The Brandt Brothers studio in Avoca, Iowa, produced this family portrait. Emma and Clara Holst are identified in an inscription on the reverse of the photograph. The two young women are wearing nice dresses with flowers pinned to just below their shoulders. Research reveals that Emma Holst was born in 1878 and Clara was born in 1881. Growing up, the sisters lived together in both Pleasant and Shelby, Iowa. Emma married Henry Sick in 1898. Sick was six years older than Emma. They had at least three children and in 1925 lived in Valley, Iowa.
SISTERLY LOVE: PORTRAIT OF EMMA AND CLARA HOLST IN AVOCA, IOWA
TWO LADIES HOLDING HANDS IN VAIL, IOWA
J. F. Barton documents the resolution of the conflict between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Mrs. Irma Hatfield and Miss Henrietta McCoy met at the Barton studio to resolve the decades old dispute that decimated their families. Sorry! I couldn’t resist making up a story to accompany this cabinet card portrait. The image begs for explanation, but unfortunately, the reason for the pictured handshake is lost in history. The ladies are wearing plain dresses but nice hats. Both women are wearing fingerless gloves. The woman on the right is wearing a belt that may have been the prototype of the automobile seat belts of today. J. F. Barton is humorously mentioned in the Denison Review (1902) as a first class photographer who is “kept busy printing smiles” on his customers.
AN ADORABLE CHILD IN BURLINGTON, IOWA
A REAL CUTIE PIE, BOY OR GIRL IS UNCERTAIN BUT I VOTE FOR GIRL NICE HAT AND BUTTON UP BOOTS J H REYNOLDS IS PHOTOGRAPHER JH REYNOLDS PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO IS WAY ITS WRITTEN BANGS LACE COLLAR STRAW HAT?
FOUR AFFECTIONATE WOMEN IN MANCHESTER, IOWA
Four women wearing lovely dark dresses, pose for their portrait at the Walter studio in Manchester, Iowa. The ladies are a bit “touchy-feely” as they assume an affectionate pose. The photographer of this photograph is Harvey L. Walter. “The History of Delaware County, Iowa” (1878) and Langdon Road Photographer Directory both mention Mr. Walter. He was born in 1833 in Ohio and moved “west” in 1853. He married Mary Fuller in 1864 and moved to Manchester in 1871. At one point he was partners in a firm in Manchester called Walter & Weidman. They were active in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Their studio was located on Franklin Street and was above Ford Brothers Store.
TWO YOUNG BOYS LOOKING VERY GQ POSE WITH THEIR DOGS IN CEDAR FALLS, IOWA
This old photograph has seen better days but what a terrific image. The photographer, Clay from Cedar Falls, Iowa, took on a great challenge. It is difficult enough to photograph one dog, but Clay had to photograph two dogs and two young boys. Clay was up for the task and the resulting photograph is a visual treat. The boys in this image are dressed like young men. They are wearing jackets and ties Be sure to note their shoes and their hats. Accompanying the boys are two dogs. One canine looks like an airedale while the other resembles a border collie. Amazingly, both the boys and the dogs are looking directly at the camera.
FOUR SAMARITAN HOSPITAL NURSES POSE FOR THEIR PORTRAIT IN SIOUX CITY, IOWA
This photograph features four uniformed nurses posing for their portrait. The names of the subjects are printed on the reverse of the image. Due to poor penmanship, some of the names are difficult to decipher. the women’s names are Kathryn Truesdell, Hadyn, Herbert, and Ethel Sheldon. Time spent researching these names was productive. Kathryn Truesdell was listed as a nurse in the 1911 and 1912 Sioux City Directory. In 1911, her employment was listed as Samaritan Hospital. Lonnie Hayden is listed in both the 1910 and 1911 directory and in 1910 she was reported to be a nurse at Samaritan. Delia Herbert was an Illinois native who was identified as a nurse in the 1909 through 1912 directories. She was also employed at Samaritan for at least part of those years. She was 24 years old at the time of the 1910 US census. Ethel Sheldon was Iowa born and listed as a nurse in the 1910 Sioux City directory. The 1910 US census listed her as being 25 years of age. Ethel Sheldon and and Delia Herbert lived together in what was likely a dormitory or boarding house. The photo postcard below presents Samaritan Hospital (1908) as it appeared close to the time that Nurses Truesdell, Hayden, Herbert, and Sheldon were employed there.
FAMILY OF THREE IN OTTUMWA, IOWA
A young couple poses with their baby at the studio of White and Hugus in Ottumwa, Iowa. The couple are well dressed and the family is nicely posed for their portrait. The husband is sitting on an interesting and ornate seat (prop). The woman has her hand affectionately placed on her husband’s shoulder and the husband keeps a careful hold on the couple’s extremely alert baby. No information about the photographers was found in preliminary research. The town of Ottumwa is in southeast Iowa. It was a coal mining town. The state mine inspector reported that there were 15 mine shafts in the town in 1889. From 1890 through 1892 an exhibition center was built in the town. It was called the Coal Palace. Perhaps the gentleman in this photograph was associated with the mining industry.
FASHIONABLE YOUNG COUPLE IN PARKERSBURG, IOWA
A young fashionably dressed couple pose for their portrait at the Byerly studio in Parkersburg, Iowa. The young man is holding a rolled up magazine or newspaper. The young woman is wearing a large ribbon. It looks like a ribbon that one might be awarded as a prize. The photographer, Orison Byerly (1836-?), operated a studio in Parkersburg in the 1880’s and 1890’s. He was born in Ohio and learned photography as a young man in Dubuque, Iowa under the tutelage of Frank Pickerel.
EVA McGINLEY: CHARACTER CHANGE ARTIST
This composite cabinet card features Eva McGinley and is subtitled indicating that she was a “character change artist”. The central portrait on the card shows a prim and proper lady but the image is surrounded by other images displaying Miss McGinley’s versatility and talent to play disparate character roles. Eva McGinley was not a major actress which is apparent by the dearth of information readily available in my preliminary research. However, two newspaper articles were found pertaining to Miss McGinley. The New York Dramatic Mirror (1900) reported that “Eva McGinley’s voice failed her at Greenfield, Iowa last week” and she and her husband Bob went to Omaha to recuperate. A second article appeared in the New York National Police Gazette (1900) which proclaimed that Miss McGinley and her husband were enjoying themselves in Lakeview, Iowa and that she had shot and killed the largest pelican ever killed on Wall Lake. Imagining Miss Mcginley hunting pelicans with a rifle is distasteful to me but it certainly indicates that she really was quite a “character”. The photographer of this image is unidentified.
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.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 