Two trumpeters in band uniforms pose for their portrait at the Brown studio in Sterling, Illinois. This is one of those times that there is a need for consultation from one of the visitors to the Cabinet Card Gallery with band instrument expertise. Are these men holding trumpets, cornets, or bugles? One also wonders about the relationship between the two men in this photograph. Are they father and son?Unfortunately the subjects are not identified and their relationship, besides being bandmates, is unknown. In addition, the men’s uniforms lack patches or lettering to suggest their band affiliation. Research yielded no information about the photographer of this image.
TWO TRUMPETERS FROM STERLING, ILLINOIS
STAGE ACTRESS NANETTE NIXON IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
This cabinet card features stage actress Nanette Nixon. She is wearing a flower pattern dress with a lace collar. Nixon’s photograph appeared in The Sunday Telegraph (1898) and the text describes her as “soulful and able as an actress”. The brief article reports that theatre goers in New York were looking forward to her upcoming appearances there. Interestingly, the photograph in the Telegraph was taken by the same photographer who produced the photograph appearing on this cabinet card. The photographer of this image is William Mckenzie Morrison whose studio was located in the Haymarket Theatre building in Chicago, Illinois. Morrison was a well known and successful celebrity photographer. The reverse of the photograph is illustrated with medals from the Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893), Photographers Association of America (1894), The Cotton States and International Exposition (1895), and various other competitions. To view other photographs by Morrison, click on the category “Photographer: Morrison”.
STAGE AND SILENT FILM ACTRESS MABEL TRUNELLE IN FORT WAYNE, INDIANA
This cabinet card features stage and film actress Mabel Trunnell (1879-1981). The reverse of the photograph is inscribed “Yours Truly, Mabel Trunnell 1898”. Therefore, this image captures Miss Trunnell at about age nineteen. Mabel Trunnell was born in Dwight, Illinois. She began her career as an actress of the stage but at age thirty-two she began to appear in films. In 1911 she appeared in “A Modern Cinderella, In the Days of Chivalry” and in “The Star Spangled Banner”. Her last film was in 1923 when she was in the movie “The Love Trap”. Her filmography on IMDb indicates that she acted in 199 different films. At the age of forty-four she returned to the stage. She was married to Herbert Prior, an early British film star. Trunnell was one of Hollywood’s first movie stars as was identified with Edison Studios. A magazine article in “The Moving Picture World” (1915) reviews one of her performance. The reviewer wrote “Mabel Trunnell becomes more attractive as the course of time silvers her hair”. An interesting sociological comment was also made by the reviewer which was in regard to the admirable strength portrayed by Trunnell’s character. The reviewer notes “most of us are tired of seeing women pictured as incurable weaklings”. The reviewer was certainly a man who was ahead of his time. This cabinet card was produced by the Barrows studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It appears that Miss Trunnell was photographed in a costume from one of her performances. She is dressed very much like a maid and seems a bit troubled in her pose. The photographer, Frank Rufus Barrows operated a studio in Fort Wayne between 1880 and 1900. He is considered one of the city’s most prolific photographers and had several locations while in business there. He was born in Sturgis, Michigan in 1854. He came to Fort Wayne in 1880 and partnered with Frank H. Clayton in operating a photographic studio. In about a years time he became the sole proprietor of the studio. He had many photos appear in Fort Wayne Illustrated (1897). He left Indiana for Medford, Massachusetts and operated a studio there until 1910 when he moved to Eugene, Oregon where he died in 1920.
MAMIE SLOAN WEARS AN ELABORATE DRESS IN MT. PLEASANT, IOWA
This photograph is a portrait of a pretty young lady in a fancy dress. She is wearing a dress with a high collar and has her hair up. The reverse of this photograph indicates that the woman’s name is Mamie Sloan and penned under her name was New Boston, Illinois and the date “June 1897”. The reverse of the photograph also has a photographer’s stamp but it is not entirely legible. The stamp reveals that the studio was located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa and that the studio was named “White & ?”. Research was unsuccessful at uncovering more information about the photographers or about Mamie Sloan. There were too many women who shared that name who lived in the New Boston area around the time that this photograph was taken. New Boston and Mount Pleasant are 66 miles apart, and it is likely that Mamie Sloan resided in New Boston although photographed in Mount Pleasant.
DOUBLE WEDDING IN WENONA, ILLINOIS
This cabinet card appears to be a portrait of two wedding couples who participated in a double wedding. Of course it is also possible that just one of these couples are a bride and groom and the other are part of the wedding party. All four subjects are adorned with flowers for the special occasion. The men have terrific mustaches. The photographer of this image is James Parrett whose studio was located in Wenona, Illinois. Parrett was born in Magnolia, Illinois in 1857. He came to Wenona with his parents in 1867. He learned photography in 1884 at a studio in Streator, Illinois. He opened a studio in Wenona in 1884. A year later he married Miss May Stoner of Wenona. While working as a photographer, Parrett was also a member of the school board for several years and served at least one term as an alderman. The Bulletin of Photography (1912) announced that Parrott had sold his studio to Clarence Jones.
