The policeman in the Cabinet card appears to be holding a night stick or baton. He appears quite intense. His uniform appears to show both a British and a frontier western influence. He’s a lawman wearing a sheriff like star. The photographer is Chesley of Owatonna, Minnesota. Owatonna was founded in 1854. It is in southern Minnesota. The origin of its name is interesting. A story was concocted to promote tourism and to sell bottled water. The creative fictional account stated that an Indian chief’s daughter, “Princess Owatonna” was dying but cured from water bubbling up from the ground in the town. It is likely that Chesley, the photographer of this Cabinet card, photographed many of the tourists who came to Owatonna to see and drink the “miracle waters”.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 