AN ADORABLE CHILD ON THE TRACKS: ELLA JOHNSON RIDES THE BOSTON RAILROAD

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An adorable little girl poses for her portrait as she rides the tracks of the Boston Railroad. The advertising below the image on the front of the card indicates that the photography car on the train is car number four. The expression on the child’s face is priceless. She is very photogenic and engaging. Her eyes are amazing. She is well dressed but not wearing anything too fancy. Note her high top shoes. The reverse of this cabinet card photograph has an inscription stating the child’s name as “Ella Johnson”. Below the name is the word “Blackfoot”. It is my hypotheses that Ella Johnson at some point in her life, lived in Blackfoot, Idaho, or Montana. The name “Ella Johnson” is much too common for me to do a successful genealogical search to learn more about this charming girl’s life. To view another cabinet card photograph taken in a Boston Railroad photographer’s car, click on the category “Railroad Photo Car”.   (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 21, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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FIVE LOVELY SISTERS IN HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

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This cabinet card features five adorable girls who are very likely sisters. The children are all nicely dressed and hatted. The kids are sitting around a basket of flowers. The girls were photographed by “The Elite” Photographic Art Studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The proprietors of the studio were Kelly & Company. Research reveals that the Kelly studio was sold to George A. Gauvin but the year of that transaction was not identified.

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Published in: on December 16, 2016 at 4:53 pm  Comments (1)  
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AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN SITTING ON A BENCH (REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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This real photo picture postcard features a middle aged African American woman sitting on a bench. She is clutching a purse in her left hand and is wearing a long coat. The AZO stamp box indicates that the postcard was produced by a studio sometime between 1926 and 1940.

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Published in: on December 15, 2016 at 10:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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ERUDITE CHILD LECTURES ST. BERNARD ON STEROIDS

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This vintage real photo postcard features a little boy (or is it a girl) and his (her) dog. The dog is a giant. I think someone’s been putting steroids in the dog’s food. The dog appears to be at least partially a St. Bernard. The child is smartly dressed and has an air of privilege. The child looks as if he is lecturing the dog. The child’s index finger is pointed as if he is making a major point. This postcard is dated 1906. The postcard was published by Germany’s Neue Photographische Gesellschaft (NPG) (New Photographical Society). The company was in business between 1894 and 1948 and was one of the most well known and largest companies involved in the production of postcards.

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Published in: on December 14, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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CUTE YOUNG WOMAN WEARING A PLUME HAT IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

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A young woman with blonde hair poses for her portrait at the Dabbs studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is wearing a distinctive hat with a feather plume. She has a wonderful smile. It is as if something struck her as funny while she posed for this photograph. The woman appears to be in her teenage years. The reverse of this cabinet card has a light inscription dating the photo as being taken in 1881. The photographer who produced this lovely image is Benjamin Lomax Horsley Dabbs. He was an English immigrant whose father was a pioneer in the American photographic supply business. Dabbs opened his studio in Pittsburgh in 1861. He was considered by many to be the best photographer in Pennsylvania and he was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Carnegie. To view other photographs by the Dabbs studio and to learn more about his interesting life, click on the category “Photographer: Dabbs”.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 13, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (4)  
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A YOUNG BOY WEARING A STRAW HAT

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This CDV (Carte de Visite) features a well dressed young boy wearing a straw hat. The photographer is unknown as only his initials appear on the reverse of the photograph. Also on the reverse of the photograph is an inscription. I believe that the inscription is written in German.

