Three young children pose together for a cabinet card portrait by the Columbia View & Button Company of Memphis, Tennessee and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This photograph precipitates a number of questions. Was this photograph taken outdoors, or is this an in-studio portrait? Was this image produced in Memphis, or, in Pittsburgh? Finally, why is the photographic studio called a “View & Button Company”? Lets attempt to answer the previous questions. It is not clear if this is an indoor, or outdoor photograph; nor is it apparent in which of the studios, the image was produced. However, one source reports that the Pittsburgh studio existed between circa 1893 and 1900. This cabinet card is marked on its front as being photographed in 1901. Does the 1901 date preclude the possibility that the image comes from the Pittsburgh studio? The answer is a resounding no. The date on the card was preprinted and the source is not certain the Pittsburgh studio definitely closed in the exact year 1900. The third question concerns the reason the name of the studio includes the terms “View & Button” . The likely answer is that the studio originally produced stereoviews and photograph buttons. The buttons were generally portraits and varied in size. They could be worn or displayed on a piece of furniture or shelf. Large photographic buttons were most popular between 1900 and 1930. The smaller pinback buttons were popular beginning the 1890’s. There is some other information that may prove to be important in learning more about the image. On the reverse of the cabinet card, there are two names written. These names likely identify two of the subjects in the photograph. The two subjects names are Mary Baker and Guy Baker. Searching census data with a common name like”Baker” was an exercise in frustration, in regard to identifying these probable siblings. After viewing this cabinet card, one notes that the three children in this photograph are not fashionably nor expensively dressed. They are different from most of the children seen in cabinet cards. The majority of children tend to wear their sunday best, which is generally much nicer than these children’s wardrobe. One surmises that these children are not from an affluent family. This cabinet card is in very good condition (see scans).
This Cabinet Card is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $68.48 at auction
Interested collectors may view the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/336231732823
A pretty woman, wearing a fashionable, but unusual dress, poses for a photographer named Joseph G. Morris, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The studio was located at 16 Sixth Street, in Pittsburgh. She is wearing a collar pin. On the reverse of the photograph is the handwritten name, “Hillz”. One imagines that Hillz is the last name of the subject of this photograph. United States census data reveals some biographical information about the photographer of this cabinet card. Morris was located in the 1880 census. Morris was about 29 years old and he and his father (David Morris) were both working as photographer agents. In 1900, Morris and his 18 year old son, Harry, were boarders, and the older Morris was working as a photographer while the younger Morris was employed s a photographer apprentice. The 1910 U.S. Census finds Morris still working as a photographer and living with his wife, Mary P. Morris. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 