This cabinet card features a mustachioed young man dressed in his sport clothing and standing beside his bicycle. At the time of this photograph, bike riding was a popular sport and many riders were members of bicycle clubs. Note that this gentleman is wearing knickers. This photograph was taken at the Lawrence studio in Chicago, Illinois. The photographer of this image was Adolph P. Lawrence who operated a studio in Chicago between 1887 and 1900. SOLD
A young boy, looking quite unhappy, poses for his portrait at the William Meyer studio in Chicago, Illinois. His arms are folded across his chest but it looks as if they won’t stay there long because standing in front of him are a pair of Indian Juggling Clubs. It is as if the boy is preparing to give a juggling exhibition or to exercise. Juggling these pins was a good workout as they were quite heavy. some exercise. Clubs like these were very popular during the health mania of the late Victorian period. A picture of a pair of Indian clubs from the late nineteenth century can be seen below (Source: Wikipedia). William Meyer is listed in a number of the Chicago business directories including 1880,1885, and 1892. His address in 1892 was Clybourn Avenue which indicates that this image was produced before that date.
Two women pose for their portrait at the studio belonging to W. Allderige in Plainville, Connecticut. One of the ladies is holding a tennis racquet but she is holding it in a way that may indicate that she was not a tennis player. Since she is not displaying a proper grip of the racquet, the tennis racquet may just be a prop in the photographers studio. The previous owner of this photograph contended that the two women in this image are actually cross dressing men. Perhaps the former owner was just trying to increase the sales value of the photograph. I would be interested in hearing the opinion of some of the visitors to the cabinet card gallery on this matter. Research discovered some information about photographer William Allderige. He was born in Birmingham, England in 1854. He worked as a shipping clerk for a carrying company and then as a cashier and bookkeeper for a railway company. In 1856 he immigrated to the United States and settled briefly in Northampton, Massachusetts. He then moved to New York City where he studied photography and when proficient, he returned to Northampton and became a traveling photographer. His next business move was to open photography studios in Connecticut. In 1859 he opened a studio in Plainville which he operated for over forty years. He ran a studio in New Britain from 1870 through 1877 which his son took over and operated until 1898. In 1886 he started a studio in Farmington. Allderige was very busy conducting business but he still found time to marry Sarah Dawson in 1848.
This cabinet card features a group portrait of four woman, one man, and two children dressed for tennis and all the individual’s except the children are holding tennis rackets. According to an inscription on the reverse of the photograph, the image was produced in 1890 The photographer and the studio’s location are unknown. All the individuals in the photograph are wearing terrific hats. The gentleman in the image is wearing a bow tie. Can you imagine Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras wearing bow ties as they battled for victory in an important tennis tournament? Cabinet Cards with a tennis theme are not extremely rare. The sport of tennis was well established during the cabinet card era. In fact, a version of the game of tennis has been around for centuries. The rules of the game have not changed much since the 1890’s. The Wimbledon tournament in London, England has been played since 1877. The US Open began in 1881 and it was first played in Newport, Rhode Island.
This cabinet card is a portrait of a horse racing jockey wearing his colors. The photograph was taken by the Record & Epler studio in Saratoga, New York. According to the printing on the reverse of the photograph, the studio was located on the corner of Broadway and Phila Street. To view other photographs by this studio, click on category “Photogapher: Record & Epler”. Saratoga is a resort and horse racing town. The Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs. The track opened in 1863.
This photograph features the Hillsboro High School basketball team. The team proudly poses with a trophy basketball marking their championship season of 1900-1901. The name “Bob” is written above the second boy to the left in the back row. Could any of these boy been future Wisconsin Badger basketball players? It is certainly a possibility that one of these guys may have played college basketball with the Badgers. The Wisconsin Badger basketball program played their first game in 1899. In 1906-1907 season they won their first share of a Big Ten championship.The likely photographer of this image is Earle D. Akin. The town of Hillsboro was named for early settler Valentia Hill and his brothers. They arrived in the area beginning in 1850. Many of the earliest settlers were of German descent. They were followed by many Czech settlers and in fact, Hillsboro was known as the “Czech Capital of Wisconsin”. When the town was settled, it did not take much time for a saw mill to arrive, followed by stores , a blacksmith, a hotel, and a school, as well as a grist mill established along the Barabee River. In the 1880’s dairy farms and a creamery began business in Hillsboro.
A young baseball player in uniform, poses for a photographer at an unknown studio in this antique photograph. Did he play for the Manhattan College Jaspers? Lets investigate some college and baseball history! Manhattan College, a Catholic school, was established in 1853 as the Academy of the Holy Infancy. The school became a college in 1859 and the schools name became Manhattan College in 1863. The school coexisted with Manhattan College High School, which was originally founded in 1854. The high school served as a prep school and many of its graduates went on to attend Manhattan College. Manhattan College had a baseball team early in its history as well as early in baseball’s history. The college played the New York Giants annually in the late 1880’s and into the 1890’s. They played their games at the Polo Grounds. An interesting side note is that Manhattan College is credited by Baseball’s Hall of Fame, as creating the “seventh inning stretch” which was later adopted by the Major Leagues. In addition, 28 players from Manhattan College have made it to Major League Baseball. The Manhattan College team is named the “Jaspers” The name originates from an individual, Brother Jasper, who served the college in the late nineteenth century and brought baseball to the school. He also was the teams first coach. The question remains; is the player in the photograph a former member of the collegiate Jaspers? Is he a former member of the prep school team; or is he a member of some other team from a non New York town called Manhattan? Perhaps a visitor to this site will pitch hit for this writer and determine just which Manhattan team this young man played for.
This cabinet card is a portrait of eight very athletic looking men. The men are dressed very similarly. Their pants appear to be identical and they each are wearing a wide white belt around their waists. The image presents a number of questions. Are these Aussie blokes wearing a uniform? Are they members of a sports team? Are they wearing work clothing and all share the same occupation? Hopefully some Cabinet Card Gallery visitors will leave a comment that gives their opinion as to the answers to the aforementioned questions. The photographer of this image is Herbst of Sydney, Australia. He is mentioned in a number of Sydney newspapers published in the 1890’s. Advertisements for his studio appear in the newspapers, and there is mention of some of the notables he photographed.
This cabinet card photograph captures two young men posing with their bicycles. They are wearing similar and unusual outfits. it looks like they are wearing the predecessor to “hoodies”. However, rather than hoods, it appears that they are wearing capes. Both guys are also wearing flowers pinned to their chest. Are these fellows about to ride in a parade? Are they wearing typical bike riding outfits? Hopefully, a visitor to the cabinet card gallery will leave an informative comment concerning the subjects outfits. The photographer of this image is M. R. Cole of Peck, Michigan. Cole is listed in a 1904 Michigan directory as a photographer and a jeweler.
This cabinet card features a young boy holding a tennis racquet as he stands along side his two sisters. The children are adorable, but the youngest girl appears absolutely terrified. The boy is wearing a sailor suit outfit. The name of the photographer and the location of the studio is unknown.
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