This cabinet card portrait features a little boy on his tricycle and his big sister. The boy is wearing a bow tie, a striped shirt, and a serious expression. The young girl has a protective grip on the handlebars of her brothers trike. Her straw hat is on the ground in front of her. This outdoor scene is actually taking place inside the studio of C. E. Pelton who operated studios in both Dighton (1892-1895) and Leroy (1892-1893), Michigan. Pelton also operated a studio in Tustin, Michigan (c 1890). The young girl in this image is identified in an inscription on the reverse of the cabinet card. Her name was Maud Piper and she can be found in the Michigan birth index. Maud E. Piper was born in Williamston, Michigan in 1884. Her parents were named Isaac and Esther Piper. Unfortunately, Maud died in 1894 at the age of ten. She is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Okemos, Michigan. (SOLD)
A CABINET CARD OF A YOUNG COUPLE POSING WITH CABINET CARDS IN MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
This cabinet card features a well dressed young couple posing for their portrait in the studio of Stephen Piper in Manchester, New Hampshire. The studio was located at 804 Elm Street. The husband is seated, his jacket has just the top button fastened, and he is wearing a pocket watch. His wife is standing behind the table, an ideal position for displaying her beautiful figure (enhanced by her corset). The photographer and the subjects apparently decided to use cabinet cards as props. The young woman is displaying them on the covered table. One wonders if these are cabinet card portraits of family menbers that the couple brought from home, or if they are just cabinet cards of random people that were lying around the gallery. Piper (1835-1903) was a photographer in Manchester from 1866 to at least, 1887. He was born in Sanborton, New Hampshire. His obituary in the Manchester Union Leader nearly filled the entire front page of the newspaper. Even more remarkable for the time, was the fact that his picture was also on the front page. Piper was clearly considered an important citizen of Manchester, at the time of his death.
