PORTRAIT OF A LOVELY YOUNG WOMAN IN MAYVILLE, NORTH DAKOTA

 

A well dressed pretty young woman poses for her portrait at the Dahl Brothers studio in Mayville, North Dakota. The woman is displaying a pretty smile and shows an air of confidence. She is wearing a locket on a long thin chain. In the book “An Illustrated History of Lyon County, Minnesota” (1912), by Arthur P. Rose, the author reports that Julius T. Dahl (1874-?) was operating a photo gallery in Marshall, Minnesota. Although born in Minnesota, Dahl moved to North Dakota with his family at an early age and lived with them on a farm. He stayed on the farm until twenty-five years of age when he learned photography and opened a gallery in Mayville. He operated his business there for three years and then opened a gallery in Kindred, North Dakota which remained in business for four years. In 1908 he began his photography studio in Marshall. In 1897 Dahl married Carrie Fatland. Wikipedia states that Mayville was founded in 1881 and named after “May Arnold”. What was May Arnold’s claim to fame? Apparently, she was the first white child born in the vicinity of the town. Not much of a claim to fame in my book but the 1880’s were a different era and a time characterized by more overt racism than today.  (SOLD)

Published in: on June 30, 2017 at 11:35 am  Comments (3)  
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PROFILE PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

This cabinet card features a profile portrait of a a very pretty young woman. The photograph was taken by the F. G. Schumacher Gallery of Photographic Art in Los Angeles, California. The subject of this photograph appears to be in her teenage years. An article in the Los Angeles Herald (1886) is quite complimentary of Mr Schumacher. He is described as “one of the best photographic artists on the coast”. He is also referred to as “a graduate of the famous studio of Bradley & Rulofson” in San Francisco. The article also reports that he had taken portraits of many celebrities and had a particular talent in photographing children and infants. (To view photographs by Bradley & Rulofson, click on category Photographer: Bradley & Rulofson).  Frank G. Schumaker (1861-1930?) was born in California. The University of California (Berkley) archives asserts that he established a photography studio in 1882 on North Spring Street in Los Angeles. He is listed in Los Angeles business directories from at least 1888 through 1904. Wilson’s Photographic Magazine (1897) printed an article entitled “Photographic Studies by Schumacher. The article praised his work.  “SOLD”

Published in: on June 4, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY AND SWEET TEENAGE GIRL IN AUBURN, NEW YORK

This cabinet card portrait features a sweet and attractive looking young woman posing for her portrait at the Ernsberger Fine Art Gallery in Auburn, New York. She appears to be in her teenage years and is well dressed and holding a fur muff. Note her stylish hat. An inscription on the reverse of the photograph indicates that it was taken in May, 1880. William H. Ernsberger was a popular Auburn photographer judging by the large number of photographs by him in the collection of early Auburn images held by the Cayuga Museum. He was born in nearby Trumansberg in 1844 and moved to Auburn in 1865. He operated a photo studio in Auburn for more than sixty years. He was known to have photographed abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) in 1908. At one point, his son Fred joined him in business. Ernsberger died in 1941. His obituary appeared in the Dunkirk Evening Observer. The article states that he was “reputedly” the oldest active photographer in the nation. He was 97 years old at the time of his death.

Published in: on May 30, 2017 at 12:39 pm  Comments (2)  
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PORTRAIT OF A FASHIONABLE YOUNG WOMAN (THE BUTTON LADY)

This cabinet card portrait features a well dressed young woman. She appears to be in her late teenage years. Her dress is adorned with an abundance of buttons as well as webbing and lace . She apparently liked jewelry as she is wearing a collar pin, a pin on her dress, and a couple of rings. She has very curly hair which she wears high on her head. She is displaying a half smile. The name of the photographer and the location of the studio are not listed on the photograph. This relatively close-up photograph has nice clarity and an unusual and interesting staging.   SOLD

Published in: on May 17, 2017 at 1:30 pm  Leave a Comment  

PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY TEENAGE GIRL IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (PHOTOGRAPH BY J. K. STEVENS)

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This cabinet card portrait of a pretty teenage girl is by esteemed Chicago photographer John Kimball Stevens. A number of photographs by Stevens can be viewed in the cabinet card gallery by clicking on the category “Photographer: Stevens”. Stevens operated his gallery out of the McVicker’s Theatre building. The young woman in this photograph is bright eyed and has a terrific pleasant expression. She is clearly holding back a smile. She apparently liked jewelry as evidenced by her interesting necklace, collar pin, and earrings.

