PORTRAIT OF A BOY AND HIS TRUMPET

trumpet

This cabinet card portrait features a young man, probably in his teenage years, posing with his trumpet. He must have been up late the night before practicing his instrument because he sure looks tired. More likely, he is a bit bewildered by the challenge of posing for the unidentified photographer. He clearly got dressed up for the occasion of having his portrait taken. He is wearing striped pants and a striped jacket. Clearly he has committed a fashion faux pas. Making matters worse, he is wearing a patterned tie. Judging by his fashion sense, it’s my guess that he played with the English punk rock band “The Clash”. On a serious note, this is a nice portrait of a young musician.  SOLD

Published in: on April 15, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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TWO ADORABLE YOUNG KIDS DRESSED FOR CARNIVAL: RARE STUDIO PORTRAIT

carnival kids

This vintage real photo postcard features two adorable young children wearing carnival costumes. This postcard is a rare studio portrait by an unidentified photographer. The children are seated at a table and on the table is a set of blocks. This postcard was printed on Kodak postcard paper.

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Published in: on April 14, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF A MOST ATTRACTIVE COUPLE IN MANNHEIM, GERMANY

mannheim

This beautiful cabinet card portrait features an attractive couple posing at Emil Buhler’s studio in Mannheim, Germany. The couple are well dressed and give the appearance of being in the “upper class”. The gentleman looks proud and intense. Note his wonderful mustache and eye glasses. The lovely woman is wearing a charm bracelet, ring, and collar pin. She is also displaying a terrific smile and the photographer did an excellent job of capturing the woman’s intimate feelings toward her husband. Look at her body language and see if you agree with my assessment concerning her love for her husband. The photographer, Mr Buhler, is cited in “The Photographic Times (1888)” as a manufacturer of fine quality photographic paper.

Published in: on April 13, 2016 at 8:45 am  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A ROW OF FIVE ADORABLE CIRCUS DOGS (PHOTO BY FAMED ALBERT BERGERET OF FRANCE)

circus dogs

This vintage real photo postcard features five circus dogs posed as if they were begging. The dogs are adorable and the photographer did an excellent job of posing these “talented” canines. The caption is in French and roughly means “Doggies Right Alignment”. The photograph is by the famed Albert Bergeret (1859-1932), a leading French postcard producer. Printing on the front of the postcard lists the studio as being located in Nancy. A postmark on the card indicates that it was mailed in 1902. To view other examples of Bergeret’s work and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Bergeret”. SOLD

circus dogs 1

Published in: on April 11, 2016 at 2:18 pm  Leave a Comment  
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AN ADORABLE CHILD IN RICHMOND, MICHIGAN

stevens

This cabinet card featuring an adorable young child peering at a photographer while holding onto a fence rail in a photographer’s studio. The youngster appears a bit apprehensive. The child is wearing a lace collar and a cute hat. The photographer is G. S. Stevens whose studio was located in Richmond, Michigan.

Published in: on April 10, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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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)

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Published in: on April 9, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN IN A BLACK DRESS INSIDE A BOSTON RAILROAD PHOTO CAR

boston railroad

Not all photographers of the cabinet card era worked out of brick and mortar photography studios that were situated in towns and cities. Some entrepreneurial photographers thought they had a better idea. These innovative photographers decided to take their studios to the public rather than wait for the public to come to them. Some photographers situated themselves on trains or steamboats while others packed up their studios and took them on the road (via wagon) from town to town. This cabinet card portrait was taken on a studio car attached to a Boston Railroad train. The photograph features a young woman in a dark dress posing next to an ersatz rock. Note the interesting image found below. The photograph comes from the website “Luminous Lint”. The image was taken around 1905 and it shows a group of people in front of a railroad photographic gallery. This train car studio was photographed while in Temple, Oklahoma.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on April 7, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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QUEEN OF THE ROAD: WOMAN DRIVING AN OPEN CAR (1917 VINTAGE PHOTO)

queen of the road

This vintage photograph captures a woman driving an open car. She appears to be out on a country road. The automobile is a beauty. According to a notation on the reverse of the image, the photo was taken in 1917.  The photo is in very good condition (see scans).  (SOLD)

Published in: on April 6, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  

PORTRAIT OF PRETTY ACTRESS TAMARA DESNI AND A LIFELIKE DOLL (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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The pretty subject of this vintage real photo postcard is actress Tamara Desni (1910-2008). She has an exotic appearance. She was a German born daughter of a Ukrainian born silent film actress named Xenia Desni (1894-1962). Tamara begin her stage and film career as a child in Berlin, Germany. She also appeared in several British made films in the 1930’s and 1940’s.  She also starred in German films. In 1931 she had a major role in the operetta “White Horse Inn” which appeared in London. It was a spectacular hit at the Coliseum Theater. She next appeared in another leading role at the Coliseum in “Casanova”. She then had success in the British films “Falling For You (1933)”, “Forbidden Territory (1934)”, “Jack Ahoy (1935)”, and “Dark World (1935). Desni also played a supporting role in “Fire over England (1937)” which starred Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. She continued her film career through 1950. Tamara Desni’s social life must have been quite interesting. She was married five times. She must have learned from her four mistakes because her fifth marriage lasted half a century and only ended with her husband’s death. Tamara Desni appears in this postcard holding a life-like doll. Desni is flashing a beautiful smile. The photograph was taken by Becker & Maass of Berlin, Germany. The postcard was published by Ross Verlag and was part of a series (No. 6346/1). The company printed real photo postcards of excellent quality. Some consider their portrait photos the finest movie/theater star postcard portraits ever published.

Published in: on April 4, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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DISTINGUISHED LOOKING ELDER GENTLEMAN IN ST. CLOUD, MINNESOTA

hill

This fabulous cabinet card portrait features a very distinguished older gentleman sitting in a chair and holding what appears to be a cane. He is well dressed and sporting a thick mustache and relatively long beard. The photograph was taken by the Hill studio which was located in St. Cloud, Minnesota. There is no information on the reverse of the photograph so the address of the photographer and the identity of the subject is unknown. There were three photographers named Hill in St. Cloud during the cabinet card era. Joseph Hill (1820-1892) was Irish born and began his photography career in St Paul, Minnesota (1858-1867). He later operated studios in St. Peter & Anoka (1878-1879), Brainerd (1881), St. Cloud (1868-1869, 1880-1889). Joseph Hill’s son took over the St. Cloud studio. His son was Eugene S. Hill (1856-1936) and records indicate he took over the studio in 1883. A third photographer in St. Cloud during the 1880’s was someone named M. Hill. It is unknown to me whether he was part of Joseph and Eugene’s family. Whichever “Mr. Hill” took this photograph, it is a beauty. The photograph measures about 3 3/4 ” x 8″.   SOLD

Published in: on April 3, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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