A well dressed and intense looking couple pose for their portrait at the studio of I. N. Hays in Kenton, Ohio. They do not look like they are having fun. The woman his holding flowers, a hat, and a handkerchief. The gentleman is holding his straw hat. Magnify this photograph and you will see the gentleman has a very interesting mustache. The photographer who produced this photograph was Isaac Newton Hays. He was born in Ohio in 1835 and operated studios at various times in various towns in Ohio. He was active in Greenville from about 1865 until 1870. He left there for Kenton between 1875 and 1879. He later returned to Greenville and also did business in Wapakoneta. He returned to Kenton where he ran his studio from 1891 through at least 1898. At one time, his Kenton studio was located at the corner of Detroit and Columbus Streets. Isaac Hays left the photography studio and entered the recording studio to become a celebrated soul singer and song writer. He won two Grammy awards and wrote the “Theme from Shaft”. Just kidding! Obviously Isaac Hays, the photographer, and Isaac Hayes, the musician, are two different people from two different eras.
A SERIOUS COUPLE IN KENTON, OHIO
HANDSOME YOUNG MAN WITH HANDLEBAR MUSTACHE IN MINNEAPOLIS, KANSAS
A well dressed and handsome man with a handlebar mustache poses for his portrait at the studio of H G Cole in Minneapolis, Kansas. The reverend Url R Hicks Almanac (1900) reported that Cole won a fifty dollar cash prize for “the best photograph of a moving tornado”. The 1880 US census finds the 30 year-old Cole working as a photographer in Minneapolis. He was of English extraction and born in New York. His wife’s name was Emma.
AFRICAN AMERICAN MAN IN WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS
This cabinet card portrait features a well dressed young African American man wearing wire rim glasses. He has a terrific mustache and sideburns. His name is written on the reverse of the photograph (“R. L. Woods”). The photographer is Devenport and the studio was located in Waxahachie, Texas. Perry F. Devenport is identified in the 1900 US census as being forty-three years old and living in Waxahachie with his wife Marie and their three children. He was working as a supervisor for the city water company. He is also cited in the 1920 census but by that time he was sixty-five years of age and married to a forty-four year old woman named Caudia (Candice). In the 1920 census, Perry and Caudia Devenport were both listed as photographers. Interestingly, Caudia is cited in a number of photography journals. She was on the necrology committee of the Professional Photographers Association of Texas according to the Bulletin of Photography (1917). The Photographic Journal of America (1917) announced that she had won some photography awards. To view other cabinet card photographs of African Americans, click on the category “African Americans”.
THREE INTRIGUING LOOKING MEN IN LWOW, POLAND
The three men posing for this portrait have an intriguing appearance. Who are these guys? What do they do for a living? They look like “tough guys”. The men are well dressed and are wearing terrific hats with brims folded in strategic places. All three men have neat mustaches and the fellow on the left is wearing wire rim glasses. The photo studio was named Kordyan and the studio was located in Lwow, Poland. In 1945, Lwow became part of the Ukraine and was called Lvov. In 1991, after Ukraine’s independence, the city was renamed Lviv. Research reveals that the studio Kordyan was opened on the 5th floor in a building now housing the “Old City Hostel”. The gallery existed in the building until 1914 and was owned by Bethold Feyershtayn. The address is currently known as 3 Klinskoho Street.
ATTRACTIVE VICTORIAN COUPLE IN NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND
Studio Karoly produced this cabinet card portrait of an attractive couple in Nottingham, England. The gentleman in the photograph has a terrific mustache, striped pants and a polka dot tie. Note his pocket watch and pocket handkerchief. He is fashionably dressed and so is his wife. She is holding flowers and is wearing a very busy hat. The photographer, Frederick Karoly is mentioned in The Law Times (1894) in regard to his entering bankruptcy. A photograph of Karoly’s appears in The Photogram (1895) in an article about artificial light portraiture.
