This captivating cabinet card portrait features a young Victorian girl posed in a rustic studio setting, seated gracefully beside a faux wooden fence. Dressed in a pristine white dress adorned with a broad, ornate lace collar and a tiered, ruffled skirt, she embodies the fashion of late 19th-century childhood portraiture. Her tightly curled bangs frame her youthful face, while her long, loose hair cascades over one shoulder—an uncommon and charming detail. She wears a long beaded necklace, from which a small rectangular locket or charm is suspended. A bracelet graces her left wrist, adding a delicate finishing touch to her ensemble. In her lap she holds an open album or book, featuring a cabinet card or mounted photograph of another child—possibly a sibling or friend—suggesting a theme of familial affection or memory. The girl gazes directly at the camera with a calm, slightly serious expression, her composure and gentle poise typical of studio portraits from this era. The setting evokes naturalism, yet remains artfully staged, blending domesticity with refinement. The back of the card is elaborately decorated in brown ink with Victorian embellishments including an ornate border, floral flourishes, and a small Sphinx illustration. The photographer is identified as Sam. Armstrong of Washington, Iowa. Samuel McDowell Armstrong learned photography in 1868 from Washington photographer, Austin Kracaw. In 1873 he partnered with Kracaw and within a year, Armstrong moved to Springfield Missouri. A name is handwritten in ink across the reverse: “Olive Campbell”. This is likely the name of the the girl seen in this photograph. Olive Gordan Campbell was born in 1878 and died in 1941. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 