A pretty dark haired young woman in a lovely dress poses for her portrait at the Bender studio in Corning, Iowa. She is holding flowers on her lap and has additional flowers lying at her feet. She is sitting in front of a poorly painted backdrop. It looks like it was painted by a Corning elementary school class rather than professionally done. The history of Corning is quite interesting. The first Europeans that came to the Corning area were a group of French Icarians who arrived from Illinois in 1854. A town was formed and named Icaria. The small and french-speaking community was dedicated to the utopian principles of Etienne Cabet (French philosopher and Utopian Socialist). combined with the democratic principles of the American and French Revolutions. In the 1860’s the community became divided between “traditionalists” and “progressives”. The progressives left town to form their own community, which was close to Corning (surveyed for development in the 1850’s).
DARK HAIRED BEAUTY IN LOVELY DRESS IN CORNING. IOWA
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 