This cabinet card portrait features two adorable little boys dressed in sailor suits sitting on a faux mast. Nautical themes such as this one were popular during the cabinet card era. Interestingly, the producer of this image, was located in a seaside town. Maddock Brown & Company operated in Southport, England. SOLD
This cabinet card photograph features a fine gentleman wearing a ship captains cap and sitting between two beautiful finely dressed young women on a paddle boat. The women are holding the oars while the man rests on a blanket wrapped bench. I suppose this image has comical undertones. The boat on the lake looks like a real outdoor scene but it is most likely all taking place in a terrific well accessorized studio. The photographer of this unique image is Herrmann Witt and his studio was located in Lubbenau, Germany.
This cabinet card portrait features a little girl, dressed in traditional costume, waiting at a faux dock for a ship to arrive. It will be a long wait because she is standing inside the studio of Hermann Sontag (Art Publisher) which had two location inside of Germany. He had galleries in the towns of Wolgast and Zinnowitz. I understand why the words “Kunst-Verlag” (Art Publishing) is beside Mr. Sontag’s name. The backdrop in this portrait is masterful as is Sontag’s use of props (trunks and fishing nets). The child in this portrait is adorable. Note her interesting shoes and that she is holding a bouquet of flowers.
T. F. Langhans is the photographer of this cabinet card portrait featuring four sweet boys wearing sailor suits. Langhans’s studio was located in Prague, Czechoslovakia. An advertisement on the cabinet card states “Photographe de la Cour D’Autriche” which translated means “Photographer of the Court of Austria”. To learn more about Langhans and view more of his images, click on the category “Photographer: Langhans”.
This cabinet card portrait features a young boy wearing a sailor’s uniform at the wheel of a faux ship located at the Solano Art Studio in Vallejo, California. The photographer is Charles McMillan. The little sailor’s uniform looks very realistic and his hat and lanyard are a nice touch. The backdrop, depicting the sea, is also quite effective. However, the photographer’s use of a fur on the deck was certainly not consistent with the nautical scene he was trying to create. The book “Vallejo” (2004) by James E. Kern, includes an 1895 photograph of Charles McMillan’s studio. The building was located at 314 Georgia Street. McMillan was born in Canada in 1853. He began his photography career at the age of sixteen in Chicago, Illinois. He moved to California in 1879 and became a travelling photographer. He operated his studio out of a tent. He eventually decided to settle down and opened a studio in Vallejo. One source reports that McMillan was such a success upon opening his studio that the competing photographer in town was forced to move his business elsewhere. In 1883 McMillan married Californian Isabell Floto.
A little boy wearing a sailor suit poses for his portrait in London, England. The boy is adorable and he is posed beautifully sitting on a faux rock with his arms folded against his chest. He is wearing a straw hat and a terrific grin. The photographer is the W & D Downey studio. This studio was well known and highly respected in England. They advertised themselves as photographers specially appointed to photograph the imperial and royal families of Europe. To view other photographs by this studio, click on the category “Photographer: Downey”.
A young boy wearing a sailor suit poses for his portrait at the Clark studio in Barre, Vermont. The boy is well dressed and very clean cut. A. F. Clark is listed as a photographer in a Barre business directory from 1891. He is also listed in the 1900 US census as a single 41 year-old photographer.
A ten year-old boy named Horace H. Justice Jr. poses proudly in a sailor suit at the studio of Anderson & Hartshorn in Dayton, Ohio. Horace’s naval cap displays the name “Dewey” rather than the more typical ship name. Admiral George Dewey (1837-1917) was a US naval officer best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish American War. He came home to the United States and was received as a conquering war hero. Young Horace is clearly paying tribute to Admiral Dewey. The Spanish American War era was a time marked by a escalation of patriotism in the United States and this image provides an illustration of this nationalistic fervor. It is also possible that Horace’s father may have served with Admiral Dewey and that Horace Jr. is emulating Horace Sr.. Initial research found a Horace J. Justice living in Dayton. The 1900 US census reveals that Justice was married to Mattie Justice 1885) and at the time of the census, they had a twelve year old son also named Horace. Horace Justice Sr. is mentioned in many Dayton city directories from 1871 through 1909. He worked many years as a travelling salesman. It could not be established that Horace Sr. was in the armed forces. It appears that Horace Jr was born in 1888 and died in 1948. Information was also found about the photographers. Photographer James Otto Hartshorn was a leading Dayton photographer. He was born in Ohio in 1869. A Dayton history book reveals that he was “deprived” of his parents when he was thirteen years-old and forced to live with various friends. He worked on a farm until he turned eighteen and and then moved to Dayton and for a short time worked in a cotton batting factory. In 1888 he became employed in a photography studio where he learned to become a very skilled photographer. In 1891 he married Ella M. Huesman of Dayton. In 1894 Hartshorn partnered with Charles F. Anderson and opened up the studio that produced the portrait of Horace Justice Jr..
The salty gentleman featured in this cabinet card photograph appears to be a uniformed US merchant ship captain. The seaman is wearing a badge depicting an anchor on his chest. He also has stars on his sleeves and is wearing lapel pins. H. F. Hatch of New Bedford, Massachusetts is the photographer. An advertisement on the reverse of the image advertises that the gallery sells one dozen cabinet cards for five dollars. Such a deal! Henry F. Hatch is listed in the 1880 census. The document reports that he was born in Massachusetts in 1837. He was married to Etta Hatch and they were living together in New Bedford with their daughter Cecila (age 18). Henry was working as a photographer. Business directories from New Bedford indicate that he worked as a photographer from at least 1865 through 1895. Research uncovered an 1880’s advertising trade card for Hatch’s studio. The advertising copy on the card must have put fear in the hearts of the young mothers of New Bedford. The trade card’s copy stated that “Hatch loves to take babies”. It would be amazing if the trade card encouraged any parents to take their babies to the studio. However, it is not amazing that a New Bedford photographic studio produced a portrait of a ship captain. New Bedford is nicknamed “The Whaling City” because in the nineteenth century it was one of the most important whaling and fishing ports in the United States.
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”.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 