This cabinet card portrait features a well dressed handsome older gentleman with a wonderful long white beard. The man has striking eyes. They are bright and soft and he projects a certain sweetness and friendliness. This photograph was produced by the Dabbs gallery in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Benjamin Lomax Horsley Dabbs was born in London in 1839. He immigrated into the United States while still in his childhood. His father was a pioneer in the American photographic supply trade. Dabbs learned the photography field from his father, George Dabbs. Benjamin came to Pittsburgh in 1861 and opened a business selling photography supplies. That same year he also bought a gallery from a Mr. Rorah. He grew the business dramatically and in 1869 he sold his supply business to concentrate on being a photographer. During his tenure as a photographer in Pennsylvania, he was considered by many to be the best photographer in the state. In 1868 Dabbs married Sadie Dickson and the couple ultimately had nine children. Dabbs was a close personal friend of Abraham Lincoln and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Dabbs drew some attention for his stance on free resittings for customers who were not satisfied with the portraits taken by his studio. Unlike many other photographers, he refused free resittings because “the public do not value what they can get for nothing”. In his later years, Dabbs was debilitated by rheumatism and other illness. He died at age sixty in 1899. His celebrated portrait of Andrew Carnegie can be viewed today at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art. There is very light writing on the reverse of the cabinet card. The writing includes the name E. E. Headley. This cabinet card has minor edge and corner wear and is in overall good condition (see scans).
This Cabinet Card is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $36.00
Interested collectors may view the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/336204531912
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 two children seen in this cabinet card photograph are precious. They have incredibly sweet smiles. They are standing in a faux field of daisies. This photo was taken by Hendricks & Co., a studio in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. The town was originally named Allegheny City and it was established in 1788. In 1907, it was annexed by the city of Pittsburgh. The photographer of this image is John P Hendricks. He is listed in the 1891 and 1893 Pittsburgh City Directories. If this photograph is typical of his work, he was quite talented. This cabinet card portrait is in good condition (see scans). Note the foxing on the reverse of the photograph. SOLD
This cabinet card photograph features a fashionable young woman. Her plain dress is spiced up with a fancy collar and a sash. She is accessorized with two bracelets and what appears to be a chain and pocket watch. She was photographed by the Morris studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 