MAY SIGLER POSES FOR HER PORTRAIT IN SOUTH CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

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This cabinet card portrait features a pretty young lady named “May Sigler”. Her name is inscribed on the reverse of the photograph. She appears to be in her teen years. She is wearing a nice looking hair band, and a lace collar, bib and sleeves. She apparently favors jewelry which is evident by her bracelet and collar pin. The photographer of this image is the Lindner studio which was located in South Chicago, Illinois. Charles W. Lindner is listed in an online compendium of Chicago photographers as operating in that city between 1890 and 1899. The 1900 US census reveals that there was a May Sigler living in the Chicago’s Cook County (Lyons). The census was issued no more than a decade after this photograph was taken. At the time of the census, Miss Sigler was twenty eight years old and living with her parents, two sisters and  niece. May was working as a bookkeeper. The May Sigler found in the census is likely the subject of this photograph.

Published in: on November 29, 2014 at 11:25 am  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A LOVELY YOUNG WOMAN IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

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A lovely young woman poses for her portrait at the Riel studio in Chicago, Illinois. The curly haired subject appears to be a teenager. She is well dressed and is wearing a high collar reminiscent of a modern day sufferer of a whiplash injury. Her dress has tiny delicate buttons. She is wearing a long necklace. To learn more about photographer George Riel and to view more of his images, click on the category “Photographer: Riel”.

Published in: on November 14, 2014 at 11:10 pm  Leave a Comment  
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WEDDING PORTRAIT OF HANDSOME COUPLE IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

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J. B. Scholl, well known Chicago photographer, produced this wedding portrait of a smartly dressed bride and groom. The groom has a nice handlebar mustache. The bride is wearing a pretty floral wedding veil and appears to be holding the grooms sleeve rather than his hand. Despite their lack of physical contact, the pair are standing much closer to each than seen in many other wedding photographs. I wonder why the photographer posed the gentleman with one foot elevated on a curb. At first, I speculated that the rationale was to add height to a groom who was shorter than his bride. However, the gentleman has both knees bent which certainly restricts his reaching full height. My final conclusion was that the photographer, normally quite skillful, had a bad day and was careless setting up this particular pose.To view more of Mr. Scholl’s photographs and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Scholl JB.

Published in: on July 29, 2014 at 11:50 am  Comments (2)  
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Isabel Irving: American Stage Actress

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Isabel Irving (1871-1944) was an American actress born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her stage career began in 1886. She performed in many performances of Shakespeare. She was also in more than 30 Broadway plays between 1894 and 1936.  These plays included “Merry Wives of Windsor” (1917) and “Uncle Vanya” (1930). The first cabinet photo was done at the studio of Napoleon Sarony in New York.  Sarony was a very famous photographer of his time and known for his photos of theatrical performers and other celebrities. The second photograph comes from the studio of William McKenzie Morrison who was located in the Haymarket Theatre building in Chicago, Illinois. The third cabinet card portrait features Miss Irving photographed by celebrated New York photographer Benjamin Falk. The fourth cabinet card was produced by Pach Brothers studio in New York City. To view a photograph of Isabel Irving’s sister, write “Evangeline Irving” in the search box and press search. To view other photographs by any of the four cited photographers, click on the category “Photographer: Falk, Photographer: Sarony, Photographer: Morrison, or Photographer: Pach Brothers.

Published in: on July 21, 2014 at 12:01 pm  Comments (3)  
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PRETTY WOMAN WEARING A FANCY HAT IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

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This cabinet card may be a bit scruffed up but it is a beauty. The image features a very pretty young lady wearing a fancy hat. She is well dressed and has a lovely smile and sparkling eyes. The photographer of this terrific photograph is George F. Riel who plied his trade in Chicago, Illinois. He was born in 1856. He was married to Minnie Riel. Riel appears in a number of Chicago business directories (including 1877 and 1904) and is listed as a photographer. To view more photographs by George Riel, click on the category “Photographer: Riel”.

Published in: on July 1, 2014 at 11:34 am  Comments (1)  
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SERIOUS LOOKING BOY AND HIS INDIAN CLUBS

JUGGLING_0003A young boy, looking quite unhappy, poses for his portrait at the William Meyer studio in Chicago, Illinois. His arms are folded across his chest but it looks as if they won’t stay there long because standing in front of him are a pair of Indian Juggling Clubs. It is as if the boy is preparing to give a juggling exhibition or to exercise. Juggling these pins was a good workout as they were quite heavy.  some exercise. Clubs like these were very popular during the health mania of the late Victorian period. A picture of a pair of Indian clubs from the late nineteenth century can be seen below (Source: Wikipedia). William Meyer is listed in a number of the Chicago business directories including 1880,1885, and 1892. His address in 1892 was Clybourn Avenue which indicates that this image was produced before that date.

