This carte de visite features a nicely dressed pretty young woman. She has very engaging and piercing eyes. The reverse of this portrait has an inscription which I believe is in French. I am hoping that a Cabinet Card visitor can translate the inscription to English. A vintage photograph enthusiast on Facebook translated the inscription as follows. “It is written to the Mercedes Sangard Countesse of Choumouroux at Chateau Choumouroux near Yssingeaux”. I believe that this photograph is a portrait of Mercédès Andrée Ernestine (born January 31, 1900 in Craponne sur Arzon and died December 25, 1919). She was a member of the House of Sagnard, one of the oldest noble families in France. The photographer of this image is Francois Cheri-Rousseau (1826-1908). He began his career in Cusset, France. He also worked in Marseilles and Paris. Most of his career, he operated a studio in Saint-Etienne. He had two sons who both became photographers and eventually took over their father’s business. Cheri Rousseau began his photography career in about 1860. He was considered a talented photographer and won may awards for his work. In 1876 he filed a patent for a process for painting on photographs with bold ink. Rousseau also published postcards. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 