A girl, who appears to be a teenager, poses for her portrait at the studio of L. E. Desmarais & Cie in Montreal, Canada. The street address of the studio was 17 St. Laurent. L. E. Desmarais was listed in a number of Montreal city directories between 1870 and 1895. Two other photographers with the same last name were also listed, Ovila Desmarais (1864-1875) and Oliver Desmarais (1871-1878). It is likely that all three men were related.
PORTRAIT OF A TEENAGE GIRL IN MONTREAL, CANADA
HANDSOME WEDDING COUPLE IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA
The Cabinet Card Gallery is appreciative of the talent of Austrian photographer S. Weitzmann and the site is developing a nice collection of his work. To view other images from Weitzmann’s Vienna studio, click on the category “Photographer: Weitzmann”. This photographic portrait captures a well dressed wedding couple. The bride is holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and the groom’s arm in the other hand. The groom is wearing a flower on his lapel and has a wonderful mustache. Note his top hat on the table beside him. He is holding a pair of white gloves and is wearing his newly acquired wedding band.
JOSIE DITT: MINOR STAGE ACTRESS PHOTOGRAPHED IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
The subject of this cabinet card portrait is stage actress Josie Ditt. Research indicates that she was a minor actress with a number of small role appearances in a number of major theater shows. The New York Dramatic Mirror (1892) announced her appearance in a “10,000 dollar production”, adding “No more, No less, No Bluff”. Will Wilson’s play, “The Man About Town” was playing at the Lyceum Theater. The show was a “Comedy, Vaudeville, Farce”. The New York Times (1894) advertised her appearance in the cast of “Little Christopher Columbus”. The Cornell Daily Sun reports her appearance in “Circus Girl”. This cabinet card was produced by the Conly studio in Boston, Massachusetts. To view other photographs by Charles F. Conly, click on the category “Photographer: Conly”. This particular photograph was once owned by Culver Pictures, a business that supplied celebrity images to the mass media for a fee. A stamp on the reverse of the photograph attests to Culver’s ownership.
A YOUNG WOMAN BECOMES PART OF THE ELITE IN QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS
An unidentified well dressed young woman poses for her portrait at Kellie’s Elite Studio in Quincy, Massachusetts. Apparently, once a person is photographed at Kellie’s, they become part of the elite. The studio advertises prominently in the Quincy Directory (1902).
PORTRAIT OF A FAMILY WITH LOTS OF UNKNOWNS
This family portrait captures what appears to be three siblings posing in a studio located in an eastern European country. I would guess that this photograph is of Bulgarian origin but I am uncertain. Hopefully, cabinet card gallery’s reliable and knowledgeable research department (consisting of the sites interesting and informative visitors) will be able to decipher and translate the studio’s address listed on the bottom of the photograph.
CUTE LITTLE GIRL IN BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA
An adorable little girl (possibly a boy) poses for her (his) portrait at the West studio in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
FAVORABLE ODDS IN BERLIN, WISCONSIN
The gentleman in this photograph has the good fortune to be posing for his portrait with four lovely and well dressed women at the Field studio in Berlin, Wisconsin. One wonders how these five individuals are related. Are they friends? Could they be family? Are they attendees at a match.com stir event? The nature of their relationship is unknown but it is clear that at least two of the women in this image are “swingers”. That is, they are sitting on a swing. The photographer of this image is Julius Herman Field. He was born in 1869 in Waupun, Wisconsin. He was interested in photography and was self trained but talented enough to win photography contests and publish his images. He eventually was trained by a Waupun photographer and soon bought a studio in Berlin. He hired an assistant named Minnie Bell Dies (1879-1971). She eventually became his wife. In 1913 the couple moved to Fayettville, Arkansas where he continued to work as a photographer. He attended the University of Arkansas, graduating in 1933. In 1936 he died after a series of heart attacks. He was cited in the American Amateur Photographer (1905) and in other photographic publications. Many of his photographs are held in the University of Arkansas Library collections.
A MAN AND HIS CHOPS IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
Meet Philip August Albrecht. His name is written in pencil on the reverse of this photograph. Mr Albrecht has chops. This image may be faded but it certainly does justice to his mutton chops. See more great facial hair in the categories “Beards (Only the Best)” and “Mustaches (Only the Best)”. Philip Albrecht appears in the 1870 US census. The document reveals that he was born in Prussia around 1843. He was employed as a bookkeeper and married to Anna Albrecht. The couple had two children, Emma (age 3) and John (age 10 months). Baltimore City Directories disclose that Philip Albrecht worked as a bookkeeper between at least 1868 and 1882. He worked as a cashier at least between 1888 and 1898. Albrecht died in 1909. This photograph was produced by William Foss Shorey (1833-1911) whose studio was located in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a well known photographer in Baltimore and operated there for more than forty years. He was born in Maine and the son of a furrier (Nehemiah Shorey). William graduated from the Maryland Institute of Art and Design and became a drawing instructor there at twenty-five years of age. He learned photography under the tutelage of H. E. Woodward who was associated with the Institute but also owned the Monumental Art Studio. Shorey’s obituary states that he was the official photographer of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody for the first ten years of his show business career. It was also reported that Shorey was the official photographer of the Maryland Department of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is buried in the Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.
ADA SIDNEY: PROBABLE STAGE ACTRESS OR OPERA SINGER
The reverse of this cabinet card identifies the subject as Ada Sidney. Judging by her costume, she appears to have been an opera or stage actress. This photographic portrait was taken by the Marc & Schlum studio in New York City. Research revealed no information about Miss Sidney or the studio photographers.
PORTRAIT BY FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHER MADAME GAGNE IN MONTREAL, CANADA
This cabinet card portrait features a well dressed woman and was produced by a female photographer in Montreal, Canada. Madame Gagne ran a photography studio in Montreal in the 1880’s and early 1890″s. Gagne had studios at other locations in Montreal including 897 St. Catherine (circa 1885) and1823 St. Catherine (date unknown). She was located at the 211 St. Laurent address in 1895. She did a great deal of portrait work for the Chinese community. William Notman was the Montreal photographer associated with taking portraits of the elite. It is likely that Madame Gagne was married to fellow Montreal photographer, Edouard Gagne. The McCord Museum in Montreal has some of Madame Gagne’s work in their collection of historic local photographs.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 