A pretty girl poses for photographer Albert Vetter in either Hoboken or Jersey City, New Jersey. This “Jersey Girl’s” portrait is captured in a crisp and clear image. She is wearing a frilly dress and a ribbon pinned near her shoulder. In addition, she is wearing a necklace with a pendant, and she is wearing it over the collar of her dress where it is hardly visible. The photographer, Albert Vetter, was quite an interesting character. Apparently, he was a vengeful man. The magazine, The Camera and the Darkroom ( 1904) reported that Vetter was at odds with the family that lived in the house that was also the home of his studio. Vetter got a picture of the head of the family, who recently died. He enlarged the picture and fastened a rope around it at the neck, and hung it out the window. The daughter of the late man, got a step ladder and removed the photograph. A “war of words” followed and Vetter was arrested. He was arraigned in front of a judge for disorderly conduct and he was put up for bond to maintain the peace. The magazine used a humorous headline to describe this incident; “New Idea in Picture Hanging”. (SOLD)
It is not infrequent that a cabinet card presents an interesting mystery. This cabinet card, by celebrity photographer Napoleon Sarony of New York City, conjures up some fascinating questions. Is the woman in this photograph a member of one of America’s most famous political families? It is likely that the pretty woman with the dreamy gaze seen in this photo is a Roosevelt. Let me tell you a little about Kate Shippen Roosevelt (1855-1925). In 1883, Kate Shippen Roosevelt (1855-1925) was married to Hilborne Roosevelt who was a world famous organ maker. He had factories in New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. His company made some of the finest and largest pipe organs in the world. He designed the first electric organ and he was a first cousin to President Theodore Roosevelt. Kate was the daughter of William W. Shippen who was the president of the Hoboken Land and Improvement Company and Hoboken Ferry Company. It is not a surprise that their wedding was called by the New York Times (1883) the event of the season. An article in Town Topic Journal of Society (1883) announces that Kate Shippen Roosevelt would be performing a monologue and that she was one of the “best amateurs” engaged in such performances. Kate was also a well known women’s suffrage critic. She called suffragettes “soapbox militants”. Hillborne Roosevelt died in 1886 at age 37. He left his widow and three year-old daughter quite wealthy and they continued to be part of high society in New York City. I believe that that the woman in this image is Kate Shippen Roosevelt because 1) the inscription on the reverse of the image is supportive (see below), 2) Mrs. Roosevelt was a member of society and Sarony was a society photographer, and 3) My research was unsuccessful to find another celebrity sharing the name “Kate Shippen”. Unfortunately, I could not find a photo to confirm or disconfirm that the subject of this cabinet card portrait was Mrs. Roosevelt. The bottom image is the gravestone of Kate Shippen Roosevelt which is located at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 