PORTRAIT OF BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS EVANGELINE IRVING (BY CELEBRITY PHOTOGRAPHER WILLIAM McKENZIE MORRISON OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS)
The previous owner of this photograph, reported the subject to be theatrical actress Evangeline Irving. Visual comparison to other portraits of Evangeline Irving support this identification. Evangeline Irving was an theater actress and the sister of a more successful theater actress named Isabel Irving. See Isabel’s portrait by searching for it in the Cabinet Card Gallery. This photograph was produced by William McKenzie Morrison, the Chicago, Illinois, based celebrity photographer. View other Morrison photographs by clicking on category “Photographer: Morrison”. The New York Times (1895) reported that Evangeline substituted for Isabel in a matinee performance of “The Case of Rebellious Susan”. Isabel was suffering from hoarseness. A number of New York Times (1895, 1896) articles describes a banking fiasco that Evangeline Irving was able to resolve. Her mother had gone to the Lincoln Safe Deposit Company to get twenty thousand dollars worth of bonds out of her box. When she could not find the bonds in the box, she ran out of the vault screaming that she had been robbed. She went home ill, and took to bed. She complained around town and soon her Senator contacted the bank demanding she be compensated with a check replacing her loss. The situation caused many people to run to their banks to see if their safety deposit box holdings had disappeared. Mrs. Irving caused a mini run on the city banks. It took awhile for Mrs. Irving’s daughters to get involved because both of the women were performing out west. Isabel was playing roles with the Lyceum Company and Evangeline was part of Stuart Robson’s Company. Soon, Evangeline came to the bank and after opening the safe deposit box found the bonds tied up in a bundle in the box. An apology was issued to the bank and made public.
TWO YOUNG WOMAN WITH PAINED EXPRESSIONS IN HOOPESTON, ILLINOIS
Two pretty young woman pose for their portrait in this scalloped cabinet card produced by the Hall studio in Hoopeston, Illinois. The women do not seem very enthusiastic about having their photograph taken. Each of the subjects have baskets of flowers on their laps and are wearing fingerless gloves. The woman seated on the right in the image is holding what appears to be an umbrella. Both of these ladies have very thin waists. They are probably wearing corsets. Perhaps those corsets are a little too tight and that would explain the pained expressions they display in the photograph. The photographer, Ervin S. Hall, appears in the 1880 US census. Hall was 25 years old and married (1877) to Violetta Hall (age 27). Hall’s parents were born in Maine but he and his wife were Illinois natives. The couple lived in Hoopeston and Hall worked as a photographer. The 1900 US census found Hall and his wife living in Grant, Illinois with their two children, Ellis (age 17) and Ethel (age 15). Ervin was still working as a photographer. The 1910 US census lists Hall and his wife living in Urbana, Illinois and Ervin still employed as a photographer. The 1920 US census reveals that the couple was living in Kissimmee, Florida and Ervin was working as a hardware salesman. The 1930 US census indicates that Ervin was retired and he and his wife remained in Kissimmee. Research uncovers the story of Hoopeston, Illinois. The town was created in 1871 and named for Thomas Hoopes who had offered his land to be the site of the crossing of two railroads. The business and manufacturing that developed in Hoopeston centered around agriculture. The Illinois Canning Company (1875) and the Hoppeston Canning Company (1878) were established there. Greer College (1890) was also established in Hoopeston.
PRETTY AUNT MARTHA DISCOVERS LEAVES ON STEROIDS IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
According to an inscription on the reverse of this cabinet card, the pretty woman featured in this cabinet card photograph is “Aunt Martha’. She is wearing a ring on her right index finger and is also wearing a hair bow. Aunt Martha poses for this photograph while standing at the proverbial garden wall. Note the giant leaves atop the post of the wall. The Taylor & Martin studio produced this photograph. The studio was located in Chicago, Illinois.
YOUNG COUPLE SHOWING SIGNS OF HAPPINESS IN PEORIA, ILLINOIS
A young couple poses for their portrait at the Sunbeam Gallery in Peoria, Illinois. The man and woman in this photograph are showing signs of happiness. Both of them are exhibiting a half smile rather than the typical intense expressions generally seen in cabinet card photography. The pair appear to be resting by a swinging wrought iron gate. The photographer of this image is Max Erler (about 1857-1936). He is listed in the US censuses of 1880 through 1920 as a photographer. He began his own photography business in 1881 and married his wife, Jennie Harris Erler (about 1861-1934). in 1883.
HANDSOME COUPLE IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
This photograph features an attractive couple posing for a photographer in Chicago, Illinois. The photographer’s last name is Banks and his studio was located at 2445 Kensington Avenue. The couple is very well dressed and share very serious expressions.The gentleman has a terrific mustache which curls at both ends. The couple are unidentified and no biographical information was found about the photographer.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 