This cabinet card portrait presents a fashion mystery. What is the story behind the clothing that these two women are wearing? The previous owner of this photograph called the women “trendy” and stated that they were wearing “Victorian Bohemian” style dresses. I’m wondering if the women are wearing leather dresses. These women are certainly making a fashion statement. The women appear to be wearing slenderizing corsets. One is wearing a choker while the other is wearing a necklace. The woman on the left is holding what appears to be a sheet of paper. It is not clear why she would be posed holding a sheet of paper. The reverse of the cabinet card paper has an inscription which identifies these two women as “Hattie Williams Rhodes” and “Emma Black”. Miss Rhodes is standing on the left of the image while Miss Black stands the right. The photographer of this portrait is R. B. Collins and he operated a photography studio in Dallas, Oregon.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 