An adorable little girl with sausage curls, a fancy dress and a little parasol poses for her portrait at the Strunk studio in Reading, Pennsylvania. She has a very serious expression but looks very sweet. To view other photographs by photographer John D Strunk and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Strunk”.
This cabinet card photograph features actress Alice Vivian and it is number 74 in a series of photographs distributed as premiums for the purchase of Newsboy tobacco products. This image is certainly risque for the era that it was produced. She is certainly displaying a lot of leg. Miss Vivian appears to be one of the pioneers of early burlesque. She is holding a stringed instrument which I believe to be a mandolin. A stamp on the reverse of this photograph indicates that it once belonged to Culver Pictures, which was located at 60 First Avenue in New York City. Culver loaned photographs to media companies to utilize in their publications. Culver charged the companies for one time usage of the images. Preliminary research uncovered no information about Alice Vivian. To view other photographs by Newsboy, click on the category “Photographer: Newsboy”.
An older man poses for this cabinet card photograph by Frank Lawrence who operated a studio in Worcester, Massachusetts. Advertising on the reverse of the image reveals that the studio was located at 492 Main Street. The gentleman in this photograph is nicely dressed and groomed (despite his longish locks). He has a very strong countenance. He looks like the sort of man that you would not want to alienate. He has an appearance that strongly suggests determination and grit. Research found an advertisement in the Worcester Directory (1867)for Lawrence’s studio which trumpeted that he produced both Sphereotypes and Ambrotypes. A stereographic photograph by Lawrence of the great flood of Worcester (1876) was also discovered. His name appears in Worcester business directories through 1886.
Henrietta Crosman was a renowned American stage and film actress and she is captured beautifully in this cabinet card photographed by Napoleon Sarony. To learn more about Sarony, a famous celebrity photographer, click on the category “Photographer: Sarony”. Sarony’s subject, Miss Crosman was born In West Virginia. Her father was a civil war Major and her mother was the niece of composer Stephen Foster. She was educated in several locations as her father was stationed in a number of posts while pursuing his military career. She began acting in New York City when she joined a local theater company in 1883. Her next experience with a theater company included a national tour. In 1889 she performed Shakespeare for the first time. She performed at the Daly Theater. In the 1890’s she joined Daniel Frohman’s stock company. She excelled in adventure romances and popular drawing farces. By 1900, she had reached stardom. Her appearances included roles in such plays as “As You Like It” (1902), “Sweet Kitty Bellairs” (1903), and “The Real Thing” (1911). Crosman avoided motion pictures until 1914. She then signed a deal with Adolph Zukor’s Famous Players. Her husband, Maurice Campbell became a noted director. Crosman appeared in both silent films and “talkies”. She was in a total of 22 films between 1914 and 1937 including “Charlie Chan’s Secret” (1936),
The gentleman in this cabinet card photograph has an unusual appearance. He appears to be small in stature and is nicely dressed and groomed. He is wearing a pin in the knot of his tie. The photographer is C. C. Cook whose studio was located in Little Rock, Arkansas. Mr. Cook can be found in the Little Rock business directory (1886) where he is listed as a photographer.
Two trumpeters in band uniforms pose for their portrait at the Brown studio in Sterling, Illinois. This is one of those times that there is a need for consultation from one of the visitors to the Cabinet Card Gallery with band instrument expertise. Are these men holding trumpets, cornets, or bugles? One also wonders about the relationship between the two men in this photograph. Are they father and son?Unfortunately the subjects are not identified and their relationship, besides being bandmates, is unknown. In addition, the men’s uniforms lack patches or lettering to suggest their band affiliation. Research yielded no information about the photographer of this image.
This Spanish American War era soldier is dressed, armed and ready to deploy. Note his long rifle and the bayonet he is wearing on his side. He is wearing two medals, one which the previous owner of the photograph identified as signifying that he was the son of a Union civil war veteran. This photograph was taken at Dempsie Portraits which was located at 316 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. George M. Dempsie began operating in Minneapolis in about 1887 and worked until at least 1910. He was at the Nicollet Avenue address between 1889 and 1910. He operated under the names of Dempsie’s New Photographic Rooms, Dempsie Portraits, and Dempsie & Andrews. At various times he employed his sons George R. Dempsie and Guy C. Dempsie.
A pretty young woman with her hair up, wears a scarf and necklace as she poses for her portrait at the Chillman studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. To learn more about P. E. Chillman and to view a collection of his photographs, click on the category “Photographer: Chillman”.
This cabinet card portrait of a pretty and fashionable young woman is the work of G. W. Pach. The woman in the photograph appears quite austere but of course sometimes appearance can be deceptive. Pach, and the Pach Brothers, were celebrated photographers of their era. G. W. Pach’s studio at the time of this photograph was located at 841 Broadway at the corner of 13th Street in New York City. Pach also had branch studios at Harvard and Yale Universities as well as in Poughkeepsie and West Point, New York. In addition, there were branch studios in Long Branch and Ocean Grove, New Jersey. The aforementioned studios are all mentioned in print on the reverse of the cabinet card. Also on the back of the image is a pencilled date indicating that this photograph was taken in 1879. To learn more about the Pach Brothers and to view additional photographs taken by them , click on the category “Photographer: Pach Bros”.
This cabinet card features stage actress Nanette Nixon. She is wearing a flower pattern dress with a lace collar. Nixon’s photograph appeared in The Sunday Telegraph (1898) and the text describes her as “soulful and able as an actress”. The brief article reports that theatre goers in New York were looking forward to her upcoming appearances there. Interestingly, the photograph in the Telegraph was taken by the same photographer who produced the photograph appearing on this cabinet card. The photographer of this image is William Mckenzie Morrison whose studio was located in the Haymarket Theatre building in Chicago, Illinois. Morrison was a well known and successful celebrity photographer. The reverse of the photograph is illustrated with medals from the Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893), Photographers Association of America (1894), The Cotton States and International Exposition (1895), and various other competitions. To view other photographs by Morrison, click on the category “Photographer: Morrison”.
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