PORTRAIT OF A SPUNKY BRIDE AND HER GROOM IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

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This cabinet card features a bride and groom posing for their portrait at the Pulaski Photo Art Company in Chicago, Illinois. This photograph is a bit unusual relative to other wedding portraits of it’s era. The uncommon but refreshing variable in this image is that the bride is showing her personality. She is exhibiting a playful smile and appears to be a vivacious young woman. Her groom, seems to lack that same energy, and presents a more reserved personality. The bride and groom are well dressed and three bouquets of flowers as well as a the groom’s corsage mark the festive occasion. A book entitled “Certified List of Domestic and Foreign Corporations” (1909) reveals that the Pulaski Photo Art Company replaced the Koscinszko Photo Art Company in Chicago. The President/Manager of Pulaski was Max Prusinski (1883-?) and the Secretary of the company was John Prusinski. Max Prusinski was born in Poland. An advertisement in “The Neighbor” (1919) discloses that the studio continued to operate at 957 Milwaukee Avenue. The 1930 US census reports that Max Prusinski was still employed as a photographer.

Published in: on January 5, 2016 at 3:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF HARRIET BOSSE: SCANDINAVIAN ACTRESS PHOTOGRAPHED BY FERDINAND FLODIN

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This vintage real photo postcard features Harriet Sofie Bosse (1878-1961) who was an actress of Swedish/Norwegian background. Her father was a German publisher who for business reasons moved his family a number of times back and forth between Oslo (Norway) and Stockholm (Sweden). Harriet was the thirteenth of fourteen children in her family. Two of her sisters were performers. She was well known for her acting but also for being the third wife of playwright August Strindberg. Bosse began her acting career in a company run by her older sister in Oslo. She developed a problem with this sister (Alma) when the sister discovered that Harriet was having an affair with her husband.  Harriet clearly had a boundary problem. After appearing at the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm, she was noticed by Strindberg. He was enamored with her acting ability as well as her exotic “oriental” appearance. The pair were married in 1901; he was 52 years old and she was just 21. The marriage was short and volatile. Strindberg had a history of a jealousy problem that some considered to be actual paranoia. In 1908 Bosse married Swedish actor Anders Gunnar Wingard and later had a third marriage to movie idol Edvin Adolphson in 1927. Her second and third marriages both ended in divorce after just a few years. After retiring from acting, in the midst of World War II, she returned to Oslo. This postcard photograph was taken by Ferdinand Flodin (1863-1935). He was a Swedish photographer who operated a studio in Stockholm. He was well known for his portrait work, especially of theatrical performers. He was educated in the United States from 1883 to 1887. For the next two years he ran a photography gallery in Worcester, Massachusetts. He then returned to Sweden. In 1906 he became secretary of the Swedish Photogaphers Association, a post he held nine years. This postcard was published by Axel Eliasson’s Art Publishers. The publishing house was founded in 1890 and the Stockholm company was the leading producer of postcards in Sweden for many years. A number of Ferdinand Flodin’s cabinet card photographs that were produced at his Massachusetts studio can be seen in the Cabinet Card Gallery. To view these images click on the category “Photographer: Flodin”.  SOLD

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                                                                                                                                                                 Self-Portrait of Ferdinand Flodin

Published in: on January 4, 2016 at 7:24 pm  Comments (1)  
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FOUR US SOLDIERS HAVING FUN WHILE ON LEAVE IN NEW YORK CITY (VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH)

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The previous owner of this vintage photograph described it as featuring four US soldiers/cooks on KP (kitchen police) duty. I have my own interpretation of the photograph and perhaps you have your own view which I hope you will share. I believe that the young men are from a military base due to their clothing and their choice of having a backdrop which included a tank. If they are soldiers, they are clearly on leave. The fact that one man is wearing a white apron and another man is wearing a white jacket indicates that their military duties may include working in a kitchen. However, there is also a possibility that the afore mentioned white clothing and the two hats seen in the photo are just studio props. Note that two of the men are holding cigarettes while being photographed. Whatever the story really is, this is a terrific image that captures the aura of friendship between these young men. The photographer’s embossed logo is difficult to read but it is decipherable that his name was Thompson and his studio was located somewhere in New York City.

Published in: on January 1, 2016 at 1:07 pm  Comments (3)  
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STAGE ACTRESS LOUISE LEWIS IN SHAKESPEARE’S “AS YOU LIKE IT” (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

loise lewis

This vintage real photo postcard features actress Louise Lewis who played in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”. Miss Lewis did not reach stardom in her career but her stage experience did merit an appearance on this theatrical picture postcard. Preliminary research found meager biographical material about this actress, but an article in the Los Angeles Herald (1898) reports that the Calhoun Opera Company at the Los Angeles Theater was presenting “La Grande Duchesse” and that Louise Lewis was a member of the ensemble. It is not certain that the Louise Lewis pictured on this postcard is the same one referenced in the Herald article. This postcard appears to have an American origin and is part of a series (no. 13). This particular postcard was distributed by the Souvenir Post Card Shop in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Published in: on December 30, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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THE CUTEST LITTLE GIRL IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

