This cabinet card features a well-dressed handsome couple posing for their portrait at Hobert Brother’s Studio. The studio was located in Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo city directory lists Adam, A. S., W.F., and Stanley Hobert as working at the address of the photographic gallery. It is possible that A. S. Hobert may be Adam Stanley Hobert. Therefore, it is not clear how many Hobert Brothers were proprietors of the studio. (SOLD)
According to an ad on the reverse of this cabinet card, De Young’s studio will make a life size crayon or oil portrait from this photograph, and include a gilt or bronze frame, for the bargain price of twelve dollars. De Young’s studio was located in New York City, New York. There is an ad in the “Photographic Times” (1884) placed by De Young. The studio published a famous photograph of Harry Longabaugh and his girlfriend, Etta Place. Who is Harry Longabaugh? The celebrated outlaw is better known by the name of “The Sundance Kid”. The portrait above, is a photograph of a young child, wearing a bonnet, and holding a basket of flowers. The child is posed next to a statue of a pug. The child’s clothing, and hair, has been hand colored. SOLD
First of all, who is Boullard? After viewing this cabinet card, the logical guess is that she is a stage performer. However, research has failed to discover any biographical information about this scantily clad woman. This photo is risque for the era it was published; even though she is wearing a body stocking underneath her costume. The cabinet card was produced for Newsboy (New York), as part of a series of premiums offered with the purchase of Newsboy’s tobacco products. This cabinet card is number 122 in the series. To view other photographs by Newsboy, click on the category “Newsboy”. UPDATE: Further research turned up the following information about the mysterious actress that is the subject of this photograph. I can’t believe it took me three years to learn her first name. America: A Journal for Americans (1890) announced the appearance of Miss Marie Boullard in “Flying Dancer” at the Chicago Opera House. Prior to this appearance she had been dancing at a theater in New York City. (SOLD)
An adorable little girl sits for her portrait inside an unknown studio, in an unknown location. Identifying information about the photographer was lost when a previous owner of the image, trimmed the photograph to fit into a frame. The child posing in this photograph is seated in a wicker chair. She is wearing a cute dress and terrific hat. The child is smiling for the photographer and appears quite relaxed and radiant in front of the camera. There appears to be a toy lying next to her on the chair. It looks to be a stuffed animal, perhaps, a teddy bear.
This cabinet card features a portrait of “Master Willie Wainwright” at two years-old. A dedication on the reverse of the card states “to his friend Mable Ayers”. Master Willie is wearing a straw hat which is covering his long blond locks of hair. The photographer is Edgerton Reyerson Higgins (1845-1911) of Fresno, California. Higgins was born in Canada. His mother was Canadian and his father was from Connecticut. He attended high school and Business College in San Francisco, California. He helped out at the photographic gallery of his brother, Thomas J. Higgins while attending school. Higgins worked as a photographer in a number of California towns, including Sacromento, Snelling, Stockton, Merced, Hanford, and Fresno. He worked for at least two well known photographic studios, one of which is represented in the Cabinet Card Gallery collection; Bradley and Rulofson. The second famous photography studio was Thomas Houseworth & Company. Click on the category Photographer: Bradley & Rulofson” to view their photographs. While working in Snelling, Higgins was quoted as saying he took “pretty pictures, even of ugly people”. This cabinet card is from Fresno and it appears that he worked there at two different times. He was there temporarily in 1879. This cabinet card was published during his second stint, which began in 1887. Higgins did much to help his community. In 1889 he was one of the principal founders of the Fresno Volunteer Fire Department, and from about 1889 until the early 1890’s, he served as chief of the department. In 1898 he renamed his gallery the “Rembrandt Studio” and a year later, entered a partnership with a photographer named Howland. The California Historical Society has a small collection of Higgins’s photographs. (SOLD)
A pretty girl poses for her portrait at a photographic studio in Ludington, Michigan. The photographer was Fred C. Silver (1848-?). Silver was born in Ohio, and came to Ludington in 1871 from Elkhart, Indiana. Upon his arrival, he opened a photographic gallery, becoming the first photographer in Ludington. The town was originally named Pere Marquette, but was later named after industiralist Jmes Ludington. Ludington’s logging operations were the reason the town developed. Ludington became an incorporated city in 1873. The late 19th century brought a boom to the area as a result of the lumber business and the discovery of salt deposits. The young lady in this photograph is wearing a nice dress, and jewelry at her collar. She is displaying a very serious expression in this image.
This cabinet card features an unidentified flower adorned actress. She is photographed by Falk, a well known celebrity photographer in New York City. The photograph is dated 1886. To view other photographs by Falk, click on the category “Photographer: Falk”. ADDENDUM: An informed visitor to the cabinet card gallery has identified this actress as Belle Archer (see comment below).
This cabinet card is a portrait of a fashionable couple posing in a Fort Wayne, Indiana, photographic studio. Note that both subjects are wearing gloves; the man is wearing black gloves while the woman is wearing white gloves. The photographer is John A. Shoaff (1836-1921). Shoaff was born in Juanita, Pennsylvania and moved with his family to Fort Wayne at the age of twelve. He operated his business in Fort Wayne until his retirement in 1894. He died at the age of 85, in Fort Wayne. To view other photographs by this photographer, click on the category “Photographer: Shoaff”.
A very cute, but unsmiling child, poses for a portrait by the Haussler Brothers. Note the sailing ship pin attatched to the nautical cap. Although the child’s clothing looks feminine, it is not clear whether this young sailor is a boy or a girl. The studio that published this cabinet card was in Coburg, Germany. Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany.
This cabinet card features two attractive young women, obviously sisters, posing in white clothing and wearing dark leather caps. What is the story concerning the caps? The headwear is certainly quite unusual to be seen in a photograph from this era. Are the caps part of an occupational uniform? One wonders if the caps are driving caps, but the automobile was likely not around all that long when this photograph was taken. Any theories about the hats would be welcome from cabinet card gallery visitors. Please leave a comment with your theories. This cabinet card was photographed by the Baker Art Gallery of Columbus, Ohio. To learn more about the gallery and to view other photographs by the Baker’s, click on the category “Photographer: Baker Art Gallery”.
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