Cabinet Photo of a Man with a very large Mustache - Minneapolis, Minnesota

I have no idea who this person is, but I'm pretty sure he's proud of his mustache.  He's very clean cut, very well dressed, but has this wild mustache.  It makes a visual statement, and is a mildly extreme take on late 19th century men's fashion.

The photographer's name is Burdick, and he was located at 301 Washington Avenue South, in Minneapolis. It's pretty close to downtown, and today the area seems to be parking garages and big buildings.  I spent a couple of years in Minneapolis, and part of Washington Avenue was known for bars and live music, but I don't remember the addresses.

I wish I could say more about this photo, but really it's just guy with a huge mustache.

Update: Sold!

Cabinet Photo Wedding Couple From Vienna Austria

This is a cabinet photo of a bride and groom from Vienna, Austria.  Austria was the "Austro" part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time, Hapsburgs and all.  It must have been an interesting Empire, but it didn't survive WWI.

There are a couple of interesting things about this photo:  the subjects, and the clothing styles of the bride.

The man seems to be extremely tall, and the woman is normal height at best.  He is taller than she is, even though he his seated and she is standing.  It's true, she's leaning in a little, but if he were standing, she probably would not even reach his shoulder, height wise.

The woman's dress is inconveniently short for a cabinet photo.  I always thought that these kinds of photos were exclusively from the late 19th or very early 20th century.  To me her wedding dress looks straight out of the 1920s, and if that is true it is very inconvenient indeed.  My knowledge would be somewhat shaken.

Of course this photo is from Europe so maybe they made these  types of photos later there, maybe clothing styles changed there before they did in the USA.  I know from photos that styles were somewhat different - for example, a lot of central European men of the late 19th & early 20th century had "Kaiser Bill" (handlebar) mustaches - most American men didn't.   But it's hard to believe a woman in the 1890s would wear a dress that short.

I don't like it when things in photos don't quite match things I thought I knew.   It's a nice photo tho.

Willard D. Tripp, Former Union Officer in 29th Massachusetts Infantry, circa 1870s.

At first glance this is just a run of the mill Cabinet Photo - a man with mutton chops & a mustache, photographed by Woodward & Son in Taunton, Mass.  And not only that, it's pretty faded.

On back, however, written in barely legible hard to read pencil and competing with other random scribbles for your attention is the following: "Capt. Willard D. Tripp", and "State House".  I have no idea who may have written this,  and I hope someone wasn't using the back of this photo just to jot down a note.  My assumption is that the person in the photo is Willard Tripp, and he just became a little less anonymous.   I suppose he'd be surprised that 82 years after his death, anybody noticed.

Willard Dean Tripp was born in 1838 & died in 1931, (92 years old) and is buried in Woburn, Massachusetts. (Find-a-grave has him buried in Mayflower Cemetery, Taunton, Mass). He served most of the civil war years as an  officer in the 29th Massachusetts Infantry.   A regimental history (from 1908) has his rank as Lt. Colonel, other documents refer to his rank as Captain.   The 29th Mass was involved in several campaigns during the civil war, and apparently Captain Tripp rose in rank.

I can't find too much about his life after the war, but he was involved in state government.   He was employed by the Massachusetts State Board of Lunacy and Charity in the late 1890s, then in the early 1900s, by the Division of Adult Poor, both happy sounding agencies.  I'm not sure what positions he held, or what his responsibilities were.

This photo is probably from the 1870s-1880s.

Update:  Sold!

Cabinet Photo of a young Woman wearing a tall Hat & a tight Jacket

Usually I post photos or postcards here that are active listings for sale on my eBay site.  I post them because I think they're interesting for some reason, I think it gets them a lot more looks and it may help with sales.  I'm not a collector (for the moment), I buy these photos at various venues and I try to sell them for a profit.  I'm not emotionally attached to any of them, though I do like them.  I must enjoy buying and selling these photos, because, believe me,  there has to be a way to make more money than this.  (Like have a real job maybe?  Well I had those for a long time, this is much more fun.)  Anyway, this photo has already sold - it sold today and is off to the great state of Arkansas, which makes it an unusual post for me.  I have nothing to gain by posting this (sales wise anyway), I just like it.

This is a detail of a cabinet photo.  Its a young woman wearing a tallish, fairly elaborately decorated hat, a tight knitted jacket/sweater with a high collar, lots of buttons and a sprig of flowers.  She's also wearing a ring of some sort - looks more like a class ring than a wedding ring.  It is from the 1870s-1880s era, most likely.  There is no photographer information or writing, so no clues as to who this was or where it was made.

