HANDSOME BEARDED MAN IN SUSQUEHANNA, PENNSYLVANIA (CARTES DE VISITE)

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A well dressed handsome middle aged man poses for his cartes de visite (cdv) portrait at the Harding Studio in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. The gentleman has an interesting beard. His handsome face is visible because he lacks a mustache. The photographer of this image is Addison Delavan Harding (1847-1908). At one point in time, his studio was located at 42 Main Street in Susquehanna. His obituary appears in the magazine “Snap Shots” (1908). The article reports that he worked over 40 years as a photographer. He was born in Binghamton, New York. He learned the business of photography while in the employ of a photographer in Towanda, Pennsylvania. Harding opened a studio there in 1865. He married Fannie V. Harding (Shipman) (1847-1945) in 1867. He moved his business to Susquehanna in 1873. After Hardings death, his son (D S Harding) took over the business and operated it until 1942. Fanny lived to the age of 98 years-old. Addison and Fannie Harding are buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Pennsylvania.

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Published in: on June 14, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PRETTY AND FASHIONABLE TEENAGER IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS (CARTES DE VISITE)

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A pretty young woman poses for her portrait at a studio belonging to photographer C. R. B. Claflin in Worcester, Massachusetts. I suspect that the woman in this photograph is in her teenage years. She is handsomely dressed in her high collared tailored dress. She is wearing a pin on her dress as well as earrings. The reverse of this cartes de visite image reveals that the photograph was taken in 1879, during the transition from cdv’s to cabinet cards. Note the misspelling on the reverse of the cdv. The word “Photographer” is spelled as “Photographir”. It seems unlikely that Mr. Claflin was unaware of the printer’s error. My guess is that he felt a need to not waste his money and utilized the card stock despite the mistake. Charles Ripley Burnett Claflin (1817-1897) was a photographer during many decades. He operated studios in Worcester during part of the 1850’s through part of the 1890’s. On of his images appears in the book American Victorian Costume in Early Photographs (2013). Claflin was married to Emma Claflin.   SOLD

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Published in: on May 10, 2016 at 2:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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PRETTY LITTLE GIRL ON THE DAY OF HER FIRST COMMUNION IN THOUARS, FRANCE (CARTES DE VISITE)

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This cartes de visite features a long haired pretty young girl having her portrait taken on the day of a religious ceremony (first communion). Note the roses on her long veil and her necklace. She is has a cross which can be seen on the forefront of her dress on the right side of the photograph. She also has a purse. The girl is wearing white gloves and is holding a small bible. The photographer of this CDV is A. Chevy. He operated a studio in Thouars, France.  (SOLD)

Published in: on May 2, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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PRETTY LITTLE GIRL HOLDING A TOY IN BERLIN, GERMANY (1911 CARTE DE VISITE)

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This item is a cartes de visite (cdv) featuring a cute long haired little girl sitting on a chair and posing at the Erna studio in Berlin, Germany. She has bows in her hair and is holding a toy in her lap. She is wearing a beautiful lace dress. Take note of the chairs nicely carved arm rests. This cdv is in excellent condition. An embossment on the bottom right of the image indicates that the photograph was taken in 1911.

Published in: on March 18, 2016 at 1:12 pm  Leave a Comment  
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ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL SHOWING RESTRAINT IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS (CDV)

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This is an unusual cartes de visite portrait because of the method utilized to hold the posing child in an optimal and safe position to be photographed. It was not unusual to restrain a young child during a photograph session but usually the restraints are hidden. The safety belt was usually hidden under clothing, a blanket or some other material. In addition, sometimes a child’s parent might hold the baby in place while being covered by a blanket or some other material. In addition, to showing the safety belt, this image is a wonderful portrait of a little girl. The photographer of this cdv is Amory Nelson Hardy (1835-1911). He was born in Cumberland, Maine. He was married to Angeline Davis (1833-1920). Early in his photography career he worked in Bucksport, Maine. He then moved to Boston and during his work there had a studio on Washington Street (1868, 1879-1887) and Winter Street (1873-1878). These dates are only a partial representation of his career. This photograph was taken at the Winter Street studio. It has been brought to my attention that it is very possible that this little girl may not be tied into her seat at all. Instead, both the black bows around her sleeves as well as the wide black band around her abdomen may be symbols of “mourning”. I certainly agree that the ribbons around her sleeves are typical mourning symbols. However, I have not seen similar mourning bands employed around a subject’s waist or abdomen. I wonder what visitors to the cabinet card gallery think about these black bands. Please feel free to leave a comment. To view other photographs by Mr. Hardy, click on the category “Photographer: Hardy”.

