LOUELLA PAULINE BISHOP SITS FOR THE FOTOGRAFIST IN PRESQUE ISLE, MAINE

An inscription on the reverse of this photograph identifies this pretty young woman in the image as Louella Pauline Bishop. Research was unsuccessful in mining any biographical information about her. The photograph was produced by the Davis studio in Presque Isle, Maine. Apparently, Davis wanted to be known as a fotografist rather than photographer. Researching the meaning of the word “Fotographist”,  I learned its actually an English word that is simply another way of saying photographer. Prescott Davis was born in 1863. He married his wife Annie in 1889. He appears in the 1900 U.S. census as being a photographer and living in Presque Isle. One wonders if his out of town friends referred to him as “Prescott from Presque”. Presque Isle is located in northeast Maine. It was settled in 1828 and was originally named Fairbanks. The town was located in no man’s land. The territory was claimed by both British Canada and the United States. It was called Presque Isle because the French meaning of Presque is peninsula and the town is located on a peninsula between the Aroostock River and the Presque Isle Stream. In earlier times the town was known for its involvement in agriculture and the lumber business.

Published in: on November 10, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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WELL-TO-DO COUPLE IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

An elegantly dressed couple pose for their portrait at the Providence, Rhode Island studio of Theodore F. Chase. The gentleman in this photograph displays a common cabinet card facial expression. He looks intently serious. His wife, on the other hand, has quite the sour look on her face. She looks like there is a hundred other places she would rather be. Chase’s studio was located at 61 Westminister Street. He also operated his business from other addresses. City directories reveal that in 1883 and 1884 his studio was located at 249 1/2 Westminister. Theodore Chase was born in 1842 in Fall River, Massachusetts. He married Emma Horton in 1865 and the couple had four children.

 

Published in: on November 9, 2012 at 12:01 am  Comments (2)  
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BRIGHT EYED LADY IN ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

A pretty young woman is featured in this portrait by the Lenhart studio in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This bright eyed woman is wearing earrings and a collar pin.To learn more about Lenhart and to view more of his photographs, click on the category “Photographer: Lenhart”.

Published in: on November 8, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN IN MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT (POSSIBLY AN ACTRESS)

The pretty woman in this cabinet card photograph has the appearance of an actress. She has struck a provocative pose in this photograph and is very photogenic. She looks like she rolled out of bed and forgot to get dressed before coming to the A. Pritchard Photographic Art Studio to have her portrait taken.  She also looks like she is wearing her bed clothes, but that is not likely the case. Perhaps she is wearing a costume from a stage production she was appearing in. The reverse of the photograph has the name “Lillian” written on it. Trying to use the first name to assist in identifying this young lady was fruitless. I can’t resist the following insight. The Cabinet Card Gallery has few  images that have been significantly damaged over time. A previous owner of this image cut corners to fit this photograph into a frame. I am beginning to accept what many other collectors already believe,  that damaged photographs have a place in cabinet card collections.The images of damaged cards, even significantly damaged cards, can be quite beautiful as well as interesting. They are as much a window of  history as the most pristine cards. I wonder if the visitors to this gallery agree with me about the value of many damaged cards? Enough of my editorializing! Its time to return to the cabinet card seen above. The photographer of this image, A..Pritchard, operated his studio in Meriden, Connecticut. The Meriden Morning Record  (1921) has an article announcing that Alfred Pritchard had opened a new studio in Meriden. The article states that he had been in Meriden for 15 years but had left the area in 1901. He had moved to New York City where he was “connected with Colonel Marceau” in operating a Fifth Avenue photography business. Later he was “connected” with Roger Sherman’s studio in New Haven, Connecticut. This cabinet card image was produced during Pritchard’s first stint in Meriden.

Published in: on November 7, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS / SINGER POSES IN ENGLAND

A young unidentified woman poses for her portrait at Nye & Company in England. Judging by her clothing, stage presence, and stance, she is likely an actress or dancer. Researching the address of the studio resulted in a great deal of evidence that the studio was located in London. However, the name of the street is consistently listed as “Walworth Road”, not “Watworth Road”. It appears that this address was the studio of R. R. Wilson in the 1880’s, Nye in the 1890’s and H. Bown after the turn of the century. These dates are just guesstimates based on examining other cabinet cards that were produced over the years from the studio that existed at the Walworth address.

