PORTRAIT OF TWO MEN, ONE IS TAKING NOTES

This vintage photograph features two men. What is the story behind this photo? The men are fairly well dressed, but not in a way that they appear to be going to a formal social event. My guess is that this is an occupational photograph. One man is holding a pencil and a sheet of paper. Are these men reporters? Are they some sort of order takers? What’s your guess? Note that the gentleman are posed in a manner that each has one foot on a stool. The stool is a somewhat unusual prop for this era photograph. The identities of the subjects and the photographer are unknown.  (SOLD)

Published in: on December 2, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  

TWO WOMEN DRESSED AS NATIVE AMERICANS IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

This vintage photograph features two women dressed as Native Americans. One wonders what occasion caused these ladies to dress in this fashion. Perhaps they are actresses in costume for a theatrical production? Note the women’s beads, Indian blanket, and single feathers atop their heads. Also notice that one of the woman is holding a knife. This photograph was taken by the Taylor Studio in Hartford, Connecticut. Credit for who took this photograph is a bit confusing. First of all, the city of Hartford is crossed out under the studio’s logo. Further complicating identification of the photographer is the fact that beneath the Taylor logo is the embossed signature of another studio (I can’t decipher the studio’s name). This second studio is located in New Britain, Connecticut. It appears to me that the Taylor Studio used the New Britain studio’s card stock rather than invest in new card stock. Research was able to find a photograph of the Taylor Studio. It may be seen on the postcard below. Focus on the banner sign hanging on the fourth floor on the building seen on the far left side of the postcard. The banner is located next to the fourth floor window and reads “Taylor Photo Studio”.  SOLD

Published in: on December 1, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PRETTY JAPANESE WOMAN WEARING A KIMONO AND HOLDING AN UMBRELLA

asian woman kimono

This vintage photograph features a pretty Japanese woman in traditional clothing standing in a garden. She is wearing a kimono and holding an umbrella. The traditional Japanese umbrella may be a “wagasa” (made of bamboo and paper). The young woman and the photographer are unidentified. This photograph is nearly postcard size (3 1/4″ x 5 1/4″).

SOLD

asian woman kimono 1

Published in: on November 30, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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THE BROOKS BROTHERS SITTING ON A PARK BENCH

This vintage real photo postcard features three very well dressed gentlemen sitting on a bench. The wooded backdrop gives the appearance that the men are sitting in a park. The men in this photograph have been identified as the Brooks brothers. Not really. They are not the Brooks brothers, but they sure belong in Gentlemen’s Quarterly magazine. Interestingly enough, Brooks Brothers is the oldest men’s clothier in the United States (established 1818) and predates the time that this photograph was taken. The stamp box on this postcard indicates that it was published sometime between 1904 and 1918. The men in this photo are unidentified as is the photographer.  (SOLD)

Published in: on November 29, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

PORTRAIT OF A MAN AND TWO WOMEN MUGGING FOR THE CAMERA (VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH)

This vintage photograph makes me smile. The three subjects in the photo seem to be mugging for the camera. The threesome are well dressed and well groomed. The identity of the subjects and the photographer are unknown. The photograph measures about 6 1/2″ x 4 1/4″.

Published in: on November 28, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

