The young girl featured in this cabinet card portrait seems to be very prepared for a cold Michigan winter. She looks adorable in her fur trimmed coat and matching fur hand warmers. The photograph is a product of the Abbey studio in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Lewis Clark Abbey (1838-1904) was a photographer from 1876 through at least 1900. He was located at 303 East Main Street between 1887 and 1889 which therefore this photograph was taken between those years.
A well dressed couple pose for their portrait at the White studio in Monroe, Wisconsin. Both individuals are wearing corsages creating a question as to whether this image is a wedding portrait. The couple are posed with the gentleman sitting and the lady standing.It is understandable why the lady isn’t sitting. It is unimaginable that she could fit in a chair while wearing such a bulky dress. I wonder if women in such dresses ever got a chance to sit down at social occasions or if they were compelled to stand for long periods of time. The reverse of this cabinet card photograph has an inscription stating “Mamie’s mother and father (Milton Schreckengost)”. Mr. Schreckengost is extremely likely to be the gentleman pictured in this photograph. Interestingly, the German translation of “Schrecken” is “something scary”. However, research found nothing scary about Milton S. Schreckengost. He was born in 1861 in Winslow, Illinois. The 1900 US census finds Milton to be living with his wife Susan and their four year old daughter, Gladys. He and Susan had been married in 1894 and Milton was working as a farmer. The family was living in Buckeye, Illinois. The couple remained in Buckeye during the 1920 and 1930 census. Milton’s occupation was listed as laborer in both surveys but he was likely a farm laborer. On 8/5/1940, Milton died in Buckeye and was buried in Cedarville, Illinois. Susan died around three years earlier. Milton’s death certificate lists his occupation as “farmer”. Further research found that Milton’s marriage to Susan was actually his second marriage. His first marriage was to Mary Musser of Orangeville, Illinois. The couple had one daughter. Mary died in 1890. In 1894 he married a second time (to Susan Kahly). The union with Susan produced Milton’s second daughter. It is not clear whether the woman in this cabinet card is Mary Musser or Susan Kahly. If your wondering why so much of Milton’s life took place in Illinois yet this photograph was taken by a Wisconsin photography studio, I have a rational answer. Buckeye, Illinois and Monroe, Wisconsin, are only 15.1 miles apart. The photographer of this image is Horatio G. White who was born in Oldtown, Maine in 1834. He was listed in a Wisconsin business directory (1875) as a photographer. SOLD
This exquisite vintage photograph captures three siblings posing for their portrait ant the Stone studio in Brooklyn, New York. The oldest child, a girl, is wearing a large straw hat. The two youngest children, possibly twin boys, are wearing sailor caps that display a decorative anchor. Each sibling is holding an item. The items include a ball, basket of flowers, and a walking stick. The photographer, Isaac C. M. Stone was born in England and immigrated to Brooklyn in 1884. He was a photographer in Brooklyn for twenty years. His death was announced in the Bulletin of Photography (1914).
This cabinet card portrait features what is almost certainly a grandfather sitting with his young granddaughter on his knee. Grandpa looks quite proud and his little granddaughter looks very comfortable on her perch. This photograph likely served as an emotional keepsake for either the grandfather or the granddaughter for the remainder of their lives. The photographer of this image is William Bailey who operated a studio in Columbia, Pennsylvania. To view more photographs by this photographer and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Bailey”.
This cabinet card portrait features a wide-eyed young lady with curly bangs. One might posit that she was in her teen years when photographed by Harvey A. Lesure in Danbury, Connecticut. His studio is listed in business directories at 207 Main Street from 1885 through 1887. In 1888 and 1889 his studio was located at 247 Main Street.
