PORTRAIT OF “LITTLE OLLIE”: A GIRL AND HER MANDOLIN

LITTLE OLLIE_0002This cabinet card portrait features “Little Ollie” and her mandolin. At least I think her instrument is a mandolin. Confirmation from a cabinet card gallery visitor would be appreciated. This little girl performer is adorable. She is wearing a cute hat and her jewelry includes a necklace and bracelet. The reverse of the photograph has an inscription stating “From Little Ollie Herself”. Benjamin J. Falk (1853-1925), a noted celebrity photographer, produced this photograph. His studio was located on Broadway in New York City. The image is numbered on the bottom right hand corner.To view more photographs by this photographer, click on the category “Photographer: Falk”. Research revealed not further information about “Little Ollie”. However, a different photograph of her, also by Falk, is in the collection of the Library of Congress.

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Published in: on April 17, 2014 at 10:22 am  Comments (3)  
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A LITTLE BOY AND HIS HORN IN PORT JERVIS, NEW YORK

A dressed up little boy holding a horn instrument poses for his portrait in Port Jervis, New York. I am unsure if his horn is a toy or a real musical instrument. Hopefully a musically inclined visitor to this site will leave a comment about the instrument. Note the child’s high shoes and bow tie. The photograph is a product of the Allerton studio. William H. Allerton operated his studio in Port Jervis during the 1880’s. During at least some of that time, he also ran a combined refreshment pavilion and photography studio in Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania.

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Published in: on March 9, 2014 at 5:47 pm  Comments (1)  
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UNIFORMED BAND MEMBER AND HIS TUBA

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A uniformed band member poses for his studio portrait. He is holding his tuba and standing in front of a music stand. His plumed band hat rests on a large piece of furniture beside him. The photographer is unidentified. To view other photographs of musicians, click on the category “Musicians”.   (SOLD)

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Published in: on February 16, 2014 at 11:42 am  Comments (2)  
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MUSICIAN AND LARGE STRING INSTRUMENT IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

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A musician poses for his portrait at the Rocher studio in Chicago, Illinois. He is playing a large stringed instrument with a bow. I can not identify the instrument and assistance from knowledgable cabinet card gallery visitors would be appreciated. Note the fireplace and fancy chair in the background. The musician is unidentified but is likely someone professional, and not a random person using the instrument as a prop for their portrait. In fact, Henry Rocher (1826-1887) was known for being a celebrity photographer. However, most of all, he is considered the one Chicago photographer who could compete technically and artistically with the great photographers in New York City. The great celebrity photographer Sarony, may have had an advantage by possessing exceptional ability to pose his subjects. Rocher’s nephew and disciple, Max Platz, was also quite a talented and successful photographer. Rocher was known to employ a number of women as operators, including “Miss Garrity” who was a successful photographer in Louisville, Kentucky and in Chicago. To view portraits by Miss Garrity, click on the category “Photographer: Garrity”. Rocher came to the US in 1856. He arrived from Germany, where he had originally learned photography.He was one of the founders of the Photographers Association of America (1880).

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Published in: on December 16, 2013 at 1:44 pm  Comments (3)  
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BAND MEMBER AND HIS CLARINET IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

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This large format cabinet card features a thick bearded man wearing a band or fraternal uniform holding a clarinet at his side. His uniform suggests that he is a member of a band or a fraternal organization. He is wearing a bag strapped over his left shoulder. Could that bag be his clarinet case? This photograph was produced by the Newcomb studio in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photographer Scott Newcomb operated out of the 162 South Main Street address listed on the bottom of this cabinet card. According to reference site Langdon Road, Scott Newcomb was a photographer in Salt Lake from the 1890s until 1905. A photographer named Marion W. Newcomb (1851-?) also was active at an unknown address in Salt Lake City during the cabinet card era. It is likely that the two men were relatives as one source noted that a female photographer, Flossie Newcomb, was from a family of photographers in Salt Lake City. Flossie operated her own studio in Vernal, Utah in 1906 and married noted photographer Fred Hartsook.

Published in: on September 19, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (3)  
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“THE ENTERTAINER”: A BANJO PLAYER IN WALTON, NEW YORK

BANJO PLAYER_0006A spiffy gentleman wearing striped pants, and with a banjo on his knee, poses at the Sprague studio in Walton, New York. He looks relatively comfortable in his “entertainer pose”. It appears that he actually is a banjo player and not just holding a studio prop. Note his terrific hat.

Published in: on July 8, 2013 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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FRANCES EVERETT: THEATER ACTRESS PORTRAIT (NEWSBOY SERIES: 1891)

everett_0003This Newsboy cabinet card features a portrait of actress, Frances Everett. The photograph is number 329 of a series of images published by Newsboy to distribute as a premium with their tobacco products. The photograph was taken by B. J. Falk and has a copyright of 1891. The cabinet card has a stamp from the Theatral (Theatrical?) Photo. Company of New York City. Miss Everett holds a string instrument (mandolin?) and is dressed in a rather risque costume for her era. She is also wearing a great smile. Preliminary research found no biographical information about Miss Everett or the Theatral Photo Company.

Published in: on April 29, 2013 at 9:48 pm  Comments (3)  
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TWO TRUMPETERS FROM STERLING, ILLINOIS

TRUMPETERS_0003Two trumpeters in band uniforms pose for their portrait at the Brown studio in Sterling, Illinois. This is one of those times that there is a need for consultation from one of the visitors to the Cabinet Card Gallery with band instrument expertise. Are these men holding trumpets, cornets, or bugles? One also wonders about the relationship between the two men in this photograph. Are they father and son?Unfortunately the subjects are not identified and their relationship, besides being bandmates, is unknown. In addition, the men’s uniforms lack patches or lettering to suggest their band affiliation. Research yielded no information about the photographer of this image.

Published in: on April 12, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (4)  
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WOMAN IN A FRAME IN HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

LADY IN A FRAME_0002A 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.

Published in: on February 25, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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MAN WITH A TRUMPET IN ALBION, NEW YORK

TRUMPET MAN_0006A man in a plaid suit, winged collar shirt, and matching vest poses for his photograph at an unidentified studio. He is holding a horn of some kind (Trumpet?, Bugle?, or Cornet?) and wearing a cap which has the lettering “WCB”. I am guessing that the “CB” part is an abbreviation for “community band”. Inscribed on the reverse of the photograph are the following; “Burnette” and “Albion, NY”. “Burnette” is likely the subject’s name and Albion was likely his hometown. Research found too many men sharing the name “Burnette” in Albion to make a positive identification of his name and background. The over zealous previous owned of this cabinet card described the subject as a civil war veteran holding his bugle and wearing his kepi hat. Collectors of antique photographs must be careful of people making such unsubstantiated claims. Call me an optimist, but I think the majority of such people are more unaware than unscrupulous.

Published in: on February 6, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (3)  
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