The photos I post here usually don't do the real item justice, and that is very true in this case.  The actual cabinet photo shows the details of the jacket much more sharply.

Sold!

Cabinet Photo of a Teen-aged Girl with long Hair from Easton Pennsylvania

There is nothing unusual about this Cabinet Photo, I just like it.  It's a formal studio portrait of a teen aged girl,  standing with her hand on one of those fancy couches whose name I can never remember.  She has quite long hair draped over her right shoulder.  Her dress is not even quite ankle length, which, along with the way she's wearing her hair, was probably an indicator of youth and an unmarried status at the time (probably 1870s).

The photographer was McCabe, located at 429 Northampton Street, Easton, PA.  I was not able to find out any specific information about the photographer, and there is nothing to indicate who the subject of the photo was.  It's just a nice picture.

Cabinet Photo of Five Men under a Portrait of Galileo

It's been awhile since I posted anything in this blog and I've been told by my better half it would be good if I did.  I don't disagree, so I'll try to do better, starting now.

This is a late 19th century cabinet photo - maybe as early as the 1870s, maybe not - of 5 men standing and sitting under a portrait.  One holds a long cylinder like object.

We have determined that the portrait is of Galileo, which made me think that the object one person is holding may be part of a telescope.  However, someone else thinks it is a Narwhale (or narwhal) tusk, and it may very well be, because it really doesn't look like part of a telescope.

These people may be academics of some sort, they just have that look.  There is no photographer information, and no writing to give us a clue as to who they were.

I rate this somewhere between unusual and really unusual for a cabinet photo.  Most are very formal portraits, this one is not.

Meet Ernest L. Gay - of the Boston Gays, 1893

This is a cabinet photo of a young man, taken by Davis & Howard of Boston, Mass.  "Ernest L. Gay, BLS '93" is handwritten on back, which is what makes this interesting.  At least to me.

If we have it correct, this person was from a very wealthy family, he was born in 1874 and died of an apparent heart attack in 1916, at the relatively young age of 42.  We believe BLS '93 stands for Boston Latin School, 1893.  I supposed someone could check that out if they wish.  The date seems correct, because that was the year Ernest Gay entered Harvard.  Also it fits well with the style of cabinet photo.

And on top of everything else, this is an odd hair style for men of that period.   So perhaps I'm the only one, but I like this cabinet photo.

Cabinet Photo of a Young Woman with Long Hair and Bare Arms

 

This is a cabinet photo (a little more than 4 x 6 inches, including the mounting) of woman wearing a dark short sleeved dress.  It was taken by F. B. Merker of Belleville, Illinois.  There is no other identifying information.

 

My best guess is that this is from the 1880s or 1890s, and it was unusual for a woman (or a man for that matter) to display bare arms in a formal portrait.   Also, I originally thought that was a boa draped over her shoulder, but it isn't - it's her hair, probably in a long pony tail.  Most women her age, in that era, would not have worn their hair down.

 

Maybe she was an actress (you know how they are).  Maybe she was ahead of her time stylistically. 

Or maybe it was a fad, or maybe it was well within the moral conventions of the time, or perhaps it was the latest and greatest from the fashion houses of Paris.  I honestly have no idea.

 

Unique photos are hard to find.  If it were easy to find them, they would not be unique.  I suppose every photo is unique in some way, in fact I know they are,  but some are more unique than others.  This woman's bare arms and long hair draped over her shoulder sets this photo apart.

 

(Old joke:  how do you find a unique photo?  You neek up on it.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Men in Top Hats, from Wenatchee, Washington, and Coldwater & Saginaw, Michigan

 

This is an interesting photo.  There are 3 men, all dressed to the hilt, including gloves.  They look to be in their 30s, the one sitting on the left maybe even a little younger.  The clothing indicates they were doing well for themselves and had (or at least aspired to) some social standing.

 

What makes this really interesting though is what is written on the back. 

 

The man sitting on the left is identified as F.W. Baker, Medical Arts Co., Wenatchee, Wash.  There is also a PHC - 90 in the description, but I don't know what that means.

 

The man sitting on the right is identified as W.H. (Belva) Lockwood, 41 Hull Street, Coldwater, Mich.

 

Whoever wrote this was not sure who the man standing is, but it is either a  Dr. Parkinson, or a Dr. A. S. Rogers, both from Saginaw, Mich.  Whoever the man standing is, he was described as "now dead".  

