An adolescent girl holds a rolled paper as she poses for her portrait at the Hearn Studio in Union City, Pennsylvania. Is that a graduation certificate that she is holding? She is dressed fashionably. Her hat is strategically placed beside her. Her jewelry includes a necklace, bracelet, and a ring. Interestingly the photographer placed two faux rocks in front of her ankles so that her shoes cannot be seen. Is the photographer hiding something? Note the plants in the planter and the art object on the stage beside her. What exactly is that artistic piece? J. P. Hearn was a native of Devonshire, England, where he was born in 1846. He immigrated to Ottawa, Canada with his brother John in 1872. He later moved to St. Catherine where he studied photography with G.F. Maitland. His next stop was Buffalo, New York. In 1875 he came to Union City and opened a photographic gallery which was destroyed in the “Brooklyn Fire” of 1879. After the fire, he was able to successfully rebuild his business in Union City. He married Canadian, Annie McClelland in 1878. Research found another cabinet card that indicates that at some point in time, Hearn operated studios simultaneously in the Pennsylvania cities of Union City and Spartansburg.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 