Sharing is never easy for siblings but these three children appear to be doing a pretty good job of avoiding combat over rights to the toy rocking horse. The children, dressed in white sailor type suits are quite adorable. None of the three kids look all too happy posing for photographer Louis Heuser. Heuser’s name is stamped on the reverse of the photograph but no address is given. Research was not productive in finding the location of Mr. Heuser’s studio.
This family portrait features a mother and father along with their five children. Mom and one of her daughters are holding umbrellas while dad balances a book on his knee. The eldest son is wearing a sailor suit and has his arm wrapped around his little brother who is sitting on a tricycle. Another brother stands alone on the opposite side of the wall than where the rest of his family is located. Does this have some psychological meaning, or is this just where he was posed by the photographer. The photographer is the Perez studio which was located in San Paulo, Brazil.
Three adorable kids wearing doilies (just kidding) around their neck pose for their portrait at the Williams & Norton studio in San Francisco. The studio was located at 914 Market Street. The child in the middle is holding a walking stick with a string. All three kids are sitting on a pile of hay. It is likely that the children are siblings. W. I. Williams was partners with Norton between 1885 and 1886.
The Huntington & Clark studio of Detroit, Michigan, produced this wonderful photograph of an adorable little girl and her toy wooden wagon. The child’s hair is well styled and she is wearing a pretty frilly dress. Historical author, Thomas Yanul included Frank Scott Clark (1865-1937) in his series “Business & the Baroque: Six Portrait Photographers of America”. Clark was born in Peru, Indiana and claimed that his family lived in America during Revolutionary War times. Clark began his work career by working many different jobs in eastern United States and Canada. Around 1880 Clark was hired by prominent background painter, Lafayette W. Seavey. Seavey was very popular during the cabinet card era. Clark was then hired by a friend of Seavy who happened to be famed New York portrait photographer, Napoleon Sarony. Clark was involved with creating, making and setting up backgrounds for Sarony. He also worked as a camera operator. He worked several years with Sarony and also studied and was employed briefly with celebrated New York photographer, Jose Maria Mora. In the next phase of his career, he worked doing portraits, backgrounds, and theater scenery. In 1892, Clark moved to Detroit and managed the the Charles A. Millard studio estate. In 1894, Clark partnered with George Huntington and they worked together until 1903 when Clark began operating a studio on his own. The above portrait was taken during this partnership. Clark prospered and became very involved with Detroit’s upper crust. He not only served as their photographer but he also was active in their sport, social, literary and art circles. In his narrative, Yanul states that Clark “became a larger than life character of the Detroit scene”. He describes Clark as being a “slightly bohemian figure”. Yanul adds that Clark had a charismatic personality, dressed in an artistic fashion, and was quite intellectual.
An adorable curly haired little girl poses with her doll in a stroller in front of a water scene backdrop at the studio of T. S. Hawke in Watertown, New York.
Photographer Arturo Stinco took this wonderful portrait of a young boy and his pedal car. The boy has long hair and is wearing a large bow. Judging by his clothing and his expensive toy car, he is likely from a very well-to-do family. The boy’s name is written on the reverse of the photograph. His name is Carlos Aguerra (possibly Aguerro). The photographer’s studio was located in the Argentinian town of Coronel Suarez. This town was founded in 1883 and is in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina. It was named after Manuel Isidoro Suarez (1799-1841) who was an Argentinian army colonel who fought in wars of independence against the Spanish.
This cabinet card photograph captures two girls playing a board game. It would be nice to see the kids of today spending a little time playing board games instead of isolating themselves in front of their computer or video game system. Hopefully, a member of the “vast unpaid research department” of the cabinet card gallery will leave a comment identifying the game that these girls are playing. This photograph was produced by The Eclipse Photo Company which was located at 103 Seven Sisters Road. Where is Seven Sisters Road? Printing on the reverse of the photographs states “103 Seven Sisters Road N.” What is “N”? Perhaps “N” means North or the abbreviation for a City or Province. Research reveals that a “Seven Sisters Road” exists in London, England.
A little girl poses with her doll and toy stroller at C. B. Long’s Elite Studio. The child has a serious expression highlighted by her pursed lips. She is posed somewhat distant from the camera so she and her doll do not fill much of the image. The backdrop seems to somewhat dominate the photograph. Research yielded little information about C. B. Long other than one article appearing in the St. Louis and Canadian Photographer (1900) which announced that Long had sold his gallery in Wesley, Iowa. That information does not necessarily mean that this portrait comes from that particular studio because it was not unusual for photographers to move from place to place during the course of their business career.
This cabinet card features a rare prop. The photograph captures two young girls swinging on a wooden swing set under the watchful eye of their mother. Although individual swings are not an unusual prop in cabinet card photography, this is the first cabinet card that I have seen which displays an entire swing set. In addition, most cabinet photos of swings are taken in studio, while this image appears to have been taken outside. Looking at the children’s faces under magnification shows that at least the oldest child appears to be enjoying herself as she poses for this picture. The older girl possesses a big smile. The jury is out on whether the youngest girl is having a good time. One of the girls appears to have lost her hat. Note the upside down hat on the ground below the swing. Both the name of the photographer of this image, as well as the location of photographer’s studio, is unknown.
Photographer P. Veling & Bro produced this portrait of a boy and his tricycle. Note the clarity of the trike in this image. The child is dressed adorably and is wearing a wonderful hat. This studio photograph was taken in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. The photographer, Peter Veling was born in Germany in 1855. He immigrated to the United States as a baby. He married his wife, Theresa, in 1881. He is listed as a photographer in the 1880, 1900, and 1910 US censuses. However, the 1920 census indicates that Veling had became the postmaster of Beaver Dam.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 