This vintage photograph features two well dressed young girls posing for their portrait at the Star studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is a good bet, that the children are sisters. They certainly share a family resemblance. The older girl seems confident and is displaying a half smile. The younger girl does not seem too pleased to find herself the subject of the photographer’s lens and is holding big sister’s hand for support. Both girls are wearing bows in their hair as well as necklaces. According to the Wisconsin Photographers Index the Star Photo Company operated in Milwaukee between 1898 and 1918. William Cobourn and Joseph L Mutzbauer were two photographers associated with the studio. To view other photographs by Mutzbauer and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Mutzbauer”.
This Cabinet Card presents a bit of a mystery. The photograph is by famed French photographer, P. Nadar of Paris. The subject of the photograph is a mystery. The reverse of the card has the name “Ilbert” written in two places. In addition the word “Chanteuse” also appears. Is she an opera singer? Is she a nightclub singer? The woman is very stylish and is wearing a fur and interesting hair clip. Hopefully, a viewer will leave a comment with some identifying information. ADDENDUM: This photograph entered into the cabinet card gallery in 2009. Since then there have been a number of cabinet card gallery visitors that have left comments concerning the identity of the subject of this image. There has been some disagreement, but at least two visitors have identified this performer as being Yvette Guilbert (1867-1944). To follow the discussion about identification, check out the comment section below. Now back to Mlle Guilbert. Born as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, she began singing as a child but worked at a Paris department store model when she turned sixteen. She also took acting and voice lesson and in 1886 she began working as an actress. She debuted at the Variette Theatre in 1888. She was soon singing at a number of popular clubs before starring in Montmartre at the Moulin Rouge in 1890. Over time she began to sing a lot of monologue “patter songs”. Often the lyrics were risque, even raunchy. Her song frequently featured tragedy and poverty. Guilbert was audacious and audiences ate it up. She was celebrated in France, England and the United States. She was a favorite subject of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who made many portraits and caricatures of Guilbert. Later in her career, she appeared in silent movies, talkies and made recordings. She also wrote books about the Belle Epoque. It is interesting to note that Nadar, the photographer of the mystery chanteuse also photographed Yvette Guilbert. A Nadar photograph of Mlle Guilbert is part of the collection at the National Library of France. A copy of that image can be found below.
