This cabinet card portrait features a wide-eyed young lady with curly bangs. One might posit that she was in her teen years when photographed by Harvey A. Lesure in Danbury, Connecticut. His studio is listed in business directories at 207 Main Street from 1885 through 1887. In 1888 and 1889 his studio was located at 247 Main Street.
SHORT HAIRED BEAUTY IN DANBURY, CONNECTICUT
A pretty woman poses for her portrait at the Sanford gallery. She has short dark hair and is wearing earrings and a pearl choker. The photographer of this image was E. Starr Sanford, a man with an interesting life story. To view other photographs by Sanford and to learn more about him; click on the category “Photographer: Sanford”.

ATTRACTIVE WOMAN IN DANBURY, CONNECTICUT ( PHOTOGRAPHED BY E. STARR SANFORD)
An attractive woman poses for her portrait at the Sanford studio in Danbury, Connecticut. The woman is fashionably and conservatively dressed. The photographer is E. Starr Sanford (1862-1917) and his studio was located at 57 White Street, in Danbury. Sanford partnered with Charles Henry Davis in 1892 to operate a very well respected photographic studio located at 462 Fifth Avenue in New York City, New York. Both men were amateur photographers in the 1880’s and they perfected their skills in club competitions. They pioneeered the colonization of Fifth Avenue by photographers. Sanford was from one of the founding families of Danbury, and Davis was a music critic for the New York Evening Post. They used their high society and theatrical community connections to build the success of their photographic studio. Sanford retired in 1901. In 1897 he decided to build a lavish summer home that he ultimately lived in for five years. His home was called Hearthstone Castle and now is included in the National Register of Historic Places. Research reveals that some references contend that Sanford was one of the early inventors of movie cameras. Sanford died a tragic death. In 1914, while on a ship to visit his son in Texas, his vessel was struck by lightening and he received a severe shock. The arteries in his eyes were severely damaged, and he died three years later. To view other photographs by Sanford, click on Cabinet Card Gallery’s category “Photographer: Sanford”.
