PORTRAIT OF AN ADORABLE TRIO OF LITTLE GIRLS PERFORMING A CHARITY CONCERT (1906)

This vintage real photo postcard features three precious little girls performing a charity concert. The girl’s musical instruments include a squeeze box, a pipe, and a violin. I hope I identified the instruments correctly as my knowledge of such things is limited. In fact, I would settle for accurately identifying two out of three of the musical instruments. The photographer of this image used some interesting props. Note the music stand, sheet music, and the sign stating “Charity Concert”. I particularly like the violinist’s hat. I could imagine a present day blues player wearing such a hat. This postcard was published by the Rapid Photo Printing Company. The company existed between 1901 and 1910. It was located in London. The company is best known for their portraits of actresses. The card was part of the “Real Silverprint Photograph Series (no.2728). This English postcard was postmarked in 1906. The card is addressed to someone at the “Semore Convalescent Home”. This vintage postcard is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #3303

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Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) 3303

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Published in: on November 27, 2020 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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HANDSOME FASHIONABLE GENTLEMAN IN VIENNA AUSTRIA (CABINET CARD)

This cabinet card portrait features a handsome and well dressed gentleman in Vienna, Austria. He looks like he stepped off the pages of Gentleman’s Quarterly. The photographer of this image is Salomon Weitzmann (1866-1912). He was born in the Ukraine and died in Vienna. He was a talented lensman and one of the Cabinet Card Gallery’s favorite photographers. In fact, this photograph is the fifth Weitzmann image to appear in the Gallery’s collection. This antique photograph has excellent clarity and is in good condition (see scans). SOLD

Published in: on November 26, 2020 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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TEENAGE GIRL IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK

This scalloped cabinet card features a slim figured teenage girl. She is wearing a necklace and earrings. The reverse of the photograph has a stamp which identifies the photographer as Thomas Ryerse and lists his address as 31 Emslie Street in Buffalo, New York. He is listed in the 1893 Buffalo directory as a photographer at the Emslie address. To view other photographs by Ryerse, click on the category “Photographer: Ryerse”.   SOLD

Published in: on November 25, 2020 at 12:01 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MISS GERTIE MAY : PRETTY ACTRESS : BACKGROUND INFO INACCESSIBLE (1907)

This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty actress named Gertie May. She has beautiful flowing dark hair and is flashing a wonderful half smile. Miss May is nearly surrounded by flowers. Preliminary research uncovered “bubkes”. I would welcome any information about this performer. This postcard was produced by Rotary Photo as part of a series (no.1976 A). The card has a 1907 postmark from Manchester, England. This wonderful portrait of Miss May, was taken by Dover Street Studios. The studio was active between circa 1906 and circa 1912. The gallery specialized in taking theatrical portraits and was located in London, England. They were the successors to the Biograph Studios as well as Adart (a studio that took advertising photos). SOLD

Published in: on November 24, 2020 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PRETTY JAPANESE WOMAN WEARING A KIMONO

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)

Published in: on November 22, 2020 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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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

Published in: on November 21, 2020 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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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

Published in: on November 17, 2020 at 12:22 am  Leave a Comment  
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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)

Published in: on November 15, 2020 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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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

Published in: on November 14, 2020 at 3:45 pm  Leave a Comment  
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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)

Published in: on November 13, 2020 at 12:32 pm  Comments (1)  
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