This cabinet card portrait features a well dressed young man and young woman. Are they husband and wife or are they siblings. The pair look quite young to be married, but it certainly is possible that they are a wedded couple. The woman is wearing a cross and a collar pin. Her dress is very stylish. The young man is wearing a fashionable hat, a pocket watch, and has a handkerchief peeking out of his sport jacket’s top front pocket. He is holding a long stick. It is too thin to be a cane. Perhaps it is a crop used to control horses. I would appreciate some help from cabinet card gallery visitors to identify what exactly the gentleman is holding. An inscription on the reverse of the photograph identifies the subjects as “Emory and Effie in their younger days”. The note adds that at least, one of the pair, were married at age 20. I have difficulty resisting a challenge so I became determined to further identify this lovely couple. I am uncertain if I succeeded. Effie Mae Lafler (1875-1955) married Emory Grant Speers (1869-1964) in 1894. They were married in Canandaigua, New York. Effie was about 20 years old at the time of her marriage, which is consistent with the inscription. The pair had three children. Emory was a farmer. Before I could congratulate myself on a job well done, I realized that there was “a fly in the ointment”. Printed on the bottom of the reverse of the photo is the date 1884. If this is the date that the photograph was taken, Effie would have been nine years old. Clearly, she is much older than 9 in the photograph. However, the photo could have been made on old card stock, and that accounts for the date discrepancy. Although there is uncertainty about the identification of this couple, I was able to learn much about the photographer of this image. The photographer of this cabinet card is Alston E. Hotchkiss ( c 1846-1907) of Norwich, New York. A. E. Hotchkiss came to Norwich in 1872 at the age of twenty-six. He ran the most popular photo gallery in town and it is reported that he took on the persona of an artistic and cultured gentleman. His wife played a major role in his running the studio and at one point, he employed at least twenty workers. At this point in time, the Cabinet Card Gallery has three other photos by this excellent photographer. This trimmed photograph is in very good condition (see scans).
Buy this Original Cabinet Card photograph (includes shipping within the US) #3080
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