These two matching cabinet cards form a particularly appealing husband-and-wife pair, photographed at Libby’s New Photograph Parlors in Keokuk, Iowa, probably during the 1880s or early 1890s. Both portraits are mounted on matching cream-colored cards with fine ruled borders and the distinctive “Libby’s New Photograph Parlors” imprint printed in red beneath the photographs. The fact that these two individual portraits have remained together as a married couple adds considerably to their historical and collecting interest. The woman is shown in an especially attractive late-Victorian portrait wearing a dark, richly decorated bodice over a high white lace or ruffled collar. She wears dangling earrings and additional jewelry at the front of her dress, while her hair is arranged in a remarkable and highly elaborate series of carefully formed curls and rolls across the crown of her head. Her hairstyle, jewelry, clothing, and exceptionally sharp facial detail make this a particularly good study of Victorian women’s fashion and hairstyling. A penciled notation on the reverse reads “Keokuk, Iowa,” further confirming the location associated with the photographs.Her husband is presented in a similarly formal head-and-shoulders portrait. He wears a dark suit coat, white shirt with broad turned-down collar, and a dark bow tie. His neatly combed hair, clean-shaven face, and restrained formal clothing give him the dignified appearance characteristic of a prosperous Victori an gentleman, and his portrait also has excellent sharpness and tonal detail.The photographer was Evelyn Porter Libby (E. P. Libby), one of Keokuk’s notable photographers in the decades following the Civil War. Libby moved to Keokuk with his wife Amanda and their three children in 1866, after previously operating photographic studios in Dubuque from 1857 to 1859 and Manchester, Iowa, from 1860 to 1865. He continued to maintain branch operations in Fairfield and Manchester after settling in Keokuk, with evidence suggesting that he may also have worked from branches in Hamilton and LaHarpe, Illinois. Portraiture was an important part of Libby’s business, but he also became well known for photographs of landscapes, buildings, and public works. His stereographic series titled “Western Views” is sought by collectors today, and he documented construction of the Mississippi River canal extending from Keokuk toward Montrose. Libby also wrote articles concerning the practical aspects of photography, showing that he was more than simply a local studio operator. When he died in 1895 at age 66, his obituary described him as a progressive photographer, capable chemist, and artist of more than average ability. Together, these portraits offer an unusually appealing glimpse of a Victorian husband and wife while also representing the work of an identifiable and historically significant Iowa photographer. The pair is in good antique condition overall. Both photographs retain excellent facial detail, contrast, and tonal quality. The woman’s card is the better-preserved of the two, showing light corner and edge wear, normal age toning, a few very small surface marks, and the penciled Keokuk notation on the reverse. The husband’s card shows more substantial wear at the upper corners, including areas of surface loss, staining, and glue residue from an earlier attachment, along with additional age-related marks visible on the reverse (See Scans).
This Vintage Real Photo Postcard is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $55.00 at auction
Interested collectors may view the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/336788503003