 

I have no idea who wrote this information, or when they wrote it.

 

So if you like to search out people in old photos and find their stories, there is a lot here to go on.    Just a note - there was a Belva Lockwood who was woman involved with women's rights in the 19th century.  I don't know if that Belva Lockwood has anything to do with the "Lockwood" in this photo.

 

This is a cropped portion of a cabinet card - the mounting is not in great shape, tho the photo itself is just fine.  The phographer's name was Gibson, of Ann Arbor, and I'm assuming it is the Ann Arbor in Michigan, but the state is missing.

 

The person who wrote all that info neglected to put a date on it, but we're pretty sure this photo is from the 1890s.

 

Update:  Sold!

Cabinet Photo Old Man With Elaborate Shawl, Grangeville, Idaho, 1890s

 

Sometimes I think we need an assistant to do nothing but figure out what things like this are.   I expect someone like that might wish to be paid, so that rules out that possibility. 

 

Obviously, the interesting thing in this cabinet photo is the shawl (or is it a vest?), but I want to mention something else first.  Photographer info is listed as Hanson Photo, Grangeville, Idaho.  The fact this is from Idaho makes it somewhat unique, at least in my experience.  The vast majority of cabinet photos we have come from the north east & midwest USA.   We have very few from southern states (states that are south of the Ohio River), and very few from areas west of Iowa and Missouri.  Even California cabinet photos seem relatively rare.  This is the very first card we have from Idaho, and it's an interesting one.

 

What is interesting about it, of course, is the shawl/vest this old fellow is wearing.  We can't figure out what it is.  It's draped around the neck (not really over the shoulders), and I don't know if extends down the man's back, or if it's just around his neck.   Obviously we don't know what it's actual colors are.  It has flower designs, and also cross key designs, which I can't help but think has some significance.   I think there are three of the cross keys - one on each side of the shawl, and I believe one near the bottom which may (or may not) be holding the two sides together.  There is something between the two sides of the shawl, right above the larger cross keys.  Also, there is a medal or something hanging from underneath the shawl, which may have some significance, or may just be part of a pocket watch.  I cannot make out any details on it.  The shawl is fringed, with the two fringes on the ends hanging down lower.

 

We first thought this may be a religious garment, specifically Jewish, and we don't know that it isn't, but if it is, we couldn't find anything else like it. 

 

Our next thought was that it was some kind of masonic (or masonic like) ceremonial garment, but again, we can't find anything to prove that.

 

What we do know, isn't much.  We know that the picture was taken in Grangeville, Idaho, most likely in the 1890s.  He's an old man, wearing a shawl with flower and key designs.  It was taken by Hanson Photo.  That's about it.

 

If anyone can enlighten us about this, we'd appreciate it!

 

Update: Sold!

Bertha Stoneman and other Students, Cornell University, 1889

Every now and then we come across a photo that is out of the ordinary, and we think this is one.  On the surface, it's just a slightly interesting photograph - a group of young people, looks like late teens to early 20s, nicely dressed in the much more formal fashions of the day.  What makes this really  interesting though, is what's written on back.

First, there was a name.   The first name was obviously "Bertha", but I originally thought the last name was "Stoniman", but my wife looked at it and said it was "Stoneman". Following that is "Anti T.N.E. Picnic,  C.U. 89", then below that (in what looks like different handwriting, but I'm no expert)  "Five miles walk to Trumansburg May 25."  Below that is the photographer's stamp "W.L. Hall, Trumansburg, N.Y."

 

So we googled "Bertha Stoneman" and found she was well known in Botany circles in the late 19th & early 20th centuries.  She was born in western New York to a prominent family in 1866.  She was a graduate of Cornell University, class of 1894, and received a Doctorate of Science in Botany in 1896.  She joined the faculty of Wellington College in Cape Colony (South Africa) and apparently remained there for the rest of her life.  In 1906 she authored a text book "Plants and their ways in South Africa".  She served as president of Wellington College from 1928 to 1933, when she retired.

 

Armed with the knowledge that Bertha Stoneman attended Cornell University,  and knowing that Trumansburg, NY is very close to Ithaca (google maps), and roughly knowing the age of the cabinet card based on the clothing of the subjects as well as the style of the photograph mounting,  we concluded that "C.U. 89" meant Cornell University 1889.   Once we figured that out, we determined that T.N.E. was probably Theta Nu Epsilon, a fraternity or secret society of some sort (I suppose of ill-repute).  And this photograph was a perhaps a memento when at least10 people walked to Trumansburg and had a picnic along the way somewhere.

