This vintage real photo postcard is a spectacular portrait of a bride, groom, and wedding party at a “Tom Thumb” wedding. These faux weddings were similar to adult weddings. Children would dress up in real wedding clothes, take part in a fake humorous wedding ceremony, and attend lavish parties. “Tom Thumb” weddings are named after the celebrated wedding of P. T. Barnum’s dwarf performer, General Tom Thumb. That wedding took place in 1863. Tom Thumb weddings became very popular. They were theoretically, vehicles to teach children about religious values, to model adult behavior, to offer entertainment, and, at least some of them, raised money for charity. The message on this postcard was written in 1929 and is in French. The photograph has excellent clarity and appears to be issued by a private studio. If so, this image is likely one of a kind. The postcard is in good condition (see scans). (SOLD)
This vintage real photo postcard features a very handsome looking German wedding couple. The bride and groom look very serious on their special day. They are both very well dressed. The bride is wearing a beautiful veil and note the lovely bouquet of flowers that she is holding. A faint embossed stamp gives a clue concerning the photographer. The word “Birkenfeld” is visible. “Birkenfeld” is the name of the location of the photographer’s studio. The photographer’s name is Stadelmanz. The message on the reverse of the postcard appears to be written to Fritz, the signer’s friend. Hopefully a cabinet card gallery visitor (the vast unpaid research department) can leave a comment with a translation of the message.This vintage postcard portrait is most likely from the 1920’s or 1930’s and is in excellent condition.
Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2487
To purchase this item, click on the Pay with PayPal button below
$40.00
Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2487
To purchase this item, click on the Pay with PayPal button below
This vintage real photo postcard features a very attractive couple posing for their wedding portrait at the “Photographie des Arts” operated by F. Clement in Parc-Saint-Maur, France. This postcard’s stamp box indicates that it was produced sometime around 1916.The postcard is in excellent condition. (SOLD)
Wedding photographs are not an unusual find in the hunt for vintage photography, but this particular cabinet card is a bit special. It features a bride and groom posing for their wedding portrait at the Pulaski Photo Art Company in Chicago, Illinois, and it stands out from many wedding portraits of its era because of the vivid personalities captured by the photographer. The bride’s expression is especially memorable. She wears a playful, almost triumphant smile and appears to be a vivacious and spunky young woman with “personality galore.” Her expression might even be interpreted as one of satisfaction, as if she is thinking, “I finally snared the man I wanted to marry.” The groom presents a very different personality. He appears more reserved, and perhaps even a little scared or uncomfortable. Adding to the unusual nature of the portrait, one of his legs is lifted from the floor in an awkward, almost “flamingo-style” pose. It may be that he is using his raised knee as a platform for the bouquet of flowers his bride is holding, although the exact reason for the pose is uncertain. Despite the groom’s unusual “yoga pose,” the photographer did an excellent job composing the portrait and capturing the facial expressions of the young couple. The bride and groom are both well dressed for the occasion, and the festive nature of the wedding is emphasized by three bouquets of flowers as well as the groom’s corsage. The photograph was produced by the Pulaski Photo Art Company of Chicago, Illinois. A book entitled Certified List of Domestic and Foreign Corporations (1909) reveals that the Pulaski Photo Art Company replaced the Koscinszko Photo Art Company in Chicago. The President and Manager of Pulaski was Max Prusinski (1883-?), while John Prusinski served as Secretary. Max Prusinski was born in Poland. An advertisement appearing in The Neighbor in 1919 shows that the studio continued to operate at 957 Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. The 1930 United States Census reports that Max Prusinski was still employed as a photographer at that time. Interestingly, the Pulaski studio produced another wedding portrait that can be found in The Cabinet Card Gallery. When that photograph was previously described, particular attention was drawn to the photographer’s ability to capture the bride’s personality: “She is exhibiting a playful smile and appears to be a vivacious young woman.” The bride in that other image also appears quite spunky. Although this observation is based on a very small sample of only two photographs, it suggests that the photographer or photographers working at the Pulaski Photo Art Company may have deliberately tried to enliven conventional wedding portraits by capturing the individual personalities of the couples they photographed. This cabinet card is therefore appealing not only as a vintage wedding photograph, but also as an unusually expressive example of early studio portraiture in which the personalities of the bride and groom seem to come through with remarkable clarity. SOLD