NOVEL MUSTACHE IN WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA
This cabinet card features a gentleman with an unusual mustache. This style mustache could be labeled an “ear muff mustache”. The mustache looks like the man had been wearing ear muffs and they slid down his face stopping in a position where the furry ear coverings came to rest on his cheek and upper jaw, while the head band settled in a spot above his upper lip and below his nose. To view other interesting and unique mustaches, click on cabinet card gallery’s category “mustaches (Only the Best)”. The photographer of this image is T. W. Taylor. In advertising on the reverse of the photograph he has printed the name of his studio, “First Premium Gallery”. It was located at 10 West Gay Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The previous described advertising also indicates that in 1882 the studio won a “prize medal” for its use of Crayons. Thomas W. Taylor (1838-1904) is described by the Chester County Historical Society as operating one of the most prominent studios in West Chester. His photography career was interrupted by the Civil War. Taylor joined Company E of the 124th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He fought at Chancellorsville and Antietam. He entered the Union army as a private and mustered out as a corporal. He reopened his studio for business in 1863 and worked into the 1890’s.
FIREMAN IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA
Photographer John D. Strunk photographed this young fireman at his studio in Reading, Pennsylvania. The subject is wearing a dress uniform with buttons with the letters F. D. (Fire Department). He has a ribbon and medal pinned to his chest. He is handsome and has a terrific mustache. To view other firemen, click on the category “Firemen and Policemen”. Other photographs by Strunk can be viewed by clicking on the category “Photographer: Strunk”.
HE’S IN THE ARMY NOW…..THE SALVATION ARMY (PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA)
A young man, wearing a salvation army uniform, poses for his portrait at a studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The man has long hair and a great mustache. The photographer of this image was Frank A. Kroneberger (1847-?). The photographer’s studio was located at 1313 and 1315 Columbia Avenue. Kroneberger was born in Maryland and was of German heritage. He appears in the 1900 census as living in Philadelphia and working as a photographer. He was listed as being married to Henrietta Kroneberger since 1870 and as having three daughters (age 16 to age 21). Kroneberger had longevity in the field of photography. He is listed in various directories (from 1877 to 1918) as being a photographer. He appears to have started his career in Chester, Pennsylvania. To view other images of Salvation Army workers, click on the category “Salvation Army”.
STATELY COUPLE AND THEIR SAMOYED IN STUTTGART, GERMANY
A formally dressed couple pose for their portrait at the studio of Alfred Hirrlinger in Stutgart, Germany. Also appearing in the portrait is the couple’s family dog.The small long haired white pooch is possibly a young Samoyed or Spitz. Perhaps a visitor to the cabinet card gallery can give a more informed opinion in regard to the dog’s breed. Regardless of the dog’s pedigree, the canine seems to be having a lot more fun than its masters. The couple certainly seem to be quite intense. The husband has a terrific mustache which curls at its ends. He is wearing a pocket watch which can be seen behind his open jacket. The woman is wearing a necklace and collar pin. This photograph was taken after the turn of the century. The reverse of the photograph has a printed telephone number and displays four medals won by the studio between 1897 and 1902.
PORTRAIT OF A MAN WITH A NOTABLE MUSTACHE (BY SARONY OF NEW YORK)
Any aficionado of cabinet card photography knows that “they don’t make mustaches like they used to”. Men wore mustaches that were styled as if they were a work of art. The gentleman photographed in this cabinet card, has one of those terrific mustaches. His mustache is bushy in the middle and becomes radically bushy at its ends. To view other interesting mustaches, click on Cabinet Card Gallery’s category, “Mustaches (Only the Best). The gentleman in this image was photographed by Sarony, a highly respected celebrity photographer. Sarony’s studio was located at 680 Broadway in New York City, New York. To view more of Sarony’s photographs, click on Photographer: Sarony”.The subject of this photograph may have been an actor, or some other celebrated man of his time. There is no documentation available concerning the subject’s actual identity. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 