A young woman poses for her portrait at the studio of C. W. Lucas in Brodhead, Wisconsin. She has long dark hair and is dressed nicely but not fancy. She is wearing an interesting necklace. The necklace is a string of small cubes. Hanging from the necklace is a small cameo. Photographer, Charles W. Lucas located to Brodhead in 1869, He was born in 1841 and was a native of Maine. He entered the field of photography in 1866 and moved to Wisconsin in 1868. He partnered with others in photography studios until 1871 when he began to operate independently. He was married to Bashie Springstead of Brodhead. It is interesting to note that there is an error on the front of this cabinet card. The name of the town of “Broadhead” is misspelled. The name should be spelled “Brodhead”. One wonders why Charles Lucas kept the card stock even though part of his address was spelled incorrectly.
YOUNG WOMAN AND HER INTERESTING NECKLACE IN BROADHEAD, WISCONSIN
FIVE ADORABLE COSTUMED CHILDREN IN RUMA, SERBIA
Someone described the children in this photograph as enchanting; and I agree wholeheartedly. The kids in the photograph are all dressed in wonderful costumes. Perhaps they are dressed this way because they are going to a costume party. It is also possible that they are attired in costumes provided to them by the photographer for purposes of producing an interesting portrait. The children are dressed in occupational fashion. Focusing on the boys from left to right, we see a jester, a fishmonger, a courtier,and a bread seller. It is unclear to me what occupation the little girl is representing. The photographer of this image has the last name of “Veritas”. His studio was located in Ruma, Serbia.
ANGELIC LITTLE GIRL IN ARTISTIC POSE IN DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
An angelic looking young girl dressed in white, poses in an artistic portrait at the Drew Studio in Dover, New Hampshire. The little girl does not appear very happy about the process of being photographed. She has corkscrew curls and is wearing hair ribbons. She is sitting cross legged in a white wicker chair. The photographer of this large format image is A. P. Drew. The Dover Enquirer (1896) has an article which mentions Alfred Palmer Drew. In 1896 a “deluge” and subsequent fire destroyed a business block and three bridges in Dover. The flooding sent the stores on the block down the Cocheco River. The photography studio Drew and Boomer was among the stores washed away. The Bulletin of Photography (1917) contains the obituary of A. P. Drew. He died at the age of 81. He had been born in Dover and had worked as a photographer there for more than 50 years. He retired in about 1914. During the civil war he had been a member of the Strafford Guards. The regiment was originally established in 1822 and a year later became part of the New Hampshire State Militia. In 1864 the Strafford Guards were mustered into service of the Union Army for a period of sixty days. They relieved a New Hampshire artillery unit that had been sent to the front. A. P. Drew served as a corporal.
MOTHER JUGGLES BABIES IN LEWISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
“Now, for a special treat, step right up and watch an amazing feat. A mom, from her sitting position, will juggle her twin babies.” Fortunately, the only juggling this mother likely did was what most mothers do. Moms’ tend to be amazing in the way they successfully juggle their children’s needs and other important responsibilities; and do so much, so effectively. The mother and two children in this photograph are unidentified. The children are most likely twins. The photographer of this image is Pross, whose studio was located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Research revealed no biographical information about the photographer. However, a photograph dated 1894 was discovered that indicated that the successor to Pross’s business was a photographer with the last name of Hunter. Therefore, the above photograph was taken sometime before 1894.
CELEBRATED ACTRESS ADA REHAN AND HER LABORADOR RETRIEVER (PAGE INCLUDES ADDITIONAL PORTRAITS OF MISS REHAN)
PHOTOGRAPH 1 (SOLD)
PHOTOGRAPH 2
PHOTOGRAPH 3Ada Rehan was a well known and respected American actress. The top cabinet card portrait of Ms Rehan and her dog was published by Napoleon Sarony, a famous celebrity photographer in New York City, New York. Ada Rehan was born in Ireland and came to the United States at six years of age. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She began acting as a child. From 1873 until 1875 she became more active in acting at Mrs. Drew’s Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She then joined John Albaugh’s company and appeared in Baltimore, Albany and numerous other cities. In 1879 she joined Augustin Daly’s company upon his opening of his New York theater. She worked with his company for twenty years and appeared throughout Europe. The IBDB reveals that Ada Rehan appeared in 12 Broadway productions. Some of the Broadway and non Broadway plays she appeared in include a number of Shakespeare productions such as “As You Like It” and “Twelfth Night”. Rehan also acted in “The School for Scandal”, “Foresters”, “Cinderella at School”, and “Our English Friend”. She retired from the stage in 1906 and lived in New York City until her death. It is interesting to note that Ms Rehan’s dog is on a leash. The leash is made of metal links. She is holding the leash with both hands. This is the first leash that I have observed in the many cabinet card photographs of dogs that I have seen. The dog at the end of the leash in this image appears to be a laborador retriever. (SOLD)
The second portrait of Miss Rehan was published by Newsboy of New York. The image was number 68 in a series of photographs. Newsboy distributed these images as premiums for their tobacco product sales.
