ROMA HISTORY: PORTRAIT OF A LITTLE PRINCESS

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This post cabinet card era photograph features a “little princess” bedecked with exotic jewels and headpiece. She is holding a fan and looks bedazzled by her experience of being photographed in her costume. That brings up a question. Is she playing “dress up” and wearing a costume or is she dressed in a way that is normal for her position and culture? Hopefully, some cabinet card gallery visitors will leave their opinion about this matter. Although the identity of this adorable little girl is unknown there is an inscription on the reverse of the image. The phrase “Photo. Roma” can mean countless things. Here is my opinion. The little girl in the photograph is a member of a Roma community. The Roma (Romani) people are an ethnic group living predominately in Europe and who originate from Northern India. However, it is estimated that there are about one million Roma in the United States. They are often known by the term “Gypsies” but many consider the term prejudiced as the word gypsy has become associated with meaning illegal or irregular (ie gypsy cab). This image is pretty and thought provoking. The photograph measures about 3 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ and my estimate is that it dates back to the 1920’s.

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Published in: on November 12, 2015 at 12:34 pm  Comments (4)  
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PORTRAIT OF AN OLDER GENTLEMAN IN PORTAGE, WISCONSIN

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This cabinet card portrait features an older gentleman with grey hair and a long wiry hair. His mouth is camouflaged by his bushy beard and mustache. Watching him eat must not have been very pleasant. The man is dressed formally and has intense piercing eyes. Sherman L. Plumb’s studio in Portage, Wisconsin produced this photograph. Plumb was born in 1841 in Connecticut. By 1863 he was working as a fireman in Portage. The 1870 and 1880 US census lists his occupation as photographer. In 1872 Plumb married Alice Stanton (1852-?). Plumb was not a man who was consistent occupationally. The 1900 census found him working as a dairy farmer while the 1910 census listed him as running a grocery store in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A 1912 directory reported that Alice was a widow.  SOLD

 

 

Published in: on November 11, 2015 at 3:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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SERIOUS LOOKING YOUNG GIRL WEARING A CROSS IN YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN

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This cabinet card portrait features a young girl intensely staring at the camera in a studio in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The child is wearing a dark dress accented by lace. She is also wearing earrings and a necklace with a cross. The photographer is J. J. Stephenson. Jerome J. Stephenson was born in 1847 in Michigan. He married Betsy Frazier in 1871 and bought Edwin P. Baker’s studio in 1872. He operated his studio in Ypsilanti until he sold it to Frank P. Ford in 1903. At one point during his operations, for a limited time he offered a free cabinet card photograph to anyone over sixty years of age. It seems like he was a man before his time by being one of the pioneers of  “senior discounts”.  SOLD

 

Published in: on November 10, 2015 at 10:08 pm  Comments (1)  
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SYBIL ARUNDALE: BEAUTIFUL THEATER ACTRESS (VINTAGE POSTCARD)

ACTRESS ONE

This item is a vintage postcard featuring the very attractive theater actress Sybil Arundale (1879-1965). Her stage roles included a number of Shakespeare plays. Her sister Grace was also an actress. The postcard was produced by Philco Publishing Company in London, England. It is number 3005 in a series. The photographer was Alexander Bassano (1829-1913) who was a leading royal and high society photographer located in London.   SOLD

ACTRESS TWO

Published in: on October 30, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF A CUTE BABY IN PARIS, FRANCE (VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH)

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This post cabinet card era photograph features a very cute baby photographed by the Angelidis Studio in Paris, France. The photographer did an excellent job of posing this incredibly adorable child. The photograph measure 4″ x 5 1/2″.