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Published in: on December 12, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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YOUNG SALVATION ARMY WOMAN IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

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A young woman wearing her salvation army uniform and badge poses for her portrait at Bishop Brothers studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her appearance suggests a personality of “sweet, pure, and innocent” which certainly would be complimentary to her role of helping those in need. The mainstay of Bishop Brothers was Henry Theodore Bishop (1853-1917). He began his photography career in his childhood hometown of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He moved to Minneapolis and operated at the address of 62 Syndicate Block. The Directory of Minnesota Photographers reports that he was a photographer in Minneapolis between 1885 and 1903. Later he conducted business for a year in Austin, Minnesota. It is a bit confusing as to who was the “other brother” at the Bishop Brother’s studio. The Minnesota Historical Society’s directory (referenced above) asserts that his partner was James E. Bishop and that they worked together only in 1885. However, Henry Bishop’s obituary which appeared in the Altoona Tribune (1917) reports that James E. Bishop was Henry’s son and that the brother he partnered with in Minnesota was W. M. Bishop. This photograph is one of many Salvation Army images that can be found in the Cabinet Card Gallery. To view the others, click on the category “Salvation Army”.   (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 10, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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MISS EVELEEN RAINE: PRETTY THEATRE ACTRESS (PHOTO BY ELLIOTT AND FRY)

rayneThis cabinet card portrait features stage actress Eveleen (Evelyn) Rayne. She became titled when she married George Fitzwilliam in 1888. She died in 1925. The Elliott & Fry studio produced this image. This Victorian photographic studio and photographic film manufacturer was founded in 1863 by Joseph John Elliott and Clarence Edmund Fry. For an entire century the studio took and published images of leading Victorian luminaries from the fields of science, public service, art, politics as well as celebrities of the day. To view other photographs by this studio click on the category “Photographer: Elliott & Fry”.

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Published in: on December 7, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A MAN AND HIS HORSE AND WAGON (VINTAGE OCCUPATIONAL REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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This vintage real photo postcard features a man and his horse and his partially covered wagon. Judging by the man’s clothing; he is a working man. Perhaps he is a delivery man of some sort. He is wearing a white shirt, bow tie and smock. I believe that he is wearing long heavy gloves. The gloves probably pertain to his occupation. The stamp box on the reverse of this postcard indicates that when it was published, the postcard postal rate was 1 cent. The one cent rate was in effect until World War I when it was raised to 2 cents on a temporary basis (1917-1919). The rate was again raised between 1925 and 1928. The rate became permanantly two cents in 1951. As a result, the stamp box in this case, is not helpful in establishing the date that this postcard was produced. However, the style of the front of this postcard indicates that it was produced not long after the 1900’s or 1910’s.

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Published in: on December 5, 2016 at 8:37 pm  Comments (2)  
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BEAUTIFUL STAGE ACTRESS JOHAN WITTMAN (PUBLICITY PHOTO)

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Beautiful stage actress Johan Wittman posed for this publicity photograph for her appearance  in “The Perfect Fool”, a play that appeared at the George M. Cohan Theatre” in New York City (Broadway). Ed Wynn provided the book, lyrics, and music. The revue played in 1921 and 1922 and ran for 275 performances. Miss Wittman looks elegant in her “to the floor” beaded dress. The previous owner of this photograph hypothesized that the dress was modeled after a peacock feather. I agree with his observation. Miss Wittman is holding a feather fan behind her head. She truly is representative of the flapper era. According to Broadwayworld.com, Miss Wittman’s Broadway experience was confined to her role in “The Perfect Fool”. The photographer of this lovely portrait was Ira Daniel Schwarz (1878-1946) who was based on West 48th Street in New York City. Schwarz was a Brooklynite and one of the first New York portrait artists to work in the movie industry. He began his career as a pictorialist art photographer and during World War I he went to work for Screencraft Pictures (located in New York) as Cinematographer and Stillman. He displayed a lot of talent as a Stillman and in 1919 became the chief portrait photographer for the company. The website “Broadway Photographs” reports that Schwarz was fascinated with shade and that his images were often recognized for their “plummy blacks”. In 1924 he left Photocraft and established his own studio. In regard to his skill as a portrait photographer “Broadway Photographs” assert that Schwarz was considered “a photographic psychologist” by his colleagues because he was excellent at “capturing the mentality of his sitter”. During World War II he closed his studio due to the silver shortage.

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Published in: on December 3, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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