This cabinet card portrait features an adorable little girl wearing a longish gown and sitting on a large chair. The child is identified by an inscription on the reverse of the photograph. Her name is Dorothy B. Pierson and she was 3 1/2 years old when she sat for this photograph. The photo was taken in 1895 by a very well known photographer who took many celebrity portraits. The child was photographed by George Rockwood (1882-191) whose studio was located in New York City. Rockwood was born in Troy, New York and graduated from college with a PhD, reportedly either from the University of Chicago, or Columbia University. At 21 years of age, he was a newspaper reporter for the Troy Daily Times and at age 23, he was managing editor of the Troy Daily Post. He began working as a photographer in St. Louis and in 1857 opened a studio with his brother Elihu in New York City. He has been credited with bringing CDV’s to America. His obituary in the Washington Post reports that Rockwood photographed more than 350,000 people. SOLD
This cabinet card is likely a family portrait. How everyone in the image is related, is anybody’s guess. The family members are well dressed. They don’t look like they’re having fun. In fact, this is a very serious group. This photograph was taken by the Astoria Photo Studio, located in Long Island City, New York. An ad for the studio was printed in “The Daily Star” (1920). The advertisement copy declares that the studio was established in 1871. Long Island City is located along the East River in New York City’s borough of Queens. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 