This cabinet card portrait is unusual. The typical props seen in cabinet cards are items like fences, walls, rocks, windows, books, and a number of other common objects. The five young women seen in this cabinet card are holding unusual props. Each is holding a toy cat of different sizes. The cats seem to be cut-outs. The women show a familial resemblance and are likelyssisters. They are all clad in similar long dresses. The photograph was taken at the gallery of D. Cramer. David Cramer’s photography business was located in Carey, Ohio. Cramer was born in 1854. He married Elva C. Cramer in 1882. The only mention, I could find of his occupation as a photographer, was in the 1900 US census. By 1910, the US census listed him as a painter. Note the artwork on the reverse of this photograph. The drawing is beautiful and it is related to the words, “Columbian Cabinet”, printed on the middle bottom of the front of the cabinet card. In the 19th century, Columbia was viewed as a goddess-like female “national personification” of both the United States and the concept of Liberty. Sometimes the figure was called “Lady Columbia” or “Miss Columbia”. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 