PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN IN ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS

marsh

I tend to buy nice cabinet card images by photographers named “Marsh”. I do so because my last name is also “Marsh”. None of the photographers are my relatives because my earlier American ancestors were not named Marsh and the name “Marsh” was an Ellis Island invention. Levi Marsh is the photographer who took the cabinet card portrait above. He operated a studio in Adams, Massachusetts. The North Adams Transcript (1954) described him as a “one-armed photographer”. Levi was born in Canada in 1846 and immigrated to the United States in 1865. He married Blanche Knight Marsh in 1868 and appears to have married again in about 1885 to Elmeda Marsh. He is listed as a photographer in Adams in the 1870, 1880, and 1900 US censuses. Levi Marsh died in Adams in 1901. This cabinet card features a young woman wearing a ruffled  high collar dress. She appears a bit bewildered in this photograph indicating she did not have a great degree of comfort in front of the camera.

marsh 1

Published in: on May 15, 2016 at 7:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

PRETTY AND FASHIONABLE TEENAGER IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS (CARTES DE VISITE)

worcester

A pretty young woman poses for her portrait at a studio belonging to photographer C. R. B. Claflin in Worcester, Massachusetts. I suspect that the woman in this photograph is in her teenage years. She is handsomely dressed in her high collared tailored dress. She is wearing a pin on her dress as well as earrings. The reverse of this cartes de visite image reveals that the photograph was taken in 1879, during the transition from cdv’s to cabinet cards. Note the misspelling on the reverse of the cdv. The word “Photographer” is spelled as “Photographir”. It seems unlikely that Mr. Claflin was unaware of the printer’s error. My guess is that he felt a need to not waste his money and utilized the card stock despite the mistake. Charles Ripley Burnett Claflin (1817-1897) was a photographer during many decades. He operated studios in Worcester during part of the 1850’s through part of the 1890’s. On of his images appears in the book American Victorian Costume in Early Photographs (2013). Claflin was married to Emma Claflin.   SOLD

worcester 1

Published in: on May 10, 2016 at 2:00 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

STUNNING WOMAN IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN (WEARING AN INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL HAT)

stunner

A very pretty young woman is seen in this cabinet card portrait from the Sutter studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The woman is wearing a fabulously unusual hat. The photographer of this lovely portrait is Henry S. Sutter. Research reveals that he also is referred to as Harry S. Sutter. He was born in Switzerland in 1853 and immigrated to the United States two years later. He was trained as a photographer by the Green & White studio in 1870. He began his own photography business by taking over Clifford & Gibson’s studio in 1874, ten years after it’s establishment. A number of resources mention that Sutter was a highly successful businessman. “The Industrial History of Milwaukee (1886) reported that Sutter was making $25,000 a year from his studio.

Published in: on April 18, 2016 at 7:51 pm  Comments (1)  
Tags: , ,

PRETTY FASHIONABLE YOUNG WOMAN IN CLEVELAND, OHIO

liebich

This cabinet card portrait features a pretty and fashionable young woman. She was posed in a manner which suggests she was having a pensive moment. The photographer of this image is either Moritz or Arthur K. Liebich. Arthur K. Liebich (1834-1905) was an active photographer in Cleveland between 1874 and his death in 1905. He was the son of Moritz S. Libich (1825-1888) who was born in Germany and came to America in 1862. Moritz was a trained artist and he taught art for twelve years at the Jewish Orphan Asylum. Moritz was of the Jewish faith. Moritz and his son Arthur opened their studio on the corner of Ontario and Huron in 1876. In 1885 they added a branch studio on Broadway. In 1890 they moved their primary studio to a street called Euclid. Moritz was married to Alice Gerlach while in Germany and the couple had five children. Moritz’s son Arthur was born in Germany. Arthur came to Cleveland in 1863. He began his photography career working with William Case North and than joined his father’s studio eventually becoming partners with his father (1881-1888).Arthur was a major in the Spanish American War with the Cleveland regiment. In 1881 he married Alice Lacey of Aurora. An interesting fact about the reverse of this cabinet card is that the Liebich’s gallery had a slogan which appears on the card. The quotation is “The light that serves me shines for all.” Research reveals that this slogan appears on the reverse of a number of other Ohio photographer’s cabinet cards. “The Daily Record” (2003), a small Ohio newspaper describes a cabinet card from Harrington’s Gallery (Orville, Ohio) as having the same company motto. In addition, Teeple’s French Light Galleries (Wooster and Ashland, Ohio) also used the same quotation. Research failed to find the origin of this quotation or for it’s relevance in cabinet card photography. (SOLD)