This cabinet card portrait captures a young couple on their wedding day, or at least in their wedding clothing. They are dressed beautifully for their special day. The bride is wearing a garland of flowers. Her white gloves are draped over the wicker chair and she is holding her hat. The bride is pretty and appears somewhat happy as she poses for this photograph. Her new husband wears an expression that looks like he either ate too much at his wedding, or that he is having second thoughts about getting married. Lets hope he just overate. The photographer of this wedding portrait is W. A. Baldridge (1860-1924) who operated a photo studio in Rosedale, Indiana. He is listed in the 1880 US Census as living in Florida, Indiana and working as a clerk. The 1920 US Census finds Baldridge living in Summit, Ohio and operating a photography business. SOLD
This cabinet card image captures a wedding that appears to involve two couples. It is only a hypothesis but I believe the participants in this double wedding include two brides (seated), two grooms (seated), four members of the wedding party (standing). The men are all wearing top hats and tails. One of the seated grooms is wearing light colored pants with his dark jacket. All the men are wearing boutonnieres and smoking cigars. The brides are wearing white gowns and flowers in their hair. Interestingly, the two grooms are sitting very close to one of the brides while the second bride seems distant, almost an afterthought. It is notable that this wedding party portrait was taken outside. Although the location that this photograph was taken is unknown, the image was with a group of other photographs that were from England. Therefore, it is likely that this is an English cabinet card. This cabinet card was trimmed in order to fit into an album or frame. SOLD
This vintage photograph features two beautiful children in a wedding portrait. The bride and groom in this image were likely participants in a “Tom Thumb Wedding”. Such wedding were not uncommon after the 1863 wedding of P. T. Barnum’s side show actor Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren (also a dwarf/little person). Ten thousand guests attended General Thumb’s wedding and the couple were received by President Lincoln. Now, back to the children in this image. A number of people held weddings between very young children. There were fake ceremonies but real receptions. Quite often these events were held as money-makers for charities. The bride and groom in this image are well dressed and coiffed. The bride is amazingly well poised.They truly look like a miniature wedding couple. To view other vintage “Tom Thumb” photographs, click on the category “Tom Thumb Wedding Portraits”.
This carte de visite is a wedding portrait that was taken by the Kratzert studio in Saalfeld, Germany. Like many wedding photographs of the time, we see the groom sitting and the bride standing. The couple appear to be relatively young. The pretty bride is wearing a wedding gown with a high collar. She is wearing a necklace and holding a bouquet of flowers. The groom is well dressed in his three piece suit and is displaying a poor version of a pensive expression. He appears to be uncomfortable, while his bride seems significantly more relaxed. The couple were photographed at a studio in the town of Saalfeld, which is the capital of the Saalfeld Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. The town is located in the valley of the Saale River. (SOLD)
This post cabinet card era photograph features a young wedding couple in Syracuse, New York. The groom is formally dressed with a tuxedo/suit, white collar dress shirt, bow tie, and white gloves. He is wearing a flower on his lapel. The bride is wearing a wedding dress, holding a bouquet of flowers and wearing flowers on her dress and in her hair. She is also wearing a necklace. Both the bride and groom are displaying serious expressions as they embark on the beginning of their marital life together. The photograph was taken by James Krawczyk. His obituary appears in Utica’s (New York) Daily Press (1959). In 1959, Krawczyk had moved to Utica and died just a week later at the age of 71. The article reports that he had been born in Poland in 1888 and came to Utica in 1902. He then moved to Syracuse in 1910. While living in Syracuse, he operated a photography studio for 33 years, retiring in 1958. Krawcyk was involved with a number of Polish organizations in Syracuse. This photograph measures 6″ x 9″. SOLD
This cabinet card features a bride and groom and a couple from their wedding party. The brides gown is a bit unusual. One can find many dark colored wedding dresses but this one seems to be made from an unusual material. Perhaps someone can leave a comment that identifies the fabric. The bride is wearing a very long veil and is also wearing many flowers from her waist to the top of her dress. This photograph was taken by the Oswald Brother’s Studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The studio was located at 1227 and 1229 Washington Avenue North from at least 1887 through 1895. Prior to that address, the Oswalds operated out of a gallery at 116 Thirteenth Avenue North. A later location was 1221 Washington Avenue North. Charles Otto Oswald (1859-1940) and Emil C. Oswald (1864-1944) were Swiss born.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 