This vintage photograph features a pretty Japanese woman wearing a kimono. What is the woman posing next to? Is it a fountain? This photo might be part of a fashion shoot. Her kimono seems to be the center of the shot. (SOLD)
PORTRAIT OF THE SANTA CRUZ MUNICIPAL WHARF
This vintage photograph features the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. There are a number of interesting automobile diagonally parked in front of the building. In case you are wondering, yes, cars were driven on the wharf. The signs on the front of the building reveal much about the activities happening at the wharf. The sign on the far left announces that bait is available at the end of the wharf. The building has a window where people could order hamburgers, hot dogs, cold drinks, candy, and “smokes” from Cartwrights food stand. There are also posted speed limits; 15 mph for cars and 10 mph for trucks. The Santa Cruz Wharf opened in 1914. The reason for its construction was to provide a place to ship potatoes to San Francisco for the residents of mining camps in the Sierra Nevada. When roads were developed that provided efficient land routes for shipping products, the wharf’s focus turned to the north Monterey Bay fishing industry. When the fish and sardine population decreased, the wharf became a popular recreation destination. It remains so, today. The wharf is 2745 feet; the longest wooden wharf on the west coast. This image is from the circa 1930’s. This photograph measures about 5″ x 3 1/8″. SOLD
ISABELA DE SAGUA : THE VENICE OF CUBA (1910’S)
This vintage real photo postcard features a building in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba. The building is surrounded by water. One must walk across a dock in order to enter or exit the building. A sign on the building identifies it as “Aduana Sagua Grande”. The english translation reveals that the building is a customs house. Isabela de Sagua is a small town which was once one of Cuba’s major ports. Presently, it is a fishing enclave. The town is also referred to as Isabella and it possesses the nickname of “The Cuban Venice”. The village was founded in 1842. It is located in Cuba’s Villa Clara Province. In the 1800’s, Isabela was a very prosperous town. It was an import/export center and was very engaged in the sugar trade. At one point, there were over a hundred sugar plantations in the region. The village was famous for its stilted houses perched above the ocean. The poor economy and the pounding it experienced from multiple hurricanes, left few of these houses standing. The demise of the Cuban economy led to the demise of Isabela’s “glory days”. The “AZO” stamp box on this postcard indicates that it dates to sometime between 1910 and 1930. The photographer of this image is F. Carrandi. SOLD
ALOOF WOMAN IN MARIEVILLE, QUEBEC, CANADA
A woman poses for her portrait at the studio of A. L. Bisaillon in Marieville, Quebec, Canada. She displays a look of disinterest. Her expression looks like it belongs on a modern day drivers license, a portrait that few people put much effort into their appearance. The subject of this photograph does seem to care about jewelry, and that is reflected by the fact that she is wearing a great deal of it. She also is wearing a lace collar and black ribbon tie. Little information could be uncovered concerning Alphe-Leon Bisaillon, photographer of this image (SOLD)
AN ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL CRACKS SOME EGGS
“You’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette”. An adorable little girl stands on a chair as she prepares a meal of eggs. She holds a large frying pan in one hand and an egg in the other hand. Broken egg shells lie on the chair near her feet. The child has a sweet smile. This vintage postcard was published by Reunies de Nancy. Les Imprimeries Reunies de Nancy (IRN) was founded in Nancy, France in 1905. The firm was associated with the printers Humblot and Helmlinger. The company employed 400 workers. It’s founder was publisher Albert Bergeret (1859-1932). He headed the firm until his death in 1932. Bergeret was also an art industiralist and a member of the “Ecole de Nancy” movement, an Art Nouveau movement founded in 1901. Bergeret trained in Paris and learned several printing techniques. He first worked for Nancy Royer printing press in 1886. In 1898 he established his own business publishing postcards which later became “IRN” in 1905. At the 1900 Universal Exhibition, Bergeret won a Photography gold medal and a silver medal in Typography. This vintage postcard is part of the Bergeret series. SOLD
PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS (AFRICAN AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER)
This cabinet card photograph features a formally dressed young woman. The reverse of the photograph lists her name as “Marie Botana”. The inscription also reveals that the photo was taken in 1899. I have reason to believe that this image is a graduation photo. I hold that hypothesis because I found this cabinet card for sale along with a large group of similar portrait photographs; all featuring other young women. This cabinet card is of great interest because of the man who took the photo. The photograph was taken by Beckford Photo, a studio located in Boston, Massachusetts. David C. Beckford was African American. He received mention in the book, “Boston: Its Commerce, Finance, and Literature”. His studio is described as a leading photo studio in the country. The business was established in around 1872 as the Chickering Photo Company. The proprietor, Walter E. Chickering (not to be confused with Elmer Chickering, a well respected Boston photographer of the era) was a notorious swindler. He was especially known for his dishonesty and blatant resistance to paying his bills. Walter must have been a tough boss to tolerate. Beckford