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This cabinet card portrait features the cutest little girl in Chicago, Illinois. She was photographed by the Siegel Cooper gallery which was located in one of Chicago’s major department stores, not coincidentally named Siegel Cooper. The young girl in this photograph is beautifully dressed from head to toe. Her bonnet is strategically placed to show her lovely curls and her pretty and expressive face. She holds a small bouquet of flowers and appears a bit intimidated by the milieu of the photography studio. Note the reverse of this photograph seen below because this is your opportunity to see a ghost. Well maybe not a ghost but a ghost image for sure. I am guessing that the image formed by being pressed tightly against the front of another cabinet card creating the ghost like image. However, photography historians have written that some photographers purposely created ghost images for their clients. Why? Sometimes they were asked to, and sometimes they had their own nefarious reasons. The Cabinet Card Gallery has a number of photographs by this gallery. To learn more about the photographer and to view more of the gallery’s photographs, click on the category “Photographer Siegel Cooper Company”.   SOLD

seigel 1

Published in: on December 29, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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FOUR SIBLINGS IN NEED OF PSYCHOTHERAPY AND ANTI-DEPRESSANTS IN MOORHEAD, MINNESOTA

flaten

This cabinet card portrait features what I imagine are four siblings. Although they look quite depressed, I believe their flat affect is more of a function of following the photographers instructions rather than the result of major trauma. The young man and three young women compose an attractive and well dressed family. The photographer, O. E. Flaten has a number of photographs in the Cabinet Card Gallery, although this particular image is the first from his Moorhead, Minnesota studio. To learn more about Mr. Flaten and to view more of his images, click on the category “Photographer: Flaten”.

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Published in: on December 27, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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MABELLE ADAMS: A PRETTY BROADWAY ACTRESS

mabelle

This vintage real photo postcard features actress Mabelle Adams (1880-1935). Mabelle Adams was her stage name but her real name was Mabelle Humberstone. She is known for her stage career but also for being the mother of director Bruce “Lucky” Humberstone whose work included Film noir “I Wake Up Screaming” (1941) as well as some “Charlie Chan” and “Tarzan” films. Interestingly, Mabelle was a niece of Edwin Booth. She was the understudy on Broadway for actress Maude Adams in “Peter Pan”. She was in a number of Broadway productions including occupying a starring role in “Two Orphans” (1933). Adams was an active member of the Stage Women’s War Relief which raised money for medical supplies for Allies wounded in World War I. A brief biography of Adams can be found in “The Stars of Hollywood Forever” (2014), This postcard was published pre 1907 by the Rotograph Company and part of a series (no. B1998). Rotograph was located in New York City.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 26, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

WINIFRED GARDNER TREIPP AND HER POLKA DOT DRESS

polka dot

This vintage photograph features a pretty young woman wearing a loud polka dot dress accented with ruffles and satin. I think she looks terrific and I appreciate the variation from the typical conservative dark dresses we typically see in photographs from this post cabinet card era. I believe a woman who decides to wear a dress such as this one, must have confidence that she can “pull it off” and not look silly. I also think that she must welcome attention and not be particularly inhibited. Note her relaxed pose. An inscription on the reverse of the photograph identifies this fashionista as “Winifred Gardner Treipp” or possibly “Winifred Gardner Treiff”. I did a search for biographical information about Winifred, using both spellings of her last name. Unfortunately, I found no information and no leads. Perhaps one of the Cabinet Card Gallery’s visitor’s can discover some facts about this fashionable lady.

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Published in: on December 25, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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CUTE LITTLE GIRL SITTING BESIDE HER DOLL IN IN A TOY STROLLER (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

stool

This is an unusual vintage real photo postcard featuring a young girl and her doll. The relatively unique aspect of this portrait is that the doll is sitting in a toy stroller. The child in this photograph is well dressed and well coiffed but appears either fatigued or none to happy to have a camera aimed at her. She holds the handle of the cart-like stroller in one hand and steadies the stroller with her other hand. Note the design of the stool that she is sitting on. This postcard has an AZO stamp box which indicates that it was produced sometime between 1918 and 1930.

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Published in: on December 24, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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MOTHER AND SON POSE FOR THEIR PORTRAIT IN PORTO, PORTUGAL (MOM IN TRADITIONAL CLOTHING)- VINTAGE PHOTO

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A mother and her son pose for their portrait at Belleza studio in Porto, Portugal. Porto is a coastal city in northwest Portugal. Mom is wearing beautiful  traditional folk clothing. She has dressed her darling little boy in fine clothing for his picture taking day. Note his incredibly large hat that he is holding in his right hand. It seems to me that if he were to wear the hat it would cover his whole head and he would be unable to see. At first, I thought the hat might belong to his mother; but she is already wearing a hat. Perhaps the boy is an aspiring magician and a family of rabbits reside inside the hat. There is an inscription on the reverse of the photograph. I believe it is written in Portuguese. The previous owner of this photograph asserted that the inscription was some sort of dedication to an uncle. Hopefully, a cabinet card gallery visitor can translate the inscription for the rest of us. The inscription was written in 1922. The photograph measures 8″ x 5 3/4″.

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Published in: on December 23, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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