This Cabinet Card was found with 76 other Cabinet Card photographs in an album of members of the class of 1882 at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It is believed that this image was taken in 1878. The subject of this photo is Sam Foss who was born in New Hampshire. After graduation from Brown he became a librarian and poet. His works include The House by the Side of the Road and The Coming American. In 1898 he became the librarian at the Somerville Public Library in Massachusetts. He wrote a poem a day for then newspapers and published five volumes of collected poetry. Until 2003, his words were on the granite wall at the Air Force Academy. He wrote “Bring me men to match my mountains, Bring me men to match my plains, Men with empires in their purpose, And new Eras in their brains” (from Coming American 1894) The photographic studio that produced this Cabinet Card is Hambly and Shoal in Providence, Rhode Island.
Sam Foss: American Poet
VIOLA ALLEN: THEATRICAL ACTRESS IN PERFORMANCE OF “IN THE PALACE OF THE KING” (1901)
Viola Allen (1869-1948) was an American theater and silent film actress who acted in roles between 1882-1919. She was born in Alabama and was the daughter of an actor. Her first stage appearance in New York City was at age 14 when she substituted for the ill Annie Russell who was playing the title role of Esmeralda at Madison Square Theater. Allen’s father was also a member of the cast. Allen appeared in many productions including Masqueraders, Twelfth Night, Under the Red Robe, The Christian, and the Winter Tale. Her most popular roles were in Shenendoah and Little Lord Fauntleroy. The reverse of this card has writing that indicates that this image is from Allen playing the role of Dolores in “In The Palace of the King” (1901). The photographer of this Cabinet Card was the studio of Sands & Brady in Providence, Rhode Island.
MRS FRED RATHBUN AND STATUE IN TORONTO, CANADA
This Cabinet card was photographed by Hunter & Co. of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The subject of the photograph is Mrs Fred Rathbun and she is fashionably dressed as she poses by a table topped by a book and a statue. The Rathbun name is a prominent name in Toronto, though no additional identifying information is currently available. Visitors to this site should feel free to leave any information they may have about the woman in this photograph.
PRETTY LITTLE GIRL WITH LONG HAIR IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
A pretty little girl poses for her portrait in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The photographer is Werner. She has very long hair and expressive eyes. She is holding her hat on her knee.
PORTRAIT OF RUSSIAN SAILOR AND WIFE (1906)
This Russian cabinet card is a portrait of a uniformed Russian sailor and his wife. The reverse of the card has an inscription in Russian which states “In good memory for dear Ivan Afansevich and Agrippa Petrovna, from Maria and Aleksandr Limonnivov”. The inscription is dated January 30th, 1906.
PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN IN INDIA BY THOMAS A RUST
This cabinet card comes from the studio of Thomas A. Rust who was a well known photographer in India. The Cabinet Card Gallery has another portrait by Rust which can be viewed by clicking on the “Photographer: Thomas A. Rust” category found below. This photograph is a very clear image of a fashionable woman posing with a woven basket on her lap. The basket is holding flowers. To learn more about photographer Thomas A. Rust, click on his name below.
TWO CUTE KIDS STANDING ON CHAIR IN WAPOKONETA, OHIO
Two cute kids, probably, sisters, are seen in the Cabinet Card posing on a chair for photographer W. E. Potter of Wapakoneta, Ohio. Both girls look a bit intimidated by their experience in front of the camera. The youngest girl is leaning close into her sisters shoulder, perhaps out of fear rather than the photographers instructions. Wapokoneta was an important site to Ottawa Native Americans and they were later replaced by the Shawnee. In 1883 the Shawnee and Seneca Native Americans were forced to leave the town. This primarily agricultural town also developed an oil and natural gas drilling industry during the 1880’s.
FOUR SPANISH AMERICAN WAR SOLDIERS READING A MAGAZINE IN ILLINOIS
This Cabinet Card captures four Spanish American War era soldiers posing for their portrait in the studio of Vestine, located in Rockford, Illinois. The men are reading a magazine together and apparently find something amusing. Note the men’s military hats and overcoats. To view other photographs by Vestine, click on the category “Photographer: Vestine”.
BEAUTIFUL WOMAN POSES IN HER MOURNING ATTIRE IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
A beautiful woman poses for her portrait for a photographer in the studio of Klauber in Louisville, Kentucky. The woman’s name is J. T. Lane. She is wearing a black mourning dress with elaborate beading and ribbons. She is wearing an interesting black hat and black gloves. Ms Lane is holding a hankie and a book. The photograph comes from a collection of photographs which belonged to a Charleston, South Carolina family. The same collection featured a number of photographs of a woman named Effe May Blanchard who married prominent Charlestonian Julian Hazelhurst Walter. A portrait and description of the life of the attractive Ms Blanchard-Walter can be found by clicking on the tag found below this entry. The relationship between J. T. Lane and Ms Blanchard-Walter is unknown. The photographer of this portrait, Edward Klauber was considered by many to be one of the best photographers of his time. He was a native of Bohemia who came to the United States at age eighteen. His large and elegant studio was compared to the studio of Matthew Brady in New York City. The studio was lavishly furnished. Stage personalities like Mary Anderson enjoyed having portraits done by Klauber when they were in Louisville performing at the Macauley theatre. Klauber’s studio closed in 1913 and he died in 1918.
BEAUTIFUL BELLE IN CHARLESTON: EFFE MAY BLANCHARD-WALTER
This Cabinet card is a portrait of a beautiful woman named Effe May Blanachard-Walter. Effe was from Newark, New Jersey where her father, Noah Farwell Blanchard ran a successful leather business. His company made knapsacks, haversacks and other leather goods for the Union Army during the civil war. In 1879 he became the President of a start-up company that became Prudential Life Insurance Company. He also was a religious man who served as President of the Board of Trustee at Trinity Church in Newark, New Jersey. Effe married Julian Hazelhurst Walter in about 1896. Interestingly, a book on the history of Newark, New Jersey, spells her name as Affie rather than Effe. Another source reveals that Julian H Walter (1870 – ?) was born in New Jersey but at age 2 he and his family returned to their native South Carolina. As a young adult he worked in his fathers cotton business and then at age 26 moved to New York where be became a prominent businessman. He worked in the seed business founding the firm Stumpp and Walter Company. Now, back to the Cabinet Card. This photograph captures Effe in a beautiful white dress with much lace and puffed sleeves. The photographer is Leidloff of Charleston, South Carolina. Herman Leidloff came to the United States from Berlin, Germany in 1872. After living in New York, Boston and Baltimore he came to Charleston in the late 1870’s and by 1881 had begun operating his photographic studio.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 