PRETTY WOMAN IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA (1885)

A pretty woman poses for her portrait at the Dunshee Studio in Philadelphia, Pennslvania. The studio was located across the street from the U. S. Mint. The subject’s dress has a very lacy collar and she is wearing an elaborate belt. Note the buttons on the side of her skirt. This arrangement of buttons is not commonly seen on dresses in cabinet card photographs. Her figure is improved by the corset that she is wearing. Print on the reverse of the photograph indicates that the image was produced in 1885. To view other photographs by Edward Sidney Dunshee, and learn more about his history, click on the category, “Photographer: Dunshee”.

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POINTY BEARD IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS (1885)

Mr  A. W. Sibley poses for his portrait at the studio of E. S. Dunshee in Boston, Massachusetts. Mr Sibley is well dressed and his hair and beard are very styled. His beard comes to a point and is eligible for the Cabinet Card Gallery’s category of “Beard (Only the Best)”.   Please visit this beard hall of fame.  Interestingly, unlike most hall of fame inductees, Mr Sibley lacks a mustache. Photographer Edward Sidney Dunshee was born 1823 in Bristol, Vermont and died in 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  In 1857 he and Cornelius Dunshee (his father) were photographers in Falls River, MA. He produced ambrotypes and daguerrotypes there. He next operated out of New Bedford, MA. One of his New Bedford clients was Henry David Thoreau, who sat for a portrait in 1861.By 1873 he and Thomas Rice Burnham operated as Dunshee and Burnham in Boston, MA. Between 1873 and 1876 he and Edward Byron Dunshee were in business as E. S. Dunshee and Son and located on Tremont Row in Boston, MA.  By 1880, Edward Sidney Dunshee had moved to Philadelphia and apparently, after some time, his son took over the business. It appears that E. S. Dunshee had his last studio in Trenton, New Jersey (1894-1901). This Cabinet Card is dated 1885 and appears to be a product of the studio when it was operated by the son in the business, Edward Byron Dunshee. To view other photographs by E. S. Dunshee, click on the category, “Photographer: Dunshee”. Dunshee’s photography resume is confusing because different sources offer slightly different histories. In addition, the fact that his father and son were photographers, further clouds the accuracy of his biographical material. Clearly some writers have confused and entangled each of the Dunshee’s life story.