                                                                                                                  

 

 

Published in: on May 19, 2014 at 10:33 pm  Comments (1)  
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MUSICIAN AND LARGE STRING INSTRUMENT IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

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A musician poses for his portrait at the Rocher studio in Chicago, Illinois. He is playing a large stringed instrument with a bow. I can not identify the instrument and assistance from knowledgable cabinet card gallery visitors would be appreciated. Note the fireplace and fancy chair in the background. The musician is unidentified but is likely someone professional, and not a random person using the instrument as a prop for their portrait. In fact, Henry Rocher (1826-1887) was known for being a celebrity photographer. However, most of all, he is considered the one Chicago photographer who could compete technically and artistically with the great photographers in New York City. The great celebrity photographer Sarony, may have had an advantage by possessing exceptional ability to pose his subjects. Rocher’s nephew and disciple, Max Platz, was also quite a talented and successful photographer. Rocher was known to employ a number of women as operators, including “Miss Garrity” who was a successful photographer in Louisville, Kentucky and in Chicago. To view portraits by Miss Garrity, click on the category “Photographer: Garrity”. Rocher came to the US in 1856. He arrived from Germany, where he had originally learned photography.He was one of the founders of the Photographers Association of America (1880).

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Published in: on December 16, 2013 at 1:44 pm  Comments (3)  
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MAN WITH INTERESTING BEARD POSES WITH IS WIFE IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

COUPLE BEARD_0003J. B. Scholl, who operated a studio in Chicago, produced this cabinet card portrait of this lovely couple. To view other photographs by Scholl, and to learn more about him, click on the cabinet card gallery category “Photographer: Scholl (J B)”.  The gentleman in the photograph combs his beard to the sides; a most unusual strategy.

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Published in: on December 13, 2013 at 2:13 pm  Comments (1)  
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PRETTY WOMAN POSES FOR CARELESS PHOTOGRAPHER IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

PRETTYCHICAGO_0002A pretty woman poses for her portrait at the S. Adamkiewicz Art Studio in Chicago, Illinois. It appears that Mr Adamkiewicz was in a bit of a hurry when he took this photograph and also when he decided to publish it. The photograph is adversely affected by two factors. The posing position chosen by the photographer, and the unevenness which the bottom of the woman’s blouse sticks out of her skirt, causes the subject to give an appearance of sitting unevenly in her chair. In addition, one of her shoes is peaking out from under the cover of her skirt. I don’t imagine any gold medals would have been awarded to Mr Adamkiewicz for this image. The Chicago Polish Directory (1903) lists Stanley Adamkiewicz as a photographer operating in Chicago at a studio located t the same address listed on the bottom of this photograph.

Published in: on October 12, 2013 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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US SUPREME COURT JUDGE, US SENATOR, AND CIVIL WAR COLONEL: MEET STANLEY MATTHEWS

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This cabinet card portrait features Stanley Matthews (1824-1889).  This image was produced by the Reynolds Photo Company of Chicago, Illinois, and shows Matthews wearing his judicial robe.  The photograph was part of the “Photo of Celebrities” series. Matthews served as a Supreme Court Justice from 1881 until his death. He was appointed by President James Garfield. At the time of his appointment he was a United States Senator from Ohio. Matthews was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Kenyon College and then practiced law in Ohio, and later on, in Tennessee. He was the editor of the Cincinnati Herald for two years. He served in the Ohio State senate and then became a US Attorney until 1861 when he resigned to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the 23rd Ohio Infantry. At the time that Matthews was appointed a Supreme Court Justice, his nomination passed Congress by just one vote. As a judge in the nation’s highest court, he wrote the decision in the Yick Wo vs. Hopkins case. Politicians in San Francisco had passed a law asserting that laundries could not be operated in wooden buildings without a special permit. This permit would be required in addition to the other permits already required. This new law  had much impact considering that ninety-five percent of the city’s laundries were in wooden buildings. Two thirds of these laundries were owned by Chinese businessmen. When the new permits were issued, all non Chinese owners received permits and all Chinese owners were denied the permits. Yik Wo continued to operate his laundry without the permit and was convicted, fined, and later jailed for refusing to pay the fine. His case rose up the hierarchy of courts until it reached the Supreme Court. In his decision, Matthews wrote that the permit statute was discriminatory and that the Chinese laundry owners were entitled to equal protection under the fourteenth amendment of constitution.

Published in: on August 14, 2013 at 3:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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