FASHIONABLE WOMAN : HISTORIC MINING TOWN : LEADVILLE, COLORADO : CABINET CARD

This vintage Cabinet Card features a fashionable woman. She is wearing a fancy dress and is well accessorized. Whe is wearing a large necklace, a collar pin, and what appears to be, a flower with streaming ribbons. The photographer of this image was the Bennett Studio. Bennett operated a studio in Leadville, Colorado. Alfred E. Bennett’s (1862-1942) foray into photography may have been a brief one. He is listed in the 1900 US Census as a photographer but held other occupations in other decade census’s. When this photo was taken, Leadville was a booming mining town. Leadville is located at an altitude of 10,152 feet and in the late 1800’s was the second most populated city in Colorado. Denver was number one in population. Leadville was one of the worlds largest Silver camps and was the home of Doc Holliday shortly after the gunfight at the OK Corral.  SOLD

Published in: on October 22, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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HANDSOME GENTLEMAN : FAMOUS COLORADO PHOTOGRAPHER (J. COLLIER) : CABINET CARD

This cabinet card portrait features a handsome man with interesting styled side burns. He is dressed fashionably. The gentleman was photographed by a famous Colorado photographer, Joseph Collier (1836-1910), at his Denver studio. Collier was born in Scotland, where he began his career as a photographer. When he first came to Colorado, he produced stereographic images. He gained fame in the late 1800’s for his images of Colorado. His subjects included the downtowns of Telluride, Golden, and Denver. He also photographed the Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs) and many mountain sites. After Collier immigrated to the United States, in 1871 he came to Central City Colorado. He was invited there by his cousin who owned the local newspaper. Collier opened his first studio in the backroom of the newspaper. He immediately began making photographic trips through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In 1873, Collier gave a set of his Colorado stereoviews to Julia Grant, the wife of President Ulysses Grant. In 1877, Collier moved to Denver opening a studio on Larimer Street. He practiced photograph there and retired by the turn of the century. In 1874, Collier provided the photographs for a book entitled “Summering in Colorado”. In addition, a book was published in 1983 focused on displaying Collier’s photos. The book was entitled “The Photography of Joseph Collier. Colorado. 1871-1910”. Some of Collier’s photos can be found at the Getty museum in Los Angeles, California. 

Published in: on January 6, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A HANDSOME GENTLEMAN BY FAMED DENVER PHOTOGRAPHER: A. E. RINEHART

This cabinet card portrait features a handsome and well-dressed young man posing for photographer, A. E. Rinehart. The photo studio was located in Denver, Colorado. Rinehart was a well known and talented photographer. Rinehart’s studio was located on one of Denver’s oldest and most historic blocks (Larimer Street). Rinehart was a pioneer photographer who came to Denver from Lafayette, Indiana in 1874.  He was the city’s leading photographer during the mining boom and photographed many of the early Denver pioneers.  His subjects included Kit Carson and Mountain Man Jim Baker.  Rinehart died at age 63 in 1915. Rinehart’s brother, Frank Albert Rinehart (1861-1928) was also well known for his photography, capturing Native American personalities and scenes. The reverse of this photograph has an inscription which indicates that the name of the pictured subject is Edward S. Hartwell. The 1910 census states that Hartwell was born in New York in 1867. At the time of the census he was living in El Paso, Colorado and working as an auditor for a railroad. Denver business directories reveal that Hartwell worked as a Paymaster between 1887 and 1907. He married Mamie M. King in 1891 and divorced her in 1906. To view other photographs by A. E. Rinehart, place his name in this blog’s search box.  SOLD

Published in: on April 8, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A LARGE WOMAN : FASHION : DENVER, COLORADO : CABINET CARD

This cabinet card portrait features a large woman wearing a vertically striped dress. Her hair is in a bun. She was poorly posed by the photographer. The woman’s photograph was taken by Central Photo Parlors, located in Denver, Colorado. Note the corner wear on the reverse (top left hand corner). This photograph has excellent clarity. SOLD

Published in: on January 20, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MOTHER AND DAUGHTER POSE WITH A STUFFED MULE IN DENVER, COLORADO

