This original carte de visite features a wonderful portrait of a young woman. The photographer, J. E. James adeptly captured a photo of the woman as she appeared deep in thought or worry. I think she looks sad. She is wearing a crossed ribbon with a large pin just under her lace collar. Does the ribbon indicate that she is in mourning or is it just an accessory. Note the young lady’s cute curls. The photographer of this cdv image is no stranger to me. I have another carte de visite by Mr.James. This second cdv is also one of high quality in regard to reflecting the photographer’s talent for recording emotion via photography. What do we know about Mr James? The J. E. James studio was located in Galena, Illinois. James Edward James (1842-1878) was born in Liverpool, England. After immigrating to the United States he served in the 96th Illinois Infantry (Company A) during the civil war. He entered the service as a Private but was discharged as a Commissary Sergeant. He died while still a young man and left his wife Kitty to raise their four children and operate his photographic studio. (SOLD) 
This cabinet card portrait features an elegant looking and well dressed older gentleman. The previous owner of this photograph reported that the gentleman is named Jakob Fausel and that this photo was dated 1910 and was found in a family album. The photographer was Henry D. Schoerry of New York City. Schoerry was born in Germany in 1854 and emigrated to America in 1870. He began working as a photographer in the 1880’s. (SOLD)
A young farmer is captured in this vintage snapshot photograph riding on his Zetor 25 diesel tractor. He looks proud atop his farm vehicle and happy to be out in the fields. Although most of us have never heard of the Zetor brand, the company is one of the best known tractor manufacturers in Europe. There are nearly one and a half million Zetor tractors in use today in over ninety nations scattered around the world. The vehicles are manufactured by the company in Brno, Czech Republic. The company was founded in 1946. It’s first model was named Zetor 25, and this photograph features one of those models. The Zetor 25 was produced until 1961. This photograph measures about 2 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ and is in good condition (see scans). Note the small ink spots slightly above the bottom left corner.
POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)
POSTCARD 1 (CLOSE-UP) (SOLD)
POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)
POSTCARD 2 (CLOSE-UP) (SOLD)
POSTCARD 1
POSTCARD 2
This vintage real photo postcard is striking. The photograph features a young Native American mother and her small child. The mother and her baby are members of Florida’s Seminole tribe. The mother appears quite young. My guess is that she is about sixteen years-old. She is pretty and her child is adorable. Who are the Seminole? They are a tribe that originally lived in Florida. In present times, the majority of the Seminoles live in Oklahoma. The EKC stamp box on the reverse of this photo postcard indicates it was published sometime between 1930 and 1950. The postcard is in good condition. There is a tiny pinhole located at the center bottom of the card. It is undetectable in the scans. It is only apparent if the postcard is held up to a bright light. (see scans).
This vintage real photo postcard features American stage and film actress, Mayo Methot (1904-1951). Until encountering this postcard, I had never heard of Miss Methot. However, a Hollywood historian would easily recognize her name. The exact reason for her name recognition will become apparent in just a bit. Methot’s acting career spanned between 1909 and 1940. She was married three times and divorced three times. Her third husband was actor Humphrey Bogart. Their seven year marriage, beginning in 1938, is one of the reasons she is known by Hollywood aficionados. Their marriage was turbulent. The press reported many of their violent fights. The press called them the “Battling Bogarts”. Methot struggled with alcoholism and was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic after she attempted suicide in 1943. Methot appeared in over 30 films, as well as many Broadway productions. The IBDb credits her with 11 appearances in Broadway shows. She was raised in Portland, Oregon, where she began her theater career at the age of 5. She was a prolific child actress and continued to perform in Portland through the 1910’s and 1920’s. In 1922 she moved to New York to pursue a career in Broadway theater. After starring in more than ten Broadway shows, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1930. She emigrated to the west coast to begin a film career. She was signed by Warner Brothers and appeared in a variety of supporting roles. She often portrayed hard edged women. The IMDb credits Methot with 28 film appearances between 1930 and 1940. After divorcing Bogart, Methot’s film career stalled and she returned to Portland. Her drinking and depression worsened and she died there from complications from alcoholism. This card was published by Societe Industrielle de Photograpie (SIP) of Rueil, France. It is part of the 77 series (no.5). Methot’s photograph was taken by celebrity photographer Jacob Schloss (1856-1938) in his Manhattan studio. Schloss received his education at the Cooper Union in New York City. He graduated in 1872 as an etcher. He joined Benjamin J. Falk’s photography studio and worked there in the mid 1870’s. He left Falk’s employ to open his own studio (54 West 23rd Street) where like Falk, he specialized in theatrical photography. He tended to favor photographing actresses in costume in front of generic studio furnishings. He produced many cabinet card photographs but also was active in the production of magazine images. By the 1890’s he was particularly known for his photographs of beautiful women, much like photographer Jose Maria Mora. Schloss also was an activist for photographers rights. He was very involved in the movement to copyright images. He sued those who used his photographs without crediting or paying him. He was very involved in national photographer associations and was an active photographer until the 1910’s. This postcard formerly resided in a postcard album. SOLD
This cabinet card portrait features a well dressed gentleman with an extremely bushy mustache. In addition, his hair is longer than most men of his era. This photograph was produced by the Howe studio in Pittsfield, Maine. W. H. Howe is listed as a photographer in the Pittsfield Register (1904). SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features two adorable sisters wearing fancy winter clothing. These kids are an illustration of what it means to be “bundled up”. Note the children’s boots and hats. The youngest child is wearing a scarf that gives the appearance of a big ribbon. The ribbon makes her look like a wrapped Christmas gift. This postcard has an Artura stamp box which indicates that the card was published sometime between 1908 and 1924. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 