PORTRAIT OF A “DANDY” IN GREENSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

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A very good looking man is the subject of this portrait from the Hile studio in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. This gentleman is perfectly coiffed and ready for a photo shoot with “Gentleman’s Quarterly”. Note his pretty and sizable bow tie and the gold chain of his watch visible at the bottom of the image. I wonder if this photograph is a wedding portrait? The photographer of this image, William Hile (1838-1922) operated his studio out of his home at 114 East Pittsburgh Street. His daughter Lilli was also a photographer at the studio. William Hile was married to Lucinda Reamer Hile (1841-1918) and the couple had four children. Today’s Greensburg is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. During the cabinet card era, Greensburg was a railroad stop and a vibrant center of the local mining industry. William Hile is buried at the St. Clair Cemetery in Greensburg (view his grave marker below)

William Hile

Published in: on March 9, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAT OF AN ADORABLE CHUBBY CHEEKED AFRICAN AMERICAN LITTLE GIRL

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This post cabinet card era photograph features a young chubby cheeked African American little girl. She is adorable and is balancing herself as she stands on a chair. She is wearing a hair bow and high button shoes. The identity of this cute child and the photographer of this image are unknown.   (SOLD)

Published in: on March 8, 2015 at 9:54 am  Comments (5)  
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PORTRAIT OF OLIN CLARK: ADORABLE BLONDE LITTLE BOY FROM PORTLAND, OREGON

olin 1The subject of this vintage photographic portrait is Olin B. Clark (1900-1939) and he was photographed by A. G. Churchley of Portland, Oregon. Young Olin looks a bit intimidated by his photo shoot. He also looks very cute in his sailor type outfit. The 1910 US census finds young Olin living with his parents in Portland. His father, William C. Clark worked as a trolley conductor while his mother (Louisa F. Clark) was a homemaker. The 1920 US census revealed that Olin worked as an airplane mechanic in Portland where he lived as a boarder.

 

Published in: on March 6, 2015 at 12:38 pm  Comments (3)  
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PRETTY AND IDENTICALLY DRESSED YOUNG SISTERS: MARCELLA AND INA HUBBARD IN ELLIOTT, IOWA

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This cabinet card portrait features two adorable and identically dressed sisters posing for their portrait at the H. F. Askey studio in Elliott, Iowa. Note the girl’s puffy lacy bonnets. The girls are identified in an inscription on the reverse of the card as Marcella and Ina Hubbard. Marcella was born around 1892 and Ina was born around 1897. The 1900 US census reveals that the children were living in Sherman, Iowa with their parents Charles and Emma and three older siblings. Charles Hubbard worked as a businessman. The 1910 US census found the girls still living with their parents in Sherman. The only other child in the house was a younger sister. Charles was working as a “peddler” in the food business and Marcella had become a public school teacher. The photographer of this image was Henry Franklin Ashey. He was born in 1872 in Rock Grove, Illinois and died in 1959 in Grant, Iowa. He was married to Alice Dean Carroll in 1902 and the couple had four children. Askey was one of Iowa’s early photographers and at one time operated a studio in Red Oak, Iowa. When he left the photography business he became a farmer near Red Oak and Grant.    SOLD

Published in: on March 5, 2015 at 4:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG CHILD IN BIDDEFORD, MAINE

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This cabinet card photograph features a portrait of a young child wearing a lace gown. The child appears to be sitting unassisted in a large chair although it is possible the he/she is being held there by some device. The child is cute and is looking at the photographer but appears bored. The photograph was taken by the Miller Photo Company of Biddeford, Maine. The advertising on the reverse of the image indicates that the main gallery of the firm was located in Birmingham, Connecticut (see below). The advertising also includes a drawing of the Birmingham gallery. Note the storefront and the framed pictures displayed in the store’s windows. To view more images by William Miller and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Miller”.

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Published in: on March 4, 2015 at 7:35 pm  Comments (2)  
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ADORABLE BROTHERS: BRYCE AND WENDELL BAILEY IN WINONA, MISSISSIPPI

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Two adorable brothers wearing large bow ties pose for their portrait for photographer S. B. Terry at his studio in Winona, Mississippi. The boys are identified in an inscription on the reverse of the cabinet card. The older boy is Walter Boyce Bailey (1892-?) and the younger lad is John Wendell Bailey (1895-1967). The 1910 US census finds Walter (age 18) and John (age 14) living with their parents, Thomas J. and Emma M. Bailey. Also in residence was two sisters, a brother, two boarders, and a servant (cook). Thomas Bailey held a Doctorate of Divinity (Baptist). The family was living in Jackson, Mississippi. The 1920 US census found Walter living in a Denver rooming house. He was married and worked as a cashier for a machine manufacturing company. The 1930 US census reveals that he was still living in Denver and he was living with his wife Louise and two daughters and a son. He was employed with a tire company in some capacity relating to buses and trucks. The 1940 US census states that he was still in Denver with his family but was working as a tax agent. Research reveals that unlike his brother, John Bailey remained in Mississippi. He graduated from Mississippi State University and worked as a college professor. The 1940 US census reports that he was married to Lani Lloyd Bailey and they had three children residing at home. He is buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Starkville, Mississippi. To learn more about the photographer of this cabinet card portrait and to view more of his images, click on the category “Photographer: Terry”.  SOLD

Published in: on March 3, 2015 at 5:49 pm  Leave a Comment  
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OLDER WOMAN IN “PURITANESQUE” GARB IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

