This cabinet card is a memorial card produced by the Elliott studio in Marion, Iowa. The young man in this photograph had passed away and this image served as a remembrance for his family and friends. To view other photographs by this photographer, click on the category “Photographer: Elliott”.
This cabinet card is unusual in that the portrait of the subject (man) is placed over a drawing of a stark winter scene. It is likely that the gentleman’s portrait is framed in this manner because the cabinet card is meant to be a memorial or mourning photograph. I have never seen a cabinet card with this type of border design. The photographer of this image is the Mutzbauer studio in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. The Mutzbauer studio was located in Kewaunee between 1887 and 1896. It later operated in Milwaukee, and it appears to have closed in 1928. The studio was started by Joseph Mutzbauer (1856-1915). He had two children that went into his business, Joseph L. Mutzbauer (1884-1965) and Louise Mutzbauer Macosta (1880-?). SOLD
This cabinet card features a well dressed woman dressed in black and holding a handkerchief. The woman appears to be dressed in mourning clothes. On the reverse of the cabinet card is the following pre printed quotation “Secure the shadow ere the substance fades”. This quotation was commonly used in the photographic community in advertising to encourage people to photograph their deceased relatives to keep their memory alive. The next part of the “secure the shadow” quotation is “Let nature imitate what nature made”. It was not uncommon to photograph corpses in life-like poses or in caskets, deathbeds, or other household furniture during the cabinet card era. See cabinet card gallery category “Memorial Card”. This photograph seems to be more of a mourning card than a memorial card, though one can’t be certain. The photographer of this image is Mrs. Vreeland who operated the “leading gallery” in McPherson, Kansas. To view other photographs by female photographers click on the category “Female Photographers”. To view other photographs by Mrs. Vreeland, click on the category “Photographer: Vreeland”.
A young woman is featured in this cabinet card that appears to be a memorial photograph. The image has a musical theme. Note the pictured string instrument and the scrolled sheet music. Perhaps the young woman pictured in the frame was a musician. The photographic studio responsible for this interesting image is the C. S. Roshon studio which was located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The cabinet card gallery has another Roshon photograph in its collection). This second photograph is one of the more controversial images in the gallery’s collection because it very well may be a counterfeit cabinet card. The image features a Native American man with a turkey vulture on his head. Click on the category “Photographer: Roshon” to view this photograph.
E. Grech Cumbo was a photographer on the island of Malta. His studio was located at 14 Strada Street in the city of Valleta. Cumbo produced this cabinet card of a British sailor (nationality needs to be confirmed). Stenciled on the photograph, above the cushion on which the sailor rests his arms, are the words, “In Loving Memory”. This photograph likely served as a memorial card for this young man’s crew mate friends. To view other examples of memorial photographs, click on the category “Memorial Card”.
This cabinet card served as a memorial to the gentleman pictured in the image. The photograph was taken by the Mosher Gallery of Chicago, Illinois. The cabinet card is dated 1891. This cabinet card is particularly interesting because the Brisbois International Memorial Portrait Company is also listed as producing the photograph. Research revealed no information about the Brisbois Company. Was Brisbois a subsidiary of Mosher’s gallery? Printed on the center bottom of the card, is an advertisement stating that the Memorial Portraits could be purchased at the cost of five dollars per dozen. It seems rather unseemly that the studio would put prices on the front of actual Memorial Cards purchased by grieving families. It is possible that this cabinet card was used as a sample to help sell Memorial Portraits to customers. Mosher was a well known and talented photographer. To learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Mosher”.
This memorial cabinet card was published in loving memory of James Baker Foster (age 26) and his sister, Mary Aurora Foster (age 20). They both died in 1918, less than two months apart. The publisher of the card was H. F. Wendell, of Leipsie, Ohio.
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THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 