Ten year-old Blanch Howard poses for this cabinet card photograph by McCormick of Boston, Massachusetts. She cofidently stares into the camera and has a look of precociousness. Her name is inked on the reverse of the card and it is spelled Blanch and not Blanche. Blanch is a name of French origin and has a creative spelling. The peak year for the popularity of the name Blanch in America was 1924. To view other photographs by McCormick, click on the category “Photographer: McCormick”.
BLANCH HOWARD: A PRECOCIOUS TEN YEAR OLD IN BOSTON (1887)
THREE FRIENDLY CRICKET PLAYERS IN WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND
This cabinet card photograph is a portrait of three uniformed cricket players posing at the studio of Henry Abbott in Wolverhampton, England. In 1835 a group of sportsmen met at a tavern in Wolverhampton to organize the playing of cricket in the borough. Records exist of the play of organized rugby in Wolverhampton beginning the year 1842.
WEDDING PORTRAIT: NUPTIALS HELD IN BEOGRAD, SERBIA
This Cabinet Card is a wedding portrait of a bride and groom in Beograd, Serbia. Beograd is Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The photographer was Mojsilovic. The groom is wearing a three piece suit, flowers on his lapel and a mustache which curls upward. The bride has flowers in her hair and appears to be wearing white gloves. There is a bouquet of flowers on the table next to the bride.
SERBIAN CHILDREN PLAYING WITH THEIR TOYS IN ZENTA
This Cabinet Card is a image of Serbian children playing with their toys in the city of Zenta, Serbia. Cute children surrounded by toys could be a universal photograph. There are similar cabinet card images from all over the world. The young boy sitting in the wagon is wearing a sailor suit and has a stuffed animal. The young girl is holding a doll. The photographer is Rozgonyi of Zenta.
MOUTHLESS MAN IN SPICELAND, INDIANA (MAN WITH FORMIDABLE BEARD)
This Cabinet Card is an image of a gentleman with a very interesting beard. I wonder what the psychological implications are of a man who keeps his mouth completely hidden by facial hair. The mans eyes however, are very communicative. The photographer is Huddleston whose studio was in Spiceland, Indiana. Cephus M. Huddleston (1832- ?) was born in Indiana but little biographacial data was uncovered in recent reseach. The town of Spiceland was settled in the 1820’s by Quaker pioneers from Virginia and the Carolinas. The town was named after the spice bush which was prevalent there. In the 1890’s there were a number of factories including those that manufactured furniture, glass and glue. The town was the location of Friends Academy (1870-1921) and the Spiceland Sanitarium and Mineral Springs (1893-1913).
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPH IN AUBURN, NEW YORK
This Cabinet Card appears to be a wedding portrait. The bride looks beautiful in her bow plagued gown. Her feathered hat is terrific. The groom seems to be a bit older than the bride. Perhaps he lied on match.com about his age. Hopefully someone knowledgable about wedding gowns of this period can opine about whether this is a wedding portrait. The photographer is H. Seymour Squyer of Auburn, New York. Could the signature on the bottom of the cabinet card be less legible? Research relied on his address to identify him. In 1893, Squyer won an Eastman Prize that was listed in the American Journal of Photography. In 1900, he was cited as a leading expert in legal photography by the Archives of Neurology and Psychopathology. He was the legal photographer for the New York Prison System and involved in innovative work to improve the value of photography for identification of prisoners. Squyer’s photograph of Harriet Tubman is in the Smithsonian Art Portraiture Gallery.
Marie Tempest: English Singer and Actress
Marie Temptest (1864-1942) was a famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. She later became a a leading comic actress. She toured in North America and other parts of the world. She was also a significant force behind the founding of the actors union Actors’ Equity in England. She was born in London, England and educated in Belgium. Her later musical education took place in Paris and London. She had her debut in 1885 in the operetta Boccaccio in London. After a few years in other performances, she performed on Broadway over a three year span. She was in numerous productions including The Tyrolean, and The Fencing Master. She was considered on the few rivals to Lillian Russell. Tempest was a difficult star but mellowed in middle age. She was a very active actress and performed in numerous productions over the years. She was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1937. The top Cabinet Cafd was photographed by famous celebrity photographer Falk, of New York City. The bottom Cabinet Card was produced by A. Bassano of London, England.
LITTLE GIRL AND A WALL IN PHILADELPHIA
A young girl poses for this cabinet card photographed by George Rau of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She appears to be unenthusiastic about posing for this photograph. Note the sculpted lion head on the wall. The photographer, George Rau, was part of a well known family involved in early photography. Members of his family were active in the areas of lantern slides and stereographs. Research found much written about these family members but little about underachieving George. However, he was a contributor to a book called Photographic Mosaic (1884) in which he wrote a section on “Gelatine Emulsion Plates”.
BUSHY MUSTACHE IN EAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN
This cabinet card is an addition to the “Mustache (Only the Best) category in the Cabinet Card Gallery. The gentleman in this photograph is wearing a long and bushy mustache and dress clothing for his portrait at the studio of Bonell, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Bonell was a photographer in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin from 1875 until 1890. To view more photographs by Bonell, click on the category “Photographer: Bonell”.
BESPECTACLED SALVATION ARMY WORKER IN PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY
This Cabinet Card photograph is an image of a Salvation Army Worker. Note her uniform and the “S” on her collar. The photographic studio that produced this image is Fisher & Monfort of Plainfield, New Jersey. This photograph is one of a number of photographs of Salvation Army workers that can be found in the Cabinet Card Gallery. Take a look at them in the “Salvation Army” category. There is also a category for “Photographer: Fisher & Monfort” where other pictures by these photographers may be viewed. Their full names are Charles W. Fisher and George W. Monfort.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 