 

We've seen pictures of Bertha Stoneman when she was older, and we believe she is in the middle row on the extreme right in this photo.

 

If anyone knows anything else about this photo, feel free to let us know.

 

It is rare to find something like this where you can find out so much about the person. Without the writing on back, this would be just another somewhat interesting photograph.

 

This Cabinet photo was just in with a larger group we purchased - I wonder about it's travels.  I wonder who owned it and how in the heck did it end up in our possession?

 

Update: Sold!

 

 

Cabinet Photo of a Woman Reflected in a Mirror - 1890s

I like this photo for 3 reasons.   First, we're pretty sure this is from the 1890s, and you don't see very many women with bare arms in he 1890s.  Second, her profile is reflected in a mirror, and that is pretty neat.  I've seen this before, but I'm pretty sure it's the only one I have.  And 3rd, she has a very low cut neck line, in a era when most women had collars that went up to their chin.

In fact, she's showing a lot of skin at a time when usually all you saw skin wise of a woman (or a man, for that matter), was their hands and face. 

I have another photo of this woman in the same dress, same necklace and everything, but in a more traditional pose. 

The photo was taken by Garrison Bros. of Fort Dodge, Iowa.  The Garrison brothers were Charles F. and Fred, and they had a studio in Fort Dodge in the 1890s - at least until 1896.  So this photo is 116-120 years old, give or take.

I have no information on the woman, it would be interesting to know who she is and how she came to have such a photograph made. 

UPDATE:  Sold!

Little Girl Holding a Parasol

This is an 1880-90s era cabinet photo of a little girl holding a parasol, perhaps an umbrella.  I looked to see what the difference was & I gather that all parasols are umbrellas, but not all umbrellas are parasols.  A parasol, as its name implies, was used to shade a person from the sun.  It was not water proof.  Although I don't know for sure what she is holding, I think it is a parasol.

This is a studio photo, made to look like an outdoor setting.  It could be a beach setting, but there's something that looks like a big tree behind her, so I don't know.  And I love her expression.

I like this photo because of the girl's expression & the props in it.  The photographers were Wardlaw & Learnen of Rochester, NY.

Update:  Sold!

Cabinet Photo Native American Indian

This is a beautiful photograph of a Native American Indian.  His hair, face & clothing are very intricate and detailed.   This photograph is mounted on cardboard, with a photographer's printed name of Ellsworth Marks,  Clinton, Missouri.  The only problem is, this photo is almost certainly a reproduction.

This got me to thinking about what exactly is a reproduction, and how do you tell?  I'm certainly no expert, so these are very good questions for me.  And Cabinet Photos of American Indians seem to be prime reproduction material.  The originals are very expensive.

To me, a photo is original if it it is printed (in a non-digital manner) from the original negative.  So the original negative may be from the 1890s or so - if someone had that and took it to a dark room and printed the picture out yesterday, even on modern photographic paper, I would consider that original.  I suspect it would not be as valuable or collectible as something printed out in the 1890s with the technology & paper of the 1890s, but it would not be a reproduction. 

To me, a reproduction is a picture of a picture, whether that second picture was made with an old 35mm camera, or scanned into a computer.  Also if someone scanned an image of the negative into a computer then used photo shop to create a photo, that is obviously a reproduction. 

Someone went to the trouble to very carefully and skillfully mount this photograph on cardboard backing with photographer's information on it. It looks for all the world like a 19th century cabinet photo.If it was an original cabinet photo, a person may reasonably expect to receive hundreds of dollars for it - or more, depending.   But I've seen a lot of pictures like this (not this particular one, but cabinets of American Indians), and they're almost always considered reproductions.   The interesting thing is though, the people who say they are reproductions almost never say how they know that, so I'm left in the dark.

I'm familiar enough with late 19th century photographs to know that they are not black and white.  They are frequently very subtle shades of browns and grays, which are very hard to reproduce accurately in my eBay listings .  If a photo has a classic black and white look to it then it probably does not date from the 19th century. 

I also know that if a picture is printed off a computer, at some level you can see the pixels. Sometimes you can see it with the naked eye, sometimes you need a some magnification.  This one was definitely not printed from a computer.

Also, late 19th century photos are printed on very thin paper - this paper is not really thin, it looks to be a later vintage.  Maybe that's it, maybe that's how they tell, I'm not sure.

