A FAMILY OF FIVE IN MOURNING GATHER AROUND A POST MORTEM PHOTO OF BABY CARRIE

This cabinet card portrait is both interesting and sad. The photograph shows a family of five in mourning. They are dressed in dark clothing and on the table that they are sitting or standing by, is a cabinet card post-mortem photograph of a baby. On the reverse of this cabinet card is the inscription “Carrie Picture”. Clearly, someone has identified the baby as being named “Carrie”. This photograph was taken at the Bannister studio in St. Johns, Michigan. The Michigan Directory of Photographers reports that he operated his St Johns studio in 1895. The directory provides no first name for Mr. Bannister. It is my hypothesis that the photographer of the cabinet card portrait was Frank T. Bannister. He is listed as a photographer in the 1885 business directory for Saginaw, Michigan. He also appears in the 1910 US census as a photographer residing in New Richmond, Wisconsin.

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Published in: on July 20, 2017 at 7:39 pm  Comments (2)  
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PORTRAIT OF A LITTLE BOY AND HIS PEDAL CAR IN THE MOTOR CITY (DETROIT)

pedal car

This cabinet card features a young boy driving his Keystone Auto Pedal car. The elaborate toy car was made by the Mars Company. One source told me that the car was produced in 1905 but that information is unconfirmed. The child’s expression in this photo is priceless. He is trying to appear very serious, as if he was a mature and experienced driver. In other words he seems to be saying, “Driving is no big deal for me, I do it all the time”. A light stamp on the reverse of the cabinet card reveals that the photographer of this image was F. E. Nielson and his studio was at 344 Michigan Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Fredrick N. Nielson was born in Denmark in 1884, immigrated to the US in 1903, and married his wife Sophia in 1912. He conducted his photography business in Battle Creek (1918), Saginaw (1920), and Allegan (1920-1931). This portrait suggests that Nielson was a talented photographer.   (SOLD)

Published in: on June 8, 2015 at 3:14 pm  Comments (3)  
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NICELY DRESSED BIKE RIDER IN LAKE ODESSA, MICHIGAN

A young man poses holding a bicycle at the studio of G. A. Shampang in Lake Odessa, Michigan.  The good looking man is dressed in what is probably his finest clothing. Take note of where the backdrop screen reaches the floor. The photographer was a bit careless and did not take notice or action to insure the backdrop touched the floor properly to promote a more credible background. Oops! G. A. Shampang located in Lake Odessa in the late 1890’s. According to an ad in the Lake Odessa Wave, the studio was located above the Lake Odessa Savings Bank on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Second Street. In late 1898 Shampang took on Mr. Mead as a partner, forming Shampang & Mead. Something apparently went wrong with the partnership because Shampang bought back Mead’s shares in the business after just three months of  joint ownership. Shampang operated the gallery until about 1910. In 1911 he moved to California and later on, moved to Saginaw, Oregon where he owned an oil station. In 1931 he succumbed to a stroke. His wife, Ada Ema Rozell, survived him. To learn more about Shampang, visit the web site for the Ionia County Genealogical Society.  SOLD

Published in: on March 28, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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PONTIAC WOMAN SEEN IN A GOOD LIGHT

A young woman is featured in this cabinet card photograph by J. H. Benson, in Pontiac, Michigan. The photographer did an excellent job of utilizing light in this portrait of a well dressed and well coiffed woman. John H. Benson was a native New Yorker. Directories from 1863 and 1875 indicate he conducted business in Saginaw, Michigan. Perhaps he moved to Pontiac in the later years of his career. Benson died in 1901.

Published in: on February 20, 2011 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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“BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE”; LITTLE ANNIE POSES IN WINTER COAT AND HAT IN SAGINAW, MICHIGAN

An adorable little girl, named Annie, poses in her winter coat and hat in the Smith Studio in Saginaw, Michigan. The photographer, William L. Smith bought the studio in 1883 and had eleven years experience as a photographer prior to starting his own business.

Published in: on April 27, 2010 at 9:45 am  Leave a Comment  
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