This cabinet card features a fashionable clean-cut gentleman posing for a studio portrait. His nice clothing indicates that he was a well-to-do man. Perhaps he was on vacation at the time of this photograph. He was photographed by James C. Dinham who operated the Gainsboroough Gallery in Torquay, England. Torquay is a seaside resort town located on the English Channel in southwest England. This gentleman may have been staying at one of the local resorts. A photograph of Dinham’s studio can be seen below. The photograph was taken in 1918 and the gallery is decorated for Armistice Day. The image and further information can be found at the Devon Heritage Site on the internet. Dinham established his business in the 1890’s. He had a very distinguished clientele but his gallery bordered a very poor area of the city. The residents lived in “ancient tenements” and were poor and lived in squalor. Dinham visited this neighborhood and took many photographs of colorful characters and street scenes. He gave these photos catchy titles but in truth, Dinham was engaging in photo journalism. He was one of the pioneers in this field of photography. In researching Mr. Dinham, it was found that he began his studio 1881. The source reports that the gallery closed in about 1910 only to become “Dinham & Sons” which operated from 1910 until about 1939. Research also found that Dinham was cited in “Photography” (1898) for photographing the Duke of York during one of the Duke’s visits to Torbay (the Borough which includes Torquay). SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features Julia James (1890-1964), a beautiful stage actress. She sat in 76 portraits that are part of England’s National Portrait Gallery. She is considered by one theatrical writer to be among the top fifteen most beautiful actresses of the 1900’s Edwardian era. She was born in London, England and began her career as a chorus girl at the Aldwych Theatre under Seymour Hicks. She played in “Blue Belle” in 1905. She appeared in productions at the Gaiety Theatre. These plays included “The Girls of Gottenburg”, “Havana”, and “Our Miss Gibbs”. She performed in Paris in “The Arcadians” (1913). This “Rotophot” postcard was printed in Berlin, Germany. It was published by Giesen Brothers of London. It is postmarked in Cathorpe in 1907. The village is located beside the Avon River in Leicestershire, England. The postcard is part of a series (no. 0858). The photographer of this image is the fabulous celebrity photographer, Rita Martin. She is considered one of the best British photographers of her time.Her studio was in an exclusive neighborhood She was born Margareta Weir Martin in Ireland. Margareta “Rita” Martin started her career in photography in 1897 by assisting her elder sister Lallie Charles in running her studio. In 1906 Rita opened her own studio. Rita had a specialty in photographing actresses including Lily Elsie and Lily Brayton. She was also well known for her child studies which often involved children of well known actresses. Lily’s sister, Lallie Charles was more known as an excellent society photographer.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 