This cabinet card portrait features a mother and her young daughter. The mother is wearing a dark dress while the daughter is dressed in white; creating a nice contrast in this family photograph. This photo was taken at Sargent Brothers studio in Cardiff, Wales. Cardiff is a port city on the coast of South Wales. I found another cabinet card image at an internet site that reveals that the Sargent Brothers also had studios in the cities of Bristol, Newport, and Penarth. SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features beautiful music hall actress Miss Hilda Hammerton. Hammerton was known for being one of the “Cozy Corner Girls”. She and Gertrude Thornton, and Clare Richards appeared as the Cozy girls in the musical comedy, “The Earl and the Girl” (1903) which was produced at the Adelphi Theater. “Weekly Magazine” (1904) article reports that Hammerton performed a very heroic act. She risked her life to save the life of a little child. While out walking, she heard people screaming about a little girl in danger who had strayed into the roadway and was in “imminent danger” of being run over by a fast approaching vehicle. The actress ran to the scene and scooped up the child, and barely avoided being hit by the speeding truck. It was reported that witnesses to the scene gave her an ovation for her quick actions. There are three portraits of Miss Hammerton in England’s National Portrait Gallery. The talented photographer responsible for this lovely portrait is Bassano. Two of the three portraits of Hammerton in the National Portrait Gallery are by Alexander Bassano. Bassano (1829 –1913) was a leading royal and high society photographer in Victorian London. This postcard was published in England by the Davidson Brothers. Davidson Brothers was located in both London and New York City. The firm operated between 1901 and 1911. This postcard is part of the “Real Photographic Series” (no. 2253). The message on this postcard is written in French, but the sender mailed it from England. The postmark indicates that it was stamped in Edinburgh, England in 1907. The postcard was mailed to someone in Paris, France. SOLD
POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)
POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)
This vintage real photo postcard features Edwardian theater actress Miss Dorothy Chard. Preliminary research yielded little information about her life and her career. More intensive research is required to uncover biographical information. The Internet Broadway Data Base (IBDB) notes that Miss Chard appeared in eleven Broadway shows from 1926 through 1930. She played in musicals but she primarily appeared in comedies. Among her credits are “Merry-Go-Round” (1927) and “Cinderelative” (1930). The dearth of information about Miss Chard reveals that she certainly was not a leading actress of her time but she certainly was beautiful and well known enough to merit the publishing of a photo postcard by the Rotary Postcard company. This postcard was part of the Rotary Photographic series (no. 4353 A). The photograph of Dorothy Chard appearing on this postcard was taken by the Foulsham & Banfield Studio.The pair were well known celebrity photographers. Frank Foulsham and A. C. Banfield operated a studio from the 1900’s through the 1920’s. The postcard is postmarked 1909 from Edinburg, Scotland. Edinburg is Scotland’s capital city. The content of the message on this postcard mentions “fresh cards” referring to newly released photo postcards. Collecting such cards was a popular hobby during this era. I guess this hobby was a precursor to collecting pokemon. I prefer collecting photo portraits. Call me “old school”. (SOLD)
The second vintage postcard features a portrait of Dorothy Chard from the same series as the top postcard. This Rotary postcard (no. 4353 K) presents a more complete view of the actress. Miss Chard was dressed in different clothing and accessories for the two portraits. She looks very friendly in card 1 but has an arrogant expression in card 2. The message on the reverse of this postcard states “Dearest Lil, Have you been feeling well today. I have. M. has not spoken to me yet. Wish I was going to see you tonight. –?– on saturday night. Have you had your chocolates? Hope you will like the P-C (postcard). I think it is very good. With fondest love. I remain yours forever. (JM?) My- Word -” It is interesting that the writers of postcard 1 and 2 both mention the photo postcard that they are sending. It would be interesting to know what “My-Word-” means. Does it mean “I will remain yours forever, you have my word”. Hopefully, a Cabinet Card Gallery visitor will be able to offer an explanation, (SOLD)
POSTCARD 1
POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)
This vintage photograph is special in that it captures emotion. The baby nurse pictured in this photograph is looking at the baby in her charge in a warm loving way. The nurse is looking at the baby in an identical manner that a mother looks at her infant. The photograph is also special in that it shows a nurse’s uniform that dates back to slightly after the turn of the nineteenth century. This photograph was taken by Fred Gegg who operated a studio in Evesham, England. Evesham is a town in the district of Worcestershire. Frederick George Gegg (1871-1925?) took photographs in Evesham from about 1899 until his death. SOLD
The little girl seen in this cabinet card portrait is absolutely adorable. Her hair is disheveled but the “wild look” suits her. Note the toy seen in the bottom left hand corner of the photograph. The toy appears to be a train car, or perhaps, a circus car. The studio that produced this image is the American Photo Company which was located in Luton, England. Luton is a large town in Bedfordshire, about thirty miles northwest of London. It is interesting that the American Photo Company is located in England rather than in the United States. SOLD
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 cabinet card portrait is notable for at least two reasons. First, the woman in the photograph is beautifully dressed. Note the matching trim on the cuffs of her sleeves, across her chest, and on her high collar. The second reason that makes this image special is that the photograph was taken by a female photographer. Alice Josephine Swithenbank operated the Elm Street Studio in Hunslet, Leeds, England. Hunslet is an inner-city area in south Leeds. (SOLD)
This cabinet card image captures a wedding that appears to involve two couples. It is only a hypothesis but I believe the participants in this double wedding include two brides (seated), two grooms (seated), four members of the wedding party (standing). The men are all wearing top hats and tails. One of the seated grooms is wearing light colored pants with his dark jacket. All the men are wearing boutonnieres and smoking cigars. The brides are wearing white gowns and flowers in their hair. Interestingly, the two grooms are sitting very close to one of the brides while the second bride seems distant, almost an afterthought. It is notable that this wedding party portrait was taken outside. Although the location that this photograph was taken is unknown, the image was with a group of other photographs that were from England. Therefore, it is likely that this is an English cabinet card. This cabinet card was trimmed in order to fit into an album or frame. SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features theater actress Miss Ethel Erskine as she appeared in the role of Ilona in the production of “Gipsy Love”. Miss Erskine was a beautiful woman with dazzling and engaging eyes. Preliminary research discovered little about her biographical history. However, some information was found about the production of “Gipsy Love”. The show was a romantic operetta in three acts. The production played at the Carltheater in Vienna (1910), the Globe Theatre on Broadway (1911), and Daly’s Theatre in London (1912). This postcard was printed in Britain and produced by Rotary Photo as part of a series (11476 D). SOLD
A young girl with blonde hair poses for her portrait at Wards studio in Hounslow, England. Her simple dress and her eyes gazing upward gives her an angelic appearance. Hounslow is a suburban district in Greater London. Wards studio receives mention in the British Journal of Photography (1908). I have been made aware by a vintage photography enthusiast that the photographer is Lorraine Ward and she operated her business from the Stainesroad address from 1896 to 1922. The studio continued it’s existence under other ownership until 1937.
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