This cabinet card features a group portrait of four woman, one man, and two children dressed for tennis and all the individual’s except the children are holding tennis rackets. According to an inscription on the reverse of the photograph, the image was produced in 1890 The photographer and the studio’s location are unknown. All the individuals in the photograph are wearing terrific hats. The gentleman in the image is wearing a bow tie. Can you imagine Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras wearing bow ties as they battled for victory in an important tennis tournament? Cabinet Cards with a tennis theme are not extremely rare. The sport of tennis was well established during the cabinet card era. In fact, a version of the game of tennis has been around for centuries. The rules of the game have not changed much since the 1890’s. The Wimbledon tournament in London, England has been played since 1877. The US Open began in 1881 and it was first played in Newport, Rhode Island.
Two young women pose for their portrait in Newport, Pennsylvania. Both women are grasping one end of a fan that they hold behind their heads. Their raised arms highlight their hour glass figures which are given an assist by the corsets they are wearing. The photographer is named William Easter Lenney. He was located in Newport in the early 1890’s and moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he became a well known portrait photographer between 1894 and 1920. He and his family then moved to California. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 