If I accept the fact that this is a repro, then at some point in the past someone used cardboard backing from Ellsworth Marks photography studio in Clinton, Missouri, and very skillfully mounted this photo on it, with an intent to deceive.   Maybe it was old Ellsworth himself, or maybe someone who came into possession of these items at a later time.  I don't know.  And I have no idea where the picture would have come from - did he get it from someone else?  Did he cut it out of a magazine (not likely).

This is probably a repro, if I am to believe stuff people say about photos like this.  Photos that are really too good to be true.  I just wish the people who seem so certain about these things would be a bit more open about how they know for sure. 

Even though this is most likely a reproduction, it is beautiful.  Chances are someone would like to have it.  I've scheduled it and others for sale in the eBay store, starting at about 10 PM tonight.  I'll be listing others throughout the week.

Update:  Sold!  (this one was a safe bet)

Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Patriarchs Militant Parade Uniform

This is a circa 1880s-1890s cabinet photo of a man all duded up in his IOOF Patriarch's Militant Parade Uniform. 

When we first saw this photo we thought it was Knights Templar - a year earlier we had come across several parts of an actual Knights Templar uniform from the 1930s, and this looked very similar.  Another eBay user corrected us though, and was very specific on how this uniform was different than the Knight's Templar.  We did some further research and learned what a Patriarch Militant was, and some of the ranks and such. 

This brings up something I learned very early on in my "selling" career.  People who buy collectibles frequently know a lot more about the item than the seller does. 

Over the years we've learned a little about a lot of stuff.  We've concentrated on postcards & photos, and over time have educated ourselves in the different types, printing technologies & eras.  We've learned a lot about the physical properties and types of photographs.  We've gotten so we can distinguish 1860s fashion and hair styles from 1880s fashion and hair styles, but there are many people around who are much more knowledgeable about this than we are.  Sometimes they let us know. 

This is a neat, neat photo from the late 19th century. 

Update:  Sold! (finally)

A Frederick Gutekunst Cabinet Photo of a Man with Thick Muttonchops

This is a cabinet photo of a man with a polka-dot tie, a plaid suit and thick mutton-chops, probably from the 1880s.  Very stylish for the time, I suppose.  He has the look of an office worker of some sort, but his occupation is anyone's guess.

The photo was taken by "Gutekunst, 715 Arch Street, Philadelphia", or at least in his studio.   Frederick Gutekunst lived from 1831 to 1917, and became a famous and popular photographer in Philadelphia, beginning in the 1850s.

We've had this cabinet card for quite awhile, and it's actually been some time since I've looked at it, but I remember it struck me as being a very "sharp" high quality picture.

 

Update: Sold!

Cabinet Photo Circa 1880s-1890s of an Indian Warrior

This looks like a person I would not want to tangle with out on the high plains in the late 19th century.   Even though this is a studio portrait, the fierceness and a complete ability to handle himself on horseback comes through.  Personally, I think this is a magnificent picture.

There is information below the image.  "Loves Horses" and some other words I can't decipher are handwritten.  The photographer information is printed below.  This particular photographer "A. Bogardus" had offices in New York City - we've sold photos by him before, but nothing like this.   Actually it looks like the photographers were Sherman & McHugh, successors to Bogardus.  Bogardus was a lot better known, I think.

We have several American Indian photos up for auction currently, and what we've found while researching is that frequently these photographers (or their agents, or perhaps free lancers) would head west, stay there sometimes for years,  take tons of pictures, bring them back east and sell them. So that's why you see these posed pictures for photographers working out of of New York City, Chicago, or West Superior, Wisconsin.

Although we don't claim to be experts, this looks to be an authentic period photograph.  By authentic I mean it's not a photograph of a photograph.  It's not a new reprint.  The mounting looks right, although it appears someone has trimmed to top at some point in the past (a very common occurrence).  If perchance it is a reprint, I'm pretty sure it's a 19th century reprint.

This is a "Cabinet Photo".  Cabinets were popular in the late 19th century, from about the 1870s on.  Typically it consists of an albumen print affixed to a 4 x 6 inch (give or take) cardboard backing.  The photo t is usually a bit smaller than the cardboard, of course.  Frequently the age of a photo can be estimated by the graphics on the cardboard - as time went along and printing techniques changed and improved, graphics, especially on back, got much more elaborate.  On the earlier cards the printing was much plainer.

This is a bit smaller than the standard Cabinet Photo - the whole thing measures 3.5 x 5 inches, or just a shade smaller than a standard sized postcard. The top has definitely been trimmed & it's possible the sides have too. 

I always worry about authenticity with items like this, but I see nothing about it that would cause me to think it was anything other