A handsome young couple pose for their portrait at the Reed photography studio in Quincy, Illinois. This unidentified endearing couple are nicely dressed, and the woman is wearing a necklace. Advertising on the bottom of the front of the cabinet card indicates that Reed operated a branch studio in La Grange, Missouri. To view other couple portraits, click on the category entitled “Couples”. Candace McCormick Reed (1818-1900) was born in Crab Orchard, Tennesee and moved to Missouri as a young girl. In 1842, she married Warren Reed, a photographer. The couple left Missouri and relocated to Quincy, Illinois, and established a daguerreotype gallery in 1848. Warren Reed died in 1858 and Candace Reed became the gallery owner and photographer. She quickly sold the gallery and opened a new gallery which she named the “Excelsia Gallery”. Candace’s sister, Miss Celina McCormick, worked as an assistant in the studio. At times, Candace worked under the name of Mrs W A Reed or Mrs Warren Reed. She kept her gallery up to date technologically and she was especially gifted in the art of painting photographs. She was known for her talent in enlarging old photographs and retouching them in crayon, oil, watercolor, and India ink. Candace was able to financially support her two children and mother-in-law, with proccds fro the business. Candace was admirably very civic minded. She established a support organization for soldiers and their families during the civil war. The group was called the “Sisters of the Good Samaritan”. She also served as a nurse in Union Army hospitals in Nashville, Chattanooga, and Vicksburg. While she was volunteering for the Union effort, she left her gallery in the care of her brother, who was also a photographer. After the war, Candace operated the Quincy gallery, and also ran galleries in Missouri. The galleries were located in the towns of Canton, La Grange, and Palmyra. Candace Reed’s Quincy gallery was in busines between 1848 and 1888. This cabinet card portrait is in very good condition (see scans). (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 