liebich 2

Published in: on April 9, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY FASHIONISTA WITH A TERRIFIC SMILE

pretty model

This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman who knows how to dress. She is clearly a fashionista. However, it is unknown whether she is modeling in this photo portrait or is some sort of performer. She has a terrific smile. This postcard appears to be from the 1930’s. The postcard was published by “K Ltd” sometime between 1918 and 1936.

pretty model 2

Published in: on March 29, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (4)  
Tags: ,

PORTRAIT OF A BLIND WOMAN WEARING A FUR COAT (CABINET CARD)

putnam

According to the inscription on the reverse of this cabinet card, the subject of this photograph is named Gertrude N. Putnam. The inscriber also mentions that Ms Putnam is a cousin of Lucy S Mckay. This image is novel for a number of reasons. First, note that Gertrude is wearing a pair of dark glasses. Is it safe to assume that she is blind? Second, Gertrude is wearing a fur coat. Remember this is before PETA days so she can wear the coat with little or no guilt. The final unusual feature of this photograph is it’s somewhat unusual sized (6 1/2″ x 2 3/4″). Unfortunately, little can be learned about Gertrude Putnam because the name and location of the photographer who took this photograph is unknown and there is no shortage of Gertrude N. Putnams’ during the cabinet card era.

putnam 1

Published in: on March 26, 2016 at 2:49 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

THREE EXPRESSIVE WOMEN WITH HATS (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

three ladies

This vintage real photo postcard features three well dressed women wearing interesting hats and interesting expressions. The two women on the right have countenances like the “cat that ate the canary”. The ladies were photographed by an unknown studio at an unknown location. The “AZO” stamp box indicates that the postcard was published sometime between 1904 and 1918.

Published in: on March 2, 2016 at 4:45 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY WOMAN IN LEICESTER, ENGLAND (CARTES DE VISITE)

drinkwater

This cartes de visite  (CDV) portrait features a fashionable pretty woman with a serious expression. Note her pretty hat and lace collar. The woman’s photograph was taken by photographer William Edward Drinkwater who operated a studio in Leicester, England.

Published in: on February 6, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

PORTRAIT OF A STRIKING YOUNG WOMAN BY B. J. FALK (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

striking

This vintage real photo postcard features a portrait of a very beautiful young woman. She has long hair and is wearing a spanish style scarf. The photograph was taken by the great American celebrity photographer B. J. Falk. His name is in very small print slightly to the left and above the bottom right corner of the postcard.  The publisher was A. G. Steglitz  (NPG) in Berlin, Germany.  The postcard is used and is postmarked 1905.  (SOLD)

striking 2

Published in: on February 4, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

PRETTY WOMAN WEARING A BIRD NEST HAT

bird nest

This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty woman wearing a bird nest hat. At least it looks like a bird nest. This young woman has the beauty to wear this unusual hat and look terrific rather than silly. The postcard is of French origin and was published in Paris. The Publisher’s logo “LL” can be seen on the front of the postcard. The postcard is part of a series (#123). “LL” postcards were produced for France, England, United States, and other nations. For many years postcard collecting experts believed the logo stood for Louis Levy but there was no real supporting evidence and that belief died around 1991. Later research arrived at the conclusion that the initials “LL” stand for (Moyse) Leon and his son-in-law (Isaac) Levy. Leon and Levy began their career as assistants with the Parisian photographic studio Ferrier-Souilier. The pair began their own photographic studio in 1862. Leon and Levy’s studio won a gold medal at the 1867 Universal Exhibition. Leon left the partnership in 1872 and Levy kept the business going and continued to use the “LL” logo. The company was renamed Levy Fils et Cie. Levy died in 1913 and the company was later bought by the printer Emile Crete.

 

Published in: on January 26, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
Tags: , , , , , ,
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »