An elegantly dressed couple pose for their portrait at the Providence, Rhode Island studio of Theodore F. Chase. The gentleman in this photograph displays a common cabinet card facial expression. He looks intently serious. His wife, on the other hand, has quite the sour look on her face. She looks like there is a hundred other places she would rather be. Chase’s studio was located at 61 Westminister Street. He also operated his business from other addresses. City directories reveal that in 1883 and 1884 his studio was located at 249 1/2 Westminister. Theodore Chase was born in 1842 in Fall River, Massachusetts. He married Emma Horton in 1865 and the couple had four children.
This excellent image is a portrait of a fire chief in Providence, Rhode Island. He is seen in his dress uniform with a fire chief badge on his hat. His coat buttons indicate he is a fireman with the Providence Fire Department. The photographer is Y. E. Rose of Providence, Rhode Island. The studio opened in 1886 in the Conrad Building.
This Cabinet Card was found with 76 other Cabinet Card photographs in an album of members of the class of 1882 at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It is believed that this image was taken in 1878. The subject of this photo is Sam Foss who was born in New Hampshire. After graduation from Brown he became a librarian and poet. His works include The House by the Side of the Road and The Coming American. In 1898 he became the librarian at the Somerville Public Library in Massachusetts. He wrote a poem a day for then newspapers and published five volumes of collected poetry. Until 2003, his words were on the granite wall at the Air Force Academy. He wrote “Bring me men to match my mountains, Bring me men to match my plains, Men with empires in their purpose, And new Eras in their brains” (from Coming American 1894) The photographic studio that produced this Cabinet Card is Hambly and Shoal in Providence, Rhode Island.
Viola Allen (1869-1948) was an American theater and silent film actress who acted in roles between 1882-1919. She was born in Alabama and was the daughter of an actor. Her first stage appearance in New York City was at age 14 when she substituted for the ill Annie Russell who was playing the title role of Esmeralda at Madison Square Theater. Allen’s father was also a member of the cast. Allen appeared in many productions including Masqueraders, Twelfth Night, Under the Red Robe, The Christian, and the Winter Tale. Her most popular roles were in Shenendoah and Little Lord Fauntleroy. The reverse of this card has writing that indicates that this image is from Allen playing the role of Dolores in “In The Palace of the King” (1901). The photographer of this Cabinet Card was the studio of Sands & Brady in Providence, Rhode Island.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 