This cabinet card portrait features a very pretty and photogenic young woman. She has intriguing eyes. She is wearing a fancy dress. The photograph is crisp and sharp. The image is in very good condition. The reverse of the photograph suggests that the image once resided in a cabinet card photo album. George N. Cobb began his photography career in 1850 in Montrose, Pennsylvania. He moved to Binghamton in 1870 and operated a photography studio until 1903. SOLD
A WOMAN WEARING A VERY UNUSUAL COLORFUL PATTERNED DRESS IN NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS
This interesting cabinet card features a woman wearing a very unusual dress. The dress’s pattern can be described as psychedelic. Some would call the pattern paisley. One wonders if the woman’s dress really looked this way or if an artist colored the photograph while knocking off a bottle of whiskey. Another theory is that the subject woke up the morning of her appointment at the photographer and realized she had nothing to wear. In an act of desperation, she wore the living room drapes. Before I conjecture further, I want to call for assistance from the cabinet card gallery’s research department. Perhaps one of the several fashion savvy cabinet card gallery visitors can share their informed opinion about this woman’s attire. I shouldn’t call her “this woman” because I know her name. An inscription on the reverse of the photograph reveals that her name is Sarah Goodwin and that the cabinet card photo was taken in 1892. The 1880 US census finds a Sarah Goodwin living in Ware, Massachusetts. This is a town 24 miles away from Knowlton Brothers studio in Northampton. At the time of this photograph, Miss Goodwin was twenty nine years-old and working in a cotton mill. She was the third of five children born to Steven and Mary Goodwin. Sarah was born in 1863 in England, which was also the birthplace of her parents.
TWO ENGLISH BOYS AND THEIR YORKSHIRE TERRIER
W. H. De Lan took on the challenge of photographing the two boys and their dog featured in this cabinet card portrait. Dogs tend to have difficulty comprehending photographer’s instructions so producing a good photograph of a dog is quite a respectable feat. The compliant dog in this photograph appears to be a Yorkshire Terrier. The boys in this image are well dressed and the seated child has a pocket watch. Research yielded little information about W. H. De Lan. One source stated that he operated his studio in Bridge End which is a village in Northumberland, England. A second source reported that he was a photographer in Bradford, a borough of West Yorkshire.
Isabel Irving: American Stage Actress
Isabel Irving (1871-1944) was an American actress born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her stage career began in 1886. She performed in many performances of Shakespeare. She was also in more than 30 Broadway plays between 1894 and 1936. These plays included “Merry Wives of Windsor” (1917) and “Uncle Vanya” (1930). The first cabinet photo was done at the studio of Napoleon Sarony in New York. Sarony was a very famous photographer of his time and known for his photos of theatrical performers and other celebrities. The second photograph comes from the studio of William McKenzie Morrison who was located in the Haymarket Theatre building in Chicago, Illinois. The third cabinet card portrait features Miss Irving photographed by celebrated New York photographer Benjamin Falk. The fourth cabinet card was produced by Pach Brothers studio in New York City. To view a photograph of Isabel Irving’s sister, write “Evangeline Irving” in the search box and press search. To view other photographs by any of the four cited photographers, click on the category “Photographer: Falk, Photographer: Sarony, Photographer: Morrison, or Photographer: Pach Brothers.
FOUR SIBLINGS POSE FOR FAMILY PORTRAIT IN SILKEBORG, DENMARK
This cabinet card features what appears to be four siblings gathered together for their portrait at the studio of Gunnar Mogensen. The boy in the photograph is wearing a sailor style suit and his sisters are all dressed in white with dark belts. The older sister has very long hair, while in contrast, the two younger girls are wearing short hairstyles. Mogensen’s studio was located in Silkeborg, Denmark. To view other Danish photographs, click on the category “Denmark”.
CHARLES HENRY PARKHURST: CLERGYMAN, SOCIAL REFORMER, CROOKED POLITICIAN’S AND CORRUPT POLICEMAN’S NIGHTMARE (1892)
Charles Henry Parkhurst (1842-1933) is the subject of these Cabinet Card photographs which are published by Newsboy. Photographer Napoleon Sarony has the 1892 copyright for the top photograph. The second photograph is marked “375” and is part of Newsboy’s tobacco premium series. Parkhurst was a clergyman and social reformer. He was a presbyterian minister and from 1874 until 1880, he was a pastor in Lenox, Massachusetts. He then became the pastor for Madison Square Presbyterian Church in New York City (1880-1919). During the year of this photograph, Parkhurst began giving tough sermons attacking the political corruption in the New York City government. This led to the exposure of the corruption in Tammany Hall and subsequent social and political reform. He had a special concern about the problem of prostitution in New York City’s tenderloin section. He hired private detectives to investigate the houses of ill repute and their police protection. Concerning the police, he said “while we fight iniquity they shield or patronize it; while we try to convert criminals, they manufacture them”. He took his concerns and investigative results to court on these matters. He was President of the New York Society for the Prevention of Crime and published numerous magazine articles and books. Parkhurst died tragically; while sleep walking he fell off the second story porch of his home.
PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY TEENAGE GIRL BY UNIDENTIFIED PHOTOGRAPHER
This photograph features a girl who appears to be in her teenage years. She is wearing a bead necklace and a shamrock brooch. Note the girls long braid behind her collar. This cabinet card has been trimmed by a previous owner who was likely trying to fit it into a frame.
AN OLDER GENTLEMAN SITTING IN A WICKER CHAIR (SUBJECT IDENTIFIED)
An elderly man sits legs crossed on a wicker chair as he poses for his portrait at an unidentified photographic studio. Note his pocket watch and silvery beard. The reverse of the photograph identifies the subject as “Uncle Andy Norton”.
TENDER PORTRAIT OF A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER IN LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS
The love between a mother and her daughter is quite evident in this cabinet card portrait by the Bauer studio in Leavenworth, Kansas. Note the intimate quality of this image. The little girl displays a loving look and has her right arm draped over her mother’s right shoulder and has her left hand touching her mothers’ upper arm. The reverse of the cabinet card has printing advertising the address of P. H. Bauer’s studio. The building was located on the northwest corner of Shawnee and Fifth Streets. P. H Bauer’s father, Sebastian Bauer was a pioneer Kansas photographer. He was active in Leavenworth between 1865 and 1887. His son, Pius Henry Bauer (1861-?) started sharing his fathers studio in 1878 and they soon joined as partners. He opened his own gallery in 1887 which he ran past 1900. In 1886 and 1887, a Mary Bauer worked in the gallery. She was reported by one source to be Pius’s sister and by another source to be Pius’s wife.
PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG COUPLE IN LEEDS, ENGLAND
A young well dressed couple pose for their portrait at the Allen Nield studio in England. The woman in this photograph appears to be only semi conscious but she is probably just at a loss as to how to pose for the camera. Nied had four studios at the time that this photograph was taken. There were two galleries in Leeds, and one each in Manchester and Stockport.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