This vintage real photo postcard features two women posing with a stuffed donkey. The donkey is wearing a banner that says “Denver”. The photograph was taken by the Colotex studio which was located in Denver. My guess is that “Colotex” stands for “Colorado/Texas”. Perhaps the photographer had lived and/or worked in both states. I would also posit that the subjects in this photo are mother and daughter. The “AZO” stamp box indicates that this postcard was produced between 1904 and 1918. The postcard is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2482

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Published in: on August 2, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF AN ADORABLE CHILD POSING NEXT TO LATE MOTHER’S PORTRAIT

This cabinet card portrait is one of those special photographs that appears to be trying to tell the viewer a story. Here is the story as I see it. An adorable and well dressed young child stands on a chair next to the photo portrait of his/her mother. The child’s mother has died and this cabinet card photograph was taken to serve as a keepsake memorial photo. The child can refer to this photo to preserve the memory of his/her mother. This image was beautifully photographed. The pose and the props, as well as the clarity of the image, help make this an exceptional photograph. The talented photographer of this cabinet card is the Bates & Nye Studio in Denver, Colorado. Photographer W. L. Bates appears in the 1881 Denver city directory under the occupation of photographer.  A Colorado genealogical site contends that Bates worked as a photographer in Denver between 1880 and 1890. Preliminary research yielded no information about the second partner in the gallery (Nye).   (SOLD)

Published in: on January 1, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN WEARING ROSES IN DENVER, COLORADO

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A pretty young woman with smiling eyes poses for her portrait at the Bellsmith Studio in Denver, Colorado. She appears to be in her teenage years. She is wearing a lovely dress and a corsage of roses. The photographer of this image is Harold S. Bellsmith. At one point his business was known as Gold Medal Studio. Bellsmith is listed as a photographer in the Denver business directory from 1890 through 1898. The Photographic Times (1890) announced the opening of his Denver studio. The Photographic Times (1892) reported that Bellsmith experienced a great deal of success as a “high class” photographer. If this cabinet card represents the quality of his work, than he was a talented photographer.          SOLD

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Published in: on June 21, 2016 at 3:34 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF TWO BRIGHT EYED AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN IN DENVER, COLORADO

two kids denver

This cabinet card portrait features two young African American children sharing a large chair while posing at a photography studio in Denver, Colorado. The Beebe studio was located on Arapahoe Street within the mile high city. The children are adorable. They are looking at the photographer with bright and wide open eyes. One wonders how the youngest child is being held into the chair. Perhaps there is a brace attached to seat so that the baby doesn’t get injured due to falling or sliding onto the floor. In many cabinet card photographs of children this youngster’s age, there is a hidden parent under some fabric holding the child in place. Good quality photographs of African American subjects are not easy to find. Discrimination and economic factors are among the principal causes of their relative rarity. The photographer of this cabinet card portrait is John E. Beebe. Denver city directories indicate that he operated his studio between 1887 and at least 1894. Langdonroad.com, a historical photographer directory, reports that before his arrival in Denver, Beebe was a photographer in Chicago, Illinois.

Published in: on June 15, 2015 at 12:09 pm  Leave a Comment  
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CHILD STANDING ON A WICKER CHAIR IN DENVER, COLORADO

Unlike a lot of children photographed during and soon after the cabinet card era, this child is showing some emotion. It’s exciting to be able to stand on a chair and have parental  permission to do so. The child looks adorable in his/her plaid outfit. Note the pretty wicker chair. The Nast studio captured this somewhat unfocussed but lovely portrait.

Published in: on September 29, 2013 at 1:03 pm  Comments (7)  
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TWO STYLISH DANDIES POSE IN DENVER, COLORADO

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This cabinet card features two dandies posing at the Bates studio in Denver, Colorado. The studio was located in the Tabor building at Sixteenth and Larimer Streets. The subjects of this photograph are well dressed and wearing hats. Both men are holding walking sticks. The reverse of the image has an inscription that states ” Nellie Sanborn’s, 1882″. Research revealed very little about the identity of Nellie Sanborn. The only lead found is that there was a Nellie Sanborn born in Colorado in 1863 who appears in the Iowa State Census of 1885. At the time of the census she was living in the town of Keokuk and was twenty-two years old. Nellie Sanborn’s connection to the gentlemen in this image is unknown. Photographer W. L. Bates appears in the 1881 Denver city directory under the occupation of photographer.  A Colorado genealogical site contends that Bates worked as a photographer in Denver between 1880 and 1890.

Published in: on August 8, 2013 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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