A visitor to the Cabinet Card Gallery, named Jon, left a comment indicating that he had found a cabinet card image at a flea market that appeared to be the same woman as the one pictured above.He was kind enough to send a copy of the image that he found (see the image below). I definitely see the similarity in appearance that Jon is referring to. However, the woman in the top cabinet card has a rounded face and springy curls while the woman below has an oval face with thick tight curly hair. In addition, their eyes and smiles are vastly different. Both photographs were taken by the Stevens Gallery which was quite prolific. It is no surprise that they likely had many instances of photographing people that had similar appearance. Thank you Jon for sharing the photograph and your observations.
Reader photo sent Stevens

Published in: on March 26, 2017 at 7:15 am  Comments (9)  
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TINTYPE PORTRAIT OF TWO WELL DRESSED PRETTY WOMEN

This tintype portrait features two well dressed young women wearing fancy hats. The ladies are quite pretty. They are well adorned with jewelry. They seem unusually relaxed while having their photograph taken. I would love to know their story. This image is the second tintype to appear in the Cabinet Card Gallery. A tintype, also known as ferrotype, is a photograph made on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel. They were very popular during the 1860’s and 1870’s.

Published in: on March 23, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

I do not think it is an exaggeration to state that the young woman seen in this cabinet card portrait, is exquisitely beautiful. She is well dressed and well coiffed. She has lace at her collar and at the bottom of her sleeves. Her hair was meticulously prepared for this portrait. She is wearing star earrings and a ring. She is holding a folded fan decorated with feathers. John L. McCormick and his partner Sumner B. Heald (1835-1900) operated the Boston studio that produced this excellent portrait. Both McCormick and Heald are no strangers to the Cabinet Card Gallery. The two photographers have a number of photographs in the gallery that can be accessed by placing their last name in the site’s search box. Take a look at their work and learn a little bit more about McCormick and Heald. Interestingly, Heald supervised the portrait studio operated by famed Boston photographer, George K. Warren (1824-1884). Warren also has a large presence in the Cabinet Card Gallery. Heald oversaw the celebrity and theatrical portraits produced by the Warren Studio.   SOLD

Published in: on March 8, 2017 at 7:12 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A WELL DRESSED SERIOUS OLDER WOMAN IN CAMDEN, MAINE

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This vintage photograph features a portrait of a striking well dressed older woman. She is wearing a fancy dress, a boa, and leather gloves. She is also wearing jewelry including a necklace, watch, and earrings. Note her pretty, but very busy, hat. The woman is also wearing a very serious expression. She does not seem to be having a lot of fun having her portrait taken The photographer of this image is William V. Lane (1849-1903). He operated a studio in Camden, Maine.  He came to Camden and opened his gallery in 1883. He also had a branch gallery in Vinalhaven, Maine.  He resided in Camden for 15 years; and then moved to Boston, Massachusetts. While in Camden, Lane was the Chairman of the Board of Assessors and in that capacity, he promoted a new opera house in town.  He also served as the President of the Business Men’s Association and had a one year stint as Road Commissioner. To view other images by William Lane, click on the category “Photographer: Lane”.  This vintage photograph measures 5″ x 7″.

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Published in: on February 18, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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A PROFILE PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY WOMAN IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI (PHOTOGRAPHED BY A CIVIL WAR PHOTOGRAPHER)

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This cabinet card photograph features a profile view of a pretty young woman. She is wearing a high collar blouse and jacket. The young lady’s hair is worn up in a sweep and she is wearing earrings. The photograph was produced by the Carpenter Photographic Rooms in Kansas City, Missouri. Marion S. Carpenter was a daguerreotypist in Dayton, Ohio in 1850. He than conducted his photography business in Cincinnati at the Palace Art Studio between 1857 and 1865. During the Civil War he was a staff photographer for the United States Government. He photographed Abraham Lincoln on three occasions. After the war he went to Kansas City, Missouri where he continued to operate a photography business. The Bulletin of Photography (1913) notes his passing at age 84 while living in Kansas City. The notification indicates that he was still actively involved in business in 1913, the year of his death.

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Published in: on February 14, 2017 at 5:17 pm  Comments (3)  
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LOVELY YOUNG WOMAN AND A BOOK IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

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This cabinet card portrait features a lovely young woman holding an open book or magazine. She is nicely dressed and has accessorized herself with a bracelet, collar pin, and broach. She is displaying what appears to be a half smile. This photograph was taken at the Hardy Studio in Boston, Massachusetts. Amory Nelson Hardy (1835-1911) was born in Cumberland, Maine. He was married to Angeline Davis (1833-1920). In the beginning of his photography career he worked in Bucksport, Maine. He then moved to Boston and had a studio on Washington Street (1868, 1879-1887) and Winter Street (1873-1878). These dates are only a partial representation of his career. This photograph was taken at the Washington Street studio. To view other photographs by Hardy, click on the category “Photographer: Hardy”.   SOLD

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Published in: on February 2, 2017 at 10:01 pm  Comments (1)  
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