took over the business in 1888. Beckford’s establishment employed four assistants. Beckford was a native of Jamaica. He came to Boston in about 1872 and worked for Chickering for several years. According to one source, Beckford operated a Hardware business in Jamaica, at least part of the time, while he ran his photo studio in Boston. A Massachusetts directory of photographers asserts that Beckford was active as a photographer until 1909. Beckford is cited in an article appearing in the “Southern Workman” (1909). The title of the article was “Improvement in Housing Negroes in the North”. The writer states that Beckford had recently returned from a business trip to Jamaica where he directed the rebuilding of his properties; and reestablished his hardware business which had been destroyed in an earthquake. The “Southern Workman” article was the first reference that I found that indicated that David C. Beckford was a Black man. Examining the 1900 US census data provided confirmation that Beckford was indeed a Black man. Census data conflicted with other legal documents in regard to where Beckford was born. It appears he was born in either England or Jamaica. He was born in 1856 and immigrated to the United States in 1872. He married Elvira P. Gott in 1881. She was a Black woman born in Massachusetts. She was close in age to Beckford. Photographs by Black photographers are not common, making this image a great find. (SOLD)
PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE ADVERTISING CALENDAR : A GIRL AND HER DOG : (1910)
This vintage advertising postcard was published for “The Prudential Insurance Company”. The firm’s home office was in Newark, New Jersey. The company started in Newark in 1875 and only had one product, burial insurance. It’s founder, John F. Dryden, became a US Senator. This postcard delivers the message that Prudential’s customers and non-customers were were eligible to receive, free-of-charge, 8″ x 10″ calendars for 1910. The illustration on the front of this postcard shows a little girl and her small dog. The child is blowing bubbles from a bowl of soapy water that sits between her and her dog. This postcard has a Canadian stamp and a 1909 postmark from Peterboro, Ontario, Canada. Peterboro is located 78 miles northeast of Toronto, and was once known as “The Electric City”, because it was the first town in Canada to utilize electric streetlights. The postcard was mailed on December 28th, just a few days before the New Year. This vintage postcard is in good condition (see scans). SOLD
ADA RICHMOND: EARLY BURLESQUE ACTRESS AND IMPRESARIO (CABINET CARD)
This cabinet card features a portrait of burlesque actress and impresario, Ada Richmond. Richmond was from Chicago and when her businessman father died she was sent to Boston to study music. She was encouraged by a theater manager to try the burlesque stage and she became very successful in that genre of theater. The Milwaukee Daily Journal (1885) has an article in it’s theater section about the opening of Ada Richmond’s American Burlesque Company’s version of “The Sleeping Beauty”. She headed the company and performed in it. She was known as the “handsomest woman” on the burlesque stage. The article also points out that Ada Richmond was the widow of Billy Bost, a well known New York politician and “sporting character” who was shot and killed three years earlier in a political dispute. This cabinet card was photographed by celebrity photographer, Benjamin Gurney. Ada Richmond looks quite angelic in this portrait and is wearing exquisite matching jewelry. The photographer’s logo on the reverse of the photograph has a symbol with the following words “I have chained the sun to serve me”. This likely is an advertisement for the studio’s electric lights which would improve the quality of customer’s photographs. A stamp on the reverse of the cabinet card notes that it was part of the “Harold Seton” collection. Harold Seton was a journalist, author and collector of theatrical photographs. He wrote a column for Theatre Magazine. (SOLD)
PORTRAIT OF AN ADORABLE CHILD DEEP IN THOUGHT
This vintage real photo postcard features an adorable toddler deep in thought. The child is dressed in a very cute manner. This photograph was taken at the private studio of E. Bach. The embossed stamp seen in the bottom right hand corner of the image, indicates that the photo was taken in a Spanish speaking country. The word “calle” is Spanish for “street”. The Artura stamp box on the reverse of this postcard reveals that the postcard was published sometime between 1908 and 1924. This vintage portrait postcard is in very good condition. Note the adhered sticker with the number “8” on the bottom left hand corner of the card’s reverse (see scans).
Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #3281
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25.50 $
Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) 3281
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34.00 $
PRETTY WOMAN IN HER BATHING SUIT AT THE BEACH (RISQUE c1908)
This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman, clad in a bathing suit, sitting in a shaded wicker chair at the beach. She is wearing a necklace, two bracelets, and a straw hat. A magazine lies next to her on the seat of the chair. On the ground, in front of the chair, one can see her shoes and some other article of clothing. This is a “Rotophot” postcard, published by London’s, Giesen Brothers & Company. The postcard was printed in Berlin, Germany. The Rotophot firm had a number of affiliates scattered around Europe. The clover logo on the front of the postcard indicates that this postcard was produced by the Vienna (S. Blueh) branch of the company. This color tinted vintage portrait postcard is in very good condition (see scans). SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 