“LEAN ON ME”: TWO AFFECTIONATE WOMEN IN NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA

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“ Lean on me, when you‘re not strong. And I’ll be your friend. I’ll help you carry on.”  This cabinet card portrait brings to mind the lyrics of Bill Withers song “Lean on Me”.  The image features two affectionate women (perhaps they’re sisters), one seated on a chair while the other is seated on the floor. The young woman on the floor has an open book in her lap and appears to be reading to the second woman. They are posed in an affectionate manner. Both are wearing pretty bows. The photographer is John Harvey and his studio was located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. After studying photography for two years in New York, Harvey established his Fredericton studio in 1883. He and his wife, Martha, ran the studio until John’s death in 1903. Martha Harvey continued operating the studio on her own until she sold it to Frank Pridham in 1917. Pridham and subsequent owners kept the “Harvey Studio” name and the business continues to operate today as one of the oldest photography studios in Canada. 

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Published in: on December 8, 2013 at 11:42 am  Leave a Comment  
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IMMIGRANT FAMILY OF UNKNOWN ETHNIC ORIGIN IN MADISON, MINNESOTA

This photograph captures a family in unknown ethnic clothing, at the Chalmers studio in Madison, Minnesota. Hopefully, a visitor to the cabinet card gallery will be able to identify the country of origin of this attractive family. The parents and their two sons, and daughter, are likely immigrants to the United States. An uninformed guess is that the family is from Afghanistan. The Chalmers studio was certainly a family affair. The business was started by Hugh J Chalmers (1844-1910) who was born in New Brunswick, Canada. He operated a photography studio in Lac Qui Parie (1882-1886) and in Madison (1886,  1894-?). Both businesses were located in Minnesota. He was succeeded by his son, James H. Chalmers (1874-?) who worked in Madison between 1904 and 1922. A third generation was involved with the business. James Kenneth Chalmers (1905-1966) also operated the studio.

Published in: on October 22, 2011 at 9:55 am  Comments (2)  
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