This cabinet card portrait features stage actress Jennie Calef. Variety (1917) offers a brief obituary for the actress. She was described as a noted soubrette who became a melodrama star in her later years. There are many articles about Jennie Calef in the newspaper archives. Most are brief and are concerned with announcing her appearances and providing reviews. Many of the articles mention Calef’s beauty. The Cornell Daily Sun (1883) hawks her appearance in M’liss at the Wilgus Opera House in Ithaca, New York. The newspaper quotes a review from the Richmond Sentinel, “Jennie Calef secures the enthusiasm of her audience from her first appearance, and retains it to the end. She is a charming actress”. A negative review can be found in The Daily Gazette– Fort Wayne Indiana (1885). The newspaper reports that “Jennie Calef, the actress who afflicted the people here in a bad play called Little Muffets is (now) devastating the Ohio towns.” It further reports that finances were becoming a problem for the theater company and that one of the “ham fat” actors of the company had taken legal action, attaching the shows baggage for his salary due. Another story concerning the actress is reported by Ohio’s Newark Daily Advocate (1886). The newspaper states that Jennie hurt one of her “beautiful limbs” while rushing onto a Sandusky, Ohio stage. The injury appears to have been to her knee. The article also asserts that she was confined to a Dayton, Ohio hotel room for two months in order to recover. She and a lawyer spoke to a judge about filing suit but the judge advised her not to pursue a law suit against the theater. An unconfirmed story was that the accident occurred when she slipped on some flowers that were given to her by her manager. Further articles indicate that she eventually did file a ten thousand dollar suit against the theater. The Sporting Life (1890) reports Calef’s marriage to Andrew Waldron who was her manager and an actor. Preliminary research failed to uncover details about the latter years of Jennie Calef’s life. This cabinet card portrait was produced by the studio of Gilbert & Bacon. To read more about the Philadelphia studio and it’s history, click on the category “Photographer: Gilbert & Bacon”.
A baby and a pug sit together on a fur covered chair as they pose at Huston’s studio in Grant City, Missouri. There is no identifying information on the reverse of the photograph. According to one photographer directory, Jude Huston operated a studio in Grant City in the 1890’s. To view other photographs of dog, click on the cabinet card gallery category “Dogs”.
Judging by appearance, the two girls in this cabinet card portrait are sisters. The older child is wearing a necklace and both children are wearing bows in their hair. The girls are dressed fashionably. The photographer is Charles E. Long who operated in London, England. He has posed the siblings in a typical studio pose. This image is one of countless cabinet card photos with images of fur covered chairs and tables topped with books.
Two women pose for their portrait at the studio belonging to W. Allderige in Plainville, Connecticut. One of the ladies is holding a tennis racquet but she is holding it in a way that may indicate that she was not a tennis player. Since she is not displaying a proper grip of the racquet, the tennis racquet may just be a prop in the photographers studio. The previous owner of this photograph contended that the two women in this image are actually cross dressing men. Perhaps the former owner was just trying to increase the sales value of the photograph. I would be interested in hearing the opinion of some of the visitors to the cabinet card gallery on this matter. Research discovered some information about photographer William Allderige. He was born in Birmingham, England in 1854. He worked as a shipping clerk for a carrying company and then as a cashier and bookkeeper for a railway company. In 1856 he immigrated to the United States and settled briefly in Northampton, Massachusetts. He then moved to New York City where he studied photography and when proficient, he returned to Northampton and became a traveling photographer. His next business move was to open photography studios in Connecticut. In 1859 he opened a studio in Plainville which he operated for over forty years. He ran a studio in New Britain from 1870 through 1877 which his son took over and operated until 1898. In 1886 he started a studio in Farmington. Allderige was very busy conducting business but he still found time to marry Sarah Dawson in 1848.
An adolescent girl holds a rolled paper as she poses for her portrait at the Hearn Studio in Union City, Pennsylvania. Is that a graduation certificate that she is holding? She is dressed fashionably. Her hat is strategically placed beside her. Her jewelry includes a necklace, bracelet, and a ring. Interestingly the photographer placed two faux rocks in front of her ankles so that her shoes cannot be seen. Is the photographer hiding something? Note the plants in the planter and the art object on the stage beside her. What exactly is that artistic piece? J. P. Hearn was a native of Devonshire, England, where he was born in 1846. He immigrated to Ottawa, Canada with his brother John in 1872. He later moved to St. Catherine where he studied photography with G.F. Maitland. His next stop was Buffalo, New York. In 1875 he came to Union City and opened a photographic gallery which was destroyed in the “Brooklyn Fire” of 1879. After the fire, he was able to successfully rebuild his business in Union City. He married Canadian, Annie McClelland in 1878. Research found another cabinet card that indicates that at some point in time, Hearn operated studios simultaneously in the Pennsylvania cities of Union City and Spartansburg.
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THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
