A thinnish young woman poses for her portrait at the studio of H. Huebner in Chicago, Illinois. She is dressed nicely and hopefully a visitor to the Cabinet Card Gallery can tell us more about her dress. The design of the dress seems unusual and I am particularly interested in what material the dress is made from. The young woman is holding an open book.The previous owner of this image hypothesized that the subject of this photograph was a school teacher.
A very pretty woman with big dreamy eyes and dark hair poses for her portrait at the McKnight studio, in Centrailia, Illinois. The woman is wearing a dress that has four very large buttons at its top and smaller buttons below. The large and small buttons appear to be identical except for size. The decorative buttons show grapes or berries. The woman is also wearing a flower and earrings, as well as a pin at her collar. The pin features the letter “H”, which may be the first letter of her first or last name. The photographer of this image may be Frank McKnight or P. McKnight. Both of these individuals are listed in a directory of Illinois photographers as operating studios in Centralia during the cabinet card era. This photograph has a crossed out location on the bottom of the image. It is probable that the photographer formerly owned a studio in Missouri and moved to Illinois but kept his stock of pre-printed paper. Although it is easy to decipher the state, the town is blacked out beyond the point of recognition.
A very pretty woman poses for her portrait at the studio of well known photographer, Joseph W. Gehrig. Gehrig plied his trade in Chicago, Illinois. To view other photographs by Gehrig, click on the category “Photogapher: Gehrig”. The woman in this photograph is beautifully dressed. she is wearing leather gloves and a wonderful feathered hat. She appears to be holding a purse. She gives the appearance of a woman of means and it is likely that she was a member of Chicago’s high society.
A beautiful woman poses for her portrait at the Lewitz studio in Chicago, Illinois. She is surrounded by pretty flowers. She is wearing flowers on her dress and in her hair. There is also a floral treatment on the railing behind her. She is wearing a coat style dress and a lace blouse. She is also sporting fingerless gloves. This young woman spent some time at her jewelry box while preparing for this photograph. She appears to be wearing a necklace and a broach, although it may be a necklace with two pieces of jewelry attached. She is also wearing earrings. The photographer of this image is Emil Lewitz. To learn more about him and to view more of his photographs, click on the category, ‘Photographer: Lewitz’. SOLD
These two cabinet card portraits come from the same source and belong together. Writing on the reverse of one photograph indicates that the couple are named George and Lizzie. Perhaps the young man and woman are married to each other. If not married, the two subjects may be siblings. The photographer of both cards is Copelin whose studio was located on the Northwest corner of Madison and State Streets in Chicago, Illinois. The exact address was 75 Madison Street. Some biographical information concerning the Copelin studio is available, but it is very difficult to sort out. It seems that Copelin had a succession of photography businesses. Alexander J. W. Copeland (1851-c1923) and Melander bought out their boss to open a studio in Chicago sometime around 1870. Copelin & Son was established in 1871 and existed about ten years. The business has an interesting story associated with it. The gallery was established just six days before the Chicago Fire (1871) and the building was completely destroyed in the blaze. The building had been the first photographic gallery in Chicago but had housed many proprietors. A.J. Copelin rebuilt the business. In the early 1880’s, the Copelin Gallery was established. Copelin eventually left portrait photography and opened a successful commercial photography business. Copelin is also recognized as one of the founding fathers of the Photographers Association of America.
This cabinet card photograph features a very cute baby wearing a gown and sweater. She has beautiful big eyes According to an inscription on the reverse of the image, the baby is named Atalie Jean Crum and she was five months and two days old, at the time the photograph was taken. Atalie Crum can be found on both the 1900 and 1910 U.S. census. She was born in 1890 and resided in Penn, Illinois. She lived with her parents, Brooke W. Crum, and Laura V. Crum. Both of her parents were born in Pennsylvania and her father was a farmer. The 1910 census reveals that at age twenty, Atalie was employed as a school teacher. A 1913 publication from the Illinois Office of Public Instruction, states that Atalie taught school in Stark County, Illinois (District 53). At an unknown age, she married Claude Sterling, a local farmer. An obituary in the Peoria Star (1936), reports the death of John Wesley Crandell. He died at the age of 78 in Castleton, Illinois. He was his community’s last surviving civil war veteran. A male quartet sang at the funeral and they were accompanied by a Mrs Atalie Sterling at the piano. This is likely the Atalie Sterling in the photograph. Atalie lived a long life, dying in 1969 at age eighty in Wyoming, Illinois. The photographer of this cabinet card is difficult to identify with any certainty. There was a photographer named W. H. Farley who operated in Crete and Gibson Illinois in the 1880’s. A photographer named A. Farley also had a studio in Illinois. Research uncovered another cabinet card with the same Farley logo as this cabinet card. The card was from a studio located in Tampico, Illinois. Tampico is the likely place that Atalie Crum was photographed.
Two bright-eyed young girls sit for their portrait at the studio of Fred Heising in either Chicago Heights, or Frankfort Station, Illinois. The youngest child, sitting in a wicker chair, has her arm firmly around the shoulders of her toy doll. The older girl stands behind her little sister, with a physical position and a facial expression that can best be described as “big sisterish”. An advertisement in the Bulletin of Photography (1912) lists Heising’s studio for sale at the price of eleven thousand dollars. The ad states that the studio had been in existence for twenty years. A little simple math reveals that this photograph was produced sometime after 1892.
This cabinet photo captures a wedding couple in Kewanee, Illinois. The bride doesn’t look particularly happy on her special day. She is holding flowers and looks pretty in her wedding dress. Note that her corset has quite the slenderizing effect. The groom in this image looks a bit dazed and intimidated. He is wearing a corsage with his formal wear. The photographer of this cabinet card was McWilliam.
This cabinet card captures a profile portrait of a young woman wearing a necklace and pin (possibly a cameo) on her collar. The noteworthy feature of this cabinet card is that the photographer is a woman, Miss Anny Lindquist whose studio was located in Chicago, Illinois.
A uniformed fireman poses for his portrait at an unidentified photographic studio. He is a dashing young man and he appears to proudly wear the buckle which identifies him as one of Red Bud’s “bravest”. The town of Red Bud is located in Illinois. To see other images of firemen, click on Cabinet Card Gallery’s category of “Firemen and Policemen”.
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