Published in: on November 6, 2012 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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PRETTY BRIDE IN HERKIMER, NEW YORK

This cabinet card features a beautiful young woman posing for what is probably her wedding portrait. She is wearing a stunning white lace trimmed dress and is holding a white ostrich feather in her gloved hands. Note her big puff sleeves. This image was produced by the Willey & Griswold studio  in Herkimer, New York. The studio was located on the “Democrat Block”. This is certainly an unusual name for a street. The area doesn’t sound like a particularly heterogeneous neighborhood. My hypothesis is that the street was named after a local newspaper, The Herkimer County Democrat which was published between 1856 and 1861. The newspaper company was likely located on the block, and as a major landmark, the street was named after it.  SOLD

Published in: on November 5, 2012 at 12:01 pm  Comments (1)  
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TWO WARMLY DRESSED MEN EN ROUTE

The subjects of this photograph are two warmly dressed men.  The seated man is wearing a fur coat and an interesting cap.  Is it a buffalo coat? He is holding a walking stick or cane. Look at his hands. They seem to be the hands of a man who works outside in the elements. The standing man is well dressed and his wardrobe includes a long coat. One wonders what line of work these men pursued. The man in the fur looks like a trapper. The man in the long coat looks like a rancher. If only assessing occupations of people in photographs was so easy.  This photograph was produced by Shepherd’s Automatic Studio. The location of the studio is listed as “On Route” which likely indicates that the photographer responsible for this image was a travelling photographer.

 

Published in: on November 5, 2012 at 12:01 am  Comments (3)  
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PORTRAIT OF STAGE ACTRESS MARY BEEBE (PHOTOGRAPH BY NAPOLEON SARONY)

This cabinet card, by celebrity photographer Napoleon Sarony, features actress Mary Beebe. She was a lesser known stage performer but did receive notice in the theater sections of major newspapers. Music and Drama (1882) reported that she had cancelled her performance with the Boston Ideal Opera Company because she had a sore throat. Life (1885) reviewed her performance in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Patience”. The article described her performance as “good, but not up to standard”. To view other photographs by Sarony, click on the Cabinet Card Gallery category “Photographer: Sarony”.

Published in: on November 4, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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A YOUNG MAN AND THREE YOUNG WOMAN IN FANCY COSTUMES (STUTTGART, GERMANY)

A young man and three young woman dressed in ethnic clothing, or theatrical costumes, pose at the H. Brandseph studio in Stuttgart, Germany. The foursome are attractive, and they appear to be teenagers. Perhaps they are stage performers. Printing on the reverse of the cabinet card reveals that Hermann Brandseph’s Stuttgart studio was located at “Marienstrasse 36”. A telephone number is listed for the studio which demonstrates that this photograph was produced toward the end of the cabinet card era. Hermann was the son of well known German photographer Georg Friedrich Brandseph (1826-1915). Georg was a lithographer, silhouetter, and painter who learned about the daguerreotype process from the celebrated photographer Karl Reutlinger who lived in Stuttgart (to view a number of Reutlinger’s photographs, click on cabinet card gallery category “Photographer: Reutlinger”).  Georg opened his own studio there in 1853. In the 1870’s the Brandseph studio was extremely successful. In fact, by 1870, the studio had 40 employees. Georg turned the studio over to his son Hermann (1857-1907) in 1884.

Published in: on November 3, 2012 at 12:01 am  Comments (2)  
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GRADUATION PICTURE OF YOUNG WOMAN IN EAST SUMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS

A young girl in a fancy dress poses for her graduation portrait. She is holding a rolled diploma which is pressed against the keyboard of a piano. There are scattered books atop the piano. A ribbon hangs over the books and the ribbon has lettering on it. Magnification indicates that part of the wording says “Class of 1887” and has a drawing of a building on it (is the building a school?). The photographer of the image is B. F. Freeman whose studio was located At 42 Broadway in East Somerville, Massachusetts. Freeman was listed as a photograher in the Somerville City Directory (1883) and the New England Business Directory (1889).

Published in: on October 31, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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