An adorable little girl in a cute dress poses for her portrait at the Strunk studio in Reading, Pennsylvania. This bright eyed and partially smiling child stands beside a wicker chair. To learn more about John Strunk, and to view many more of his photographs, click on the category “Photographer: Strunk”.
This cabinet card portrait immigrated to the Cabinet Card Gallery from Spain and the photograph was likely taken there. The image features a set of parents and their four daughters. The youngest child is sitting in a wood wagon and is accompanied by a doll. It is not clear in what setting this photograph was taken. Is the family inside a studio, or are they actually being photographed in an alley? I’m guessing that they are in a studio and the photographer has created an outside scene within his studio. Be sure to note the family members great hats.
This cabinet card features pretty actress/singer, Lillian Grubb. The New York Times (1884) reported that the young Baltimore actress had applied to a local court to have her marriage annulled from George Steitmatter, alias, George Deberhard. She wanted her marriage declared null and void due to her husband’s misrepresentation about his marital and financial status. He claimed to be single and wealthy. While still Grubb’s fiance, Mr. Steitmatter claimed that the couple needed to marry quickly because he was about to embark on a trip to Germany. When Ms. Grubb agreed to tie the knot (sometime in 1883) , Steitmatter supposedly left for Germany. In reality, he had gone to New York, the home of his lawful wife. When Ms. Grubb learned that her new husband was already married and was actually in New York; she took the reported legal action. The top cabinet card was published by Newsboy as part of a series of actress photographs (#87). These photographs were used by the company as premiums for their tobacco products. The second cabinet card is a portrait produced by celebrity photographer Jose Mora. She is quite beautiful and appears very coy in this somewhat provocative photograph. Below is an example of one of the many cigarette cards that featured Miss Grubb. This premium was produced by Duke (#N140) as part of their “Yacht Club Colors Series” and was published in 1890.
A older gentleman with a bushy mustache poses for his photograph at the Van Dyke Studio in New York City. Printing on the front of the cabinet card indicates that the owner and operator of the studio was Miss Adele Becker. A female owner of a photography studio was a bit unusual during the cabinet card era but the cabinet card gallery has developed a collection of cabinet cards produced by female photographers. Click on the category “Female Photographers”. In regard to Miss Becker, research yielded little information about her life or career. It is likely she bought the studio from Mr. Van Dyke.
An unidentified well dressed couple pose for their portrait at the Lidberg studio in Red Wing, Minnesota. Note the woman’s thin waist, indubitably assisted by a very tight corset. She and her husband are both wearing corsages which hints that this image is a wedding photograph. Andrew Lidberg emigrated from Sweden and arrived in Michigan in 1877. He opened a photographic studio in Red Wing in 1892. His son, Edward H. Lidberg (1880-?) joined his father in the photography business. He operated in Red Wing for a number of decades. Among his addresses were 312-314 West Avenue and 443 Third. In 1911, Edward added a Real Estate business to his studio. In 1911, he produced Red Wing’s first color postcards. Red Wing has an interesting history. The town was named after a Sioux Indian chief. Red Wing was a leading US wheat production area in the 1870’s. The town was also known for the production of stoneware. It is believed that the first ski club in the United States was formed in Red Wing.
Jacob S. Wissler operated a “Photographic Art Studio” at 129 Walnut Street in Canton, Ohio. According to an inscription on the reverse of this image, in 1889, “Joe and Aunt Ann Schweitzer” visited the studio to obtain a portrait. The result of their photographic venture is seen above. The Schweitzer’s appear in the 1920 and 1930 US census. Joe was born in 1876 in Ohio and he and his wife (listed as Anna M. Schweitzer) were living in Canton with their twenty year-old daughter (Leona M.). Joe’s parents were both born in Germany. In the 1920 census, Joe was working as a machine operator for a Roller Bearing company. Just ten years later, in 1930, Joe was both widowed and unemployed.