HELEN MILLER GOULD SHEPARD: AMERICAN PHILANTHROPIST DURING THE GILDED AGE

This vintage photographic portrait features Helen Miller Gould (1868-1938). She was the daughter of Jay Gould and was a prominent heiress. She was a heiress because Jay Gould was quite rich. Maybe one of the richest men of his era. He was a leading railroad developer and speculator. Wikipedia reports that he was “one of the ruthless robber barons of the Gilded Age”. Helen was accomplished in her own right. She attended New York University School of Law. She married Finley Johnson Shepard (1867-1942) in 1913. He was an executive at the Missouri Pacific Railroad. She and her husband adopted three children. One of these kids was adopted after being found abandoned on the steps of St Patrick’s Cathedral. She also had one foster child. In 1918, she and Emma Baker Kennedy became the first female vice presidents of the American Bible Society. Helen was a major philanthropist. She donated one hundred thousand dollars the the US government at the start of the Spanish American War. She contributed another fifty thousand dollars toward military hospital supplies. She was active in the Women’s National War Relief Association and worked in a hospital caring for wounded soldiers. Helen donated a library building at New York University and also contributed to its engineering school. She was on the national board of the YWCA and the Russell Sage Foundation. The Russell Sage Foundation funds research relating to income inequality. Areas under study include immigration, ethnicity, labor markets and social inequality in the United States.  Helen Gould was certainly an admirable woman. Through her philanthropy she had a positive impact on many people’s lives. The photograph below is a portrait of Helen Gould Shepard at a slightly younger age than the one above. The photograph above measures about 8″ x 10″.   (SOLD)

Published in: on November 27, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PHOTOGRAPH OF A FUNERAL PROCESSION IN A SMALL LATVIAN VILLAGE

This vintage real photo postcard documents a funeral procession in a Latvian village (the postcard was found in a Latvian family album). The coffin holding the deceased is decorated with flowers and sits on a horse drawn wagon. The gentleman in the forefront is holding his hat and an umbrella while the older woman, dressed in traditional mourning garb, is clutching a bouquet of flowers. This photo postcard is from around the 1930’s. The image highlights how much in modern times we have changed the way we deal with death and funerals.   SOLD

Published in: on November 26, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF AN ADORABLE YOUNG BOY BY A PHOTOGRAPHER / MAYOR IN MARION, OHIO

This vintage photograph features an adorable young boy dressed in a sailor styled outfit. He seems to be holding back a smile. The photograph was taken by the Wark studio in Marion, Ohio. James Wark was born in Ireland in 1847. At age 19 he immigrated to the United States and apprenticed for photographer George W Manly (Akron, Ohio). He then worked as a photographer in Kent, Ohio (1871-1891).He is known to have moved to Marion about 1895 and was an active photographer until about 1901. Wark was a busy man in Kent. In the mid 1880’s he he served three terms as Franklin Township’s clerk. He served as mayor of the town between 1886 and 1887. As mayor, Wark had complicated and controversial issues to manage. These controversies included the construction of a municipal waterworks and a resolution to ban saloon traffic in Kent. He relocated to Marion in the Mid 1890’s.  He was a popular resident there and picked up the nickname of “Daddy” Wark. He photographed four generations of clients over his more than sixty year career. He closed his studio in 1933 at 86 years of age. He died in 1934. This photograph measures about 5 1/4″ x 7 3/4″.

Published in: on November 25, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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BUST PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY WOMAN WEARING A MANTILLA

This cabinet card portrait features a woman dressed in black and wearing a black mantilla. Perhaps this is a mourning photograph. The photograph was taken at the studio of George Anthony Henry Eggers in Dunkirk, New York. Eggers and his wife Josephine had a son who was a noted artist. George W. Eggers (1883-1958) accomplishments in art included his talent as an art administrator. He directed three art museums (Art Institute of Chicago, Denver Art Museum, Worcester Art Museum). Photographer, George Eggers parents emigrated from Germany in the early 1850’s. By 1870, George was working as a photographer. He worked with a local doctor, who was an avid photographer, to publish a two volume set of photograph books which can be seen at the Dunkirk Historical Museum. George worked as a photographer until about 1890. At age 80, he designed and built a model schooner for his grandson (see image below).The boat was five feet long, built to scale, and was very detailed.

Published in: on November 24, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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CARTE DE VISITE PORTRAIT OF A LADY AND A ROSE IN BERLIN

This carte de visite portrait features a pretty woman holding a rose. The woman is holding a book in her other hand. She is wearing an abundance of jewelry and a very aloof expression. The photographer who produced this cdv is Joseph Alfred Lehmann and his studio was located in Berlin, Germany.   (SOLD)

Published in: on November 8, 2017 at 6:44 pm  Leave a Comment  
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