A pretty woman poses for her portrait at the studio of R. A. Bonine, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The studio was located on 14th Street. The woman in the photograph is beautifully dressed and looks terrific in her dress; a fact not lost to the photographer who took a portrait of the woman that captures her, head to toe. This image is nicely done. The pose integrates the chair and curtain for balance and the swirl in the curtain along side the swirl in the woman’s dress enhances the image. Saying it simply, this is a beautiful portrait. The photographer, Robert Atkinson Bonine (1838-?) moved his photography business from Holidaysburg to Altoona, Pennsylvania, in 1878. He came to Altoona with his wife, Matilda Hollinger (1838-?), whom he married in 1860. When Bonine wasn’t producing photographs, he was producing children. He and his wife had eleven children. A number of his children entered the field of photography. One of his sons, Robert Kates Bonine (1862-1923) was a well known film maker of travelogues. He was employed twice by Edison, and also worked for the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. His work included films about the Klondike Gold Rush, the San Francisco Earthquake, Yosemite, Japan and China.
A PRETTY WOMAN IN ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 