This cabinet card may be a bit scruffed up but it is a beauty. The image features a very pretty young lady wearing a fancy hat. She is well dressed and has a lovely smile and sparkling eyes. The photographer of this terrific photograph is George F. Riel who plied his trade in Chicago, Illinois. He was born in 1856. He was married to Minnie Riel. Riel appears in a number of Chicago business directories (including 1877 and 1904) and is listed as a photographer. To view more photographs by George Riel, click on the category “Photographer: Riel”.
This cabinet card features a dandy gentleman holding what appears to be a riding crop in his gloved hands. Is he dressed for riding? Is that a horse shoe pin that he is wearing near the bottom of his vest? Note his pocketwatch and chain. The reverse of the photograph is inscribed by the subject. He wrote “Ever your friend, George L. Stringer”. The reverse of the cabinet card also reveals the name of the photographer. A stamp identifies the portraitist as being A. W. Adams whose studio was located on Water Street in Decorah, Iowa. Research revealed some information about George Lincoln Stringer (1862-1932). The 1880 US census indicates that he was born in Iowa but that his parents were Canadian born. In 1880, he was living in Decorah with his parents. His occupation was hard to decipher but it looked a lot like blacksmith. The 1900 census found him still living in Decorah and married (1884) to Mary Alice Kennedy. The couple had a 15 year-old son named Vernon. Once again his occupation was nearly illegible but it seemed to read “traveling salesman”. George Stringer died in 1932 and is buried in Phelps Cemetery in Decorah. The town of Decorah was settled in 1849 and in its early history had a large number of Norwegian settlers. The Norwegian influence remains there today. The Decorah Posten was the largest Norwegian newspaper in the United States until it shut down in 1972. The town was named after Waukon Decorah, a Winnebago tribal leader, who was a US ally in the Black Hawk War of 1832. The photographer of this cabinet card, Asa W. Adams (1842-1915) operated a photo studio in Decorah between 1863 and 1884. Before moving to Decorah, Adams ran a a studio in McGregor, Iowa (1863). Early during his operations in Decorah he had a partnership with S. R. Shear in the Adams & Shear Gallery. In 1866 he married Emma J. Fuller and the couple had four children. Adams sold his studio to O. E. Borlaug. He next conducted his photography business in Waterloo, Iowa (1884-after 1900). Adams died in 1915 and is buried in Decorah.
This cabinet card features a young woman wearing a pair of unusual eyeglasses. The spectacles are of the pince-nez var iety and what makes the glasses odd are the dark color and the thickness of the frames. This portrait was produced by the Tuttle Studio in Belfast, Maine. William C. Tuttle (1835-1901) was an early Belfast photographer. In addition to working as a photographer, he also wrote about the practice of the profession. Tuttle wrote an article in the journal Mosaics {1878} which was titled “Babies”. The article dispensed humorous tips on how to effectively photograph babies. A book by Joseph Williamson entitled “History of the City of Belfast” (1913) reveals that Tuttle’s studio burned down in a major fire occurring in Belfast in 1885. At one point in his career, Tuttle also had studios in other Maine towns including Winthrop, Castine, Kent’s Hill, and Northport. A classified listing in the Bulletin of Photography (1918) advertises that Tuttle’s Belfast studio was up for sale. The advertisement stated that one of its selling features was that there was “no competition” in Belfast. Tuttle had at least one son that entered his business so it is possible that this son may have been the photographer of this cabinet card. The 1870 Federal Census reveals that Tuttle was married to Georgia Tuttle, a woman who was 14 years his junior. At the time of the census, the couple had a seven month old son named Adrian. Research also discovered that Tuttle had enlisted in the Union army during the civil was. In 1861 he joined Maine’s 13th Infantry regiment as a musician. During the war he reached the rank of full Drum Major. Tuttle is buried in the Grove Cemetery in Belfast.
A pretty young girl poses for her portrait at the Criley studio in Butler, Pennsylvania. She is beautifully dressed and is holding a rolled scroll. Perhaps the paper is her graduation certificate. She looks playfully happy in this image. Her cocked head, her smile, and the gleam in her eyes are evidence of her pleasure in the moment of the taking of this photograph. To view other photographs by N. J. Criley, click on the category “Photographer: Criley and Wagner”.
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