Published in: on October 29, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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PORTRAIT OF A LOVELY COUPLE IN BARMEN, GERMANY (CARTE DE VISITE)

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A lovely couple poses for their portrait at the Stuting and Sohn studio in Barmen, Germany. The man and woman are well dressed. The man is holding reading material on his lap. One of the more remarkable aspects of this image is the gentleman’s interesting mustache. The mustache is bushy and curls wonderfully at each end. The photographer, Stuting, is cited in two photographic journals published in 1890 (American Journal of Photography, The Photographic News). Stuting’s studio was located in Barmen, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen is also known as the birthplace of socialist theorist Friedrich Engels. Finding a photographer in Barmen at the turn of the century must not have been much of a problem. The Cabinet Card Gallery has a number of carte de visite photographs originating from studios in Barmen. Printed on the lower right hand corner of the reverse of this cdv is the number “1907”. This likely represents the date that this photograph was taken despite the fact that most photographers stopped producing carte de visite photographs by that date.

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Published in: on October 28, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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THE WORLDS SWEETEST BABY STANDS ON A CHAIR IN PORTLAND, OREGON

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This cabinet card portrait features a thirteen month old baby who an inscriber on the reverse of the photograph describes as the “Sweetest in the world”. The child’s name is written as “Dagmar Albright Games. The child in this photograph does in fact look quite sweet and is flashing a wonderful expression. The kid was born to model. She is standing on a velvet chair and is wearing some sort of a flimsy gown. The photograph was taken at the Busby & Company Studio in Portland, Oregon. Research reveals that according to the the 1910 US Census, Dagmar A. Games was living in Portland (Ward 4), Oregon.. She was 21 years old (born in 1889), unemployed and living in a boarding house. The 1920 census indicates that she was married to Frederick Swanberg who was employed as a manager of an ice company. Dagmar was unemployed and she and her husband were living in San Francisco. Dagmar’s mother, Anna Games, was living with the couple. The 1930 US Census discloses that Dagmar and her mother still lived in San Francisco but Frederick no longer resided with them.   SOLD

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Published in: on October 27, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (4)  
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YOUNG EUROPEAN MAN WEARING A UNIFORM (CARTE DE VISITE)

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This Carte de Visite features a uniformed young man posing at the Cruf Studio which had galleries in Freiburg, Mannheim, and Basel. The first two cities are in Germany and Basel is located in Switzerlan. An inscription on the reverse of the photograph indicates that the subject is H. Wolff. Mr Wolff is wearing a uniform representing an unknown group. Perhaps he is a student or maybe he works for the railroad. His group affiliation remains unknown for the time being.  Looking at the reverse of the photograph also reveals that the Cruf Studio won a number of medals at photographic competitions. The latest medal listed was recieved in 1888 which means that this image dates back to 1888 or later.   (SOLD)

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Published in: on October 26, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BEAUTIFUL COUPLE MAKING A BIRTHDAY TOAST IN LUCKENWALDE, GERMANY (VINTAGE PHOTO)

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An attractive couple make a birthday toast at a table in Luckenwalde, Germany. It is also possible that rather than a birthday, the pair may be sharing New Years Eve. Nevertheless, they are toasting with glasses of beer. Note the couple’s party hats and the streamers hanging from the ceiling. An ashtray with cigarette butts sits on the middle of the table. Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of this photograph is the young woman’s expression as she looks at the young man. Her eyes certainly speak, and they appear to be shouting words of love (or perhaps lust). An inscription on the reverse of the photograph indicates that the fellow in the photograph is named “Martin Hagen” and the picture was taken in 1958. The photo measures 4″ x 2 3/4″.

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Published in: on October 25, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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TWO MEN MANNING THE DEEP FRYER AND DOING SOME SERIOUS COOKING (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

deep fry

This vintage real photo postcard is truly unusual. The postcard features two male cooks manning a deep fryer. They are holding cooking utensils including spatulas. Note that they are wearing aprons that are so dirty that they were probably hoping that there would be no surprise visits from the health department department. Check out the broom leaning against the bricks to the left of the men.The previous owner of this postcard contends that the men in this image are cooking for a fish fry. That theory is likely accurate. The stamp box on this postcard indicates that is was produced between 1904 and 1920.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on October 24, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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