friedr. Haack of Jena, Germany. Note the color which was added after the photograph was taken. Jena is a university city in central Germany. At the end of the 18th century Jena became a center for precision machinery, optics, and glass making. The subjects of this fencing Cabinet card probably were university students, as academic fencing was very popular during the time period this photograph was taken. I hope some knowledegable fencing aficionados can provide further information about the details concerning this image.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 