The third image of Miss Rehan is a bust portrait by Louis Thors of San Francisco, California. Thors was born in Holland in 1845. He was of French descent and educated in France. He was fitted for service in the Merchant Marine and he served in that capacity for a number of years before coming to California in 1876. By 1880 he had established his photography business. One source states that his studio had more than twelve “apartments”. He won a Bronze Medal at the Paris Exposition in 1889. His wife, Gertrude M. Thors was also a photographer. Camera Craft: Photographic Association of California (1910) printed Thors’s obituary. He was described as one of the highest esteemed photographers in San Francisco. He died of stomach cancer at age seventy-two. He worked in the photography business in San Francisco for over forty years. He left the city after the San Francisco fire and worked in St. Louis for two years before returning to California. The obituary reports that after his immigration to the United States, his skill as a painter earned him employment with photographers Bradley and Rulofsen (click on category “Photographer: Bradley and Rulofsen” to view some of their photographs). In addition, the death notice asserted that besides his talents as a photographer, Thors had a charming personality and high moral character. To view other photographs by Thors, click on the category “Photographer: Thors”.
HANDSOME COUPLE IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
This photograph features an attractive couple posing for a photographer in Chicago, Illinois. The photographer’s last name is Banks and his studio was located at 2445 Kensington Avenue. The couple is very well dressed and share very serious expressions.The gentleman has a terrific mustache which curls at both ends. The couple are unidentified and no biographical information was found about the photographer.
NATURAL BEAUTY IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
A young woman poses for her portrait at the studio of Bellin & Murphy in Brooklyn, New York. As part of the advertising on the reverse of this cabinet card, the photographers state that “none but strictly first class work allowed to leave the studio”. Although this image is not an exceptional portrait, the photographer did do a “first class” job of capturing the subjects “girl-next-door” natural beauty.
PRETTY WOMAN IN ROCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Photographer I. A. Collins of Rochester, New Hampshie, produced this cabinet card portrait of a lovely woman. She is wearing a pretty dress and an abundance of jewelry. Note her bracelet, ring, pin and chains. Her dress has two very large buttons and hopefully one of the fashion experts who visit the Cabinet Card Gallery can explain the purpose of the buttons. It appears as if the buttons are held together by a clasp and serve to keep the skirt portion in position.Very little information could be uncovered about photographer I. Collins. He was listed in the Dover, New Hampshire business directory (1889 and 1891) as a photographer. The directories report that the gallery was located on a street named Hanson.
CUTE GIRL HOLDING A BEAUTIFUL DOLL IN HAMBURG, GERMANY
A cute little girl holds her doll as she stands on an ornate chair in the studio of photographer Gustav Habel in Hamburg, Germany. Note the wonderful detail in the doll’s appearance. In addition, examine the carved animal heads at the end of the arm rests of the chair.The girl is wearing a great hat and dressy high boots. No biographical information could be found about Gustav Habel and the girl in the image is unidentified.
A BOY AND HIS TRICYCLE IN BEAVER DAM, WISCONSIN
Photographer P. Veling & Bro produced this portrait of a boy and his tricycle. Note the clarity of the trike in this image. The child is dressed adorably and is wearing a wonderful hat. This studio photograph was taken in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. The photographer, Peter Veling was born in Germany in 1855. He immigrated to the United States as a baby. He married his wife, Theresa, in 1881. He is listed as a photographer in the 1880, 1900, and 1910 US censuses. However, the 1920 census indicates that Veling had became the postmaster of Beaver Dam.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 