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Published in: on March 13, 2016 at 1:26 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY WOMAN IN LEICESTER, ENGLAND (CARTES DE VISITE)

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This cartes de visite  (CDV) portrait features a fashionable pretty woman with a serious expression. Note her pretty hat and lace collar. The woman’s photograph was taken by photographer William Edward Drinkwater who operated a studio in Leicester, England.

Published in: on February 6, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A TEENAGE GIRL IN DEWSBURY, ENGLAND (CARTE DE VISITE)

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A teenage girl poses for her portrait at the J. Garratt studio in Dewsbury. Where is Dewsbury? There are a number of towns sharing that name but Garratt’s Dewsbury is in England. John Garratt had studios in Dewsbury and West Town. He is cited in the Journal of Photography (1877) and in the British Journal of Photography (1880 and 1881). Next to Garratt”s name is the phrase “From Saronys” and the phrase is printed above the word “Scarbro”. Is there a connection between Mr. Garratt and Napoleon Sarony?  At first I thought that Garratt might have worked for the celebrated photographer in New York City, Napoleon Sarony. Preliminary research provided me with an answer.  “Scarbro” is an abbreviation for Scarborough, a town in North Yorkshire, England. A well known and commercially successful photographer in Scarborough was a man named Oliver Sarony. His studio had 98 rooms and at one point he had 110 employees.  He was born in Quebec in 1820 and he came to England in 1843. He worked as a photographer in several English towns until he settled in Scarborough in 1857. He died in 1879. The business continued into the 20th century under the name Sarony & Co. The business was initially managed by Samuel Waind Fisher the husband of Oliver’s niece, Jennie. Interestingly Jennie was the daughter of Napoleon Sarony. To make a long story longer, it certainly appears that John Garratt was once employed by Oliver Sarony.

 

 

 

Published in: on November 18, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF A LOVELY COUPLE IN BARMEN, GERMANY (CARTE DE VISITE)

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A lovely couple poses for their portrait at the Stuting and Sohn studio in Barmen, Germany. The man and woman are well dressed. The man is holding reading material on his lap. One of the more remarkable aspects of this image is the gentleman’s interesting mustache. The mustache is bushy and curls wonderfully at each end. The photographer, Stuting, is cited in two photographic journals published in 1890 (American Journal of Photography, The Photographic News). Stuting’s studio was located in Barmen, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen is also known as the birthplace of socialist theorist Friedrich Engels. Finding a photographer in Barmen at the turn of the century must not have been much of a problem. The Cabinet Card Gallery has a number of carte de visite photographs originating from studios in Barmen. Printed on the lower right hand corner of the reverse of this cdv is the number “1907”. This likely represents the date that this photograph was taken despite the fact that most photographers stopped producing carte de visite photographs by that date.

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Published in: on October 28, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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YOUNG EUROPEAN MAN WEARING A UNIFORM (CARTE DE VISITE)

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This Carte de Visite features a uniformed young man posing at the Cruf Studio which had galleries in Freiburg, Mannheim, and Basel. The first two cities are in Germany and Basel is located in Switzerlan. An inscription on the reverse of the photograph indicates that the subject is H. Wolff. Mr Wolff is wearing a uniform representing an unknown group. Perhaps he is a student or maybe he works for the railroad. His group affiliation remains unknown for the time being.  Looking at the reverse of the photograph also reveals that the Cruf Studio won a number of medals at photographic competitions. The latest medal listed was recieved in 1888 which means that this image dates back to 1888 or later.   (SOLD)

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Published in: on October 26, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF AN AUSTRIAN MAN IN TYROLEAN GARB IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA (CDV WITH A THEATRICAL INSCRIPTION)

william tell

This beautiful carte de visite features a proud Austrian man wearing his nation’s traditional clothing. The young gentleman looks quite dapper in his Tyrolean garb. This CDV was produced by the Carl Dubell Studio which was located in Vienna, Austria. The photograph has an inscription on the reverse. The inscription is dated 1902 and according to the previous owner of this photograph, is taken from Friedrich von Schiller’s (1759-1805) drama, “William Tell”. The quote is translated as “But he, me thinks, is master of his craft. Who can at all times on his skill rely nor let his heart disturb or eye or hand.” To view other photographs by Carl Dubell, click on the category “Photographer: Dubell”.

 

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Published in: on October 19, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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