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This lovely cabinet card portrait features an older woman dressed in conservative clothing. She is wearing “Puritanesque” clothing. I invented the word “Puritanesque” because I don’t want to go out on a limb and say the is wearing Puritan clothing without finding confirmation. The woman’s outermost garment covers a dark full dress and she is wearing a bonnet.  She is intensely staring at the photographer and is keeping her lips pursed. The photograph was taken at the studio of Heald & Erickson in Providence, Rhode Island. Heald had other partners during his career in that same city. Heald was involved in an important photography related law case concerning ownership and rights to use photographic negatives. To view more of his images and to learn more about him and the case, type his name in the cabinet card gallery’s search box and look for the photograph produced by Heald & Giles.                                                                                     SOLD

 

Published in: on March 2, 2015 at 6:12 pm  Comments (3)  
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THE HONORABLE LORD ASHBOURNE: CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND AND FATHER OF THE WOULD BE ASSASSIN OF MUSSOLINI (CAB CARD)

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The London Stereoscopic Company produced this cabinet card portrait of the Honorable Lord Ashbourne. The title Lord Ashbourne was created in 1886 for Edward Gibson (1837-1913), the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Gibson was appointed Ireland’s attorney general in 1877. His daughter, the honorable Violet Gibson (1876-1956) is known for her attempted assassination of Italy’s Benito Mussolini in 1926. She shot him three times while he sat in a car but merely lightly wounded him. After nearly being lynched by a mob, she was deported to England where she spent the rest of her life in a mental institution. An image of the verso of this cabinet card can be found below. The advertising reveals that the London Stereoscopic studio was photographer used by Britain’s royal family. It is also stated that the studio has won medals for photography in many cities throughout the world. It is also interesting to note that the advertising advises customers that free photography lessons, studios, and darkrooms were available to their clients. To view other images by the London Stereoscopic studio, click on the category “Photographer: London Stereoscopic”.

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Published in: on March 1, 2015 at 6:08 pm  Leave a Comment  
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KATE SHIPPEN ROOSEVELT: PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY HIGH SOCIETY WOMAN BY CELEBRATED PHOTOGRAPHER NAPOLEON SARONY

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It is not infrequent that a cabinet card presents an interesting mystery. This cabinet card, by celebrity photographer Napoleon Sarony of New York City, conjures  up some fascinating questions. Is the woman in this photograph a member of one of America’s most famous political families? It is likely that the pretty woman with the dreamy gaze seen in this photo is a Roosevelt. Let me tell you a little about Kate Shippen Roosevelt (1855-1925). In 1883, Kate Shippen Roosevelt (1855-1925) was married to Hilborne Roosevelt who was a world famous organ maker. He had factories in New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. His company made some of the finest and largest pipe organs in the world. He designed the first electric organ and he was a first cousin to President Theodore Roosevelt. Kate was the daughter of William W. Shippen who was the president of the Hoboken Land and Improvement Company and Hoboken Ferry Company. It is not a surprise that their wedding was called by the New York Times (1883) the event of the season. An article in Town Topic Journal of  Society (1883) announces that Kate Shippen Roosevelt would be performing a monologue and that she was one of the “best amateurs” engaged in such performances. Kate was also a well known women’s suffrage critic. She called suffragettes “soapbox militants”. Hillborne Roosevelt died in 1886 at age 37. He left his widow and three year-old daughter quite wealthy and they continued to be part of high society in New York City.  I believe that that the woman in this image is Kate Shippen Roosevelt because  1) the inscription on the reverse of the image is supportive (see below), 2) Mrs. Roosevelt was a member of society and Sarony was a society photographer, and 3) My research was unsuccessful to find another celebrity sharing the name “Kate Shippen”.  Unfortunately, I could not find a photo to confirm or disconfirm that the subject of this cabinet card portrait was Mrs. Roosevelt. The bottom image is the gravestone of Kate Shippen Roosevelt which is located at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.   SOLD

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Published in: on February 28, 2015 at 6:27 pm  Comments (2)  
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MOM AND DAD AND THEIR EIGHT KIDS NICELY DRESSED IN MADISON, SOUTH DAKOTA

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This cabinet card is a portrait of a large family taken at the studio of A. T. Lewis in Madison, South Dakota. This family is well dressed and likely well-to-do. South Dakota was part of the Dakota Territory until it became a state in 1889. This knowledge reveals that this photograph was taken in 1889 or later. The city of Madison was named after Madison, Wisconsin. Wikipedia reports that the city’s original name was Herman and that it was founded in 1880. Abrah T. Lewis, the photographer of this image was married to Miss Sarah J. Norcott in 1873. She was also a photographer and is actually the more likely of the two to have taken this photograph. Mrs. Lewis tended to do portraits while Mr. Lewis focused on scenic views. Abrah Lewis was born in Oneida, New York in 1853. He next lived with his family in Canada between 1855 and 1873. In 1873, Abrah and his bride moved to Michigan and eight years later he lost his house to a forest fire (1881). Mrs. Lewis’s grandmother perished in the fire and she nearly lost her mother. The couple left for a brief stay in Canada and then settled in South Dakota and worked as photographers in Sioux Falls. Three years later they moved to Madison and opened a photography studio there that was predominately operated by Mrs. Lewis while Mr. Lewis attended to branches of the studio at Brookings, Elkton, and Arlington (all in South Dakota). The pair resided in Madison (five years), Huron (two years) and Clark (two years). Like many photographer of the cabinet card era, this couple kept moving. Their next stop was various locations in Iowa where they continued to work as photographers. One of their locations was a town called Rock Rapids. To view photographs by other female photographers, click on the category “Female Photographers”.

Published in: on February 27, 2015 at 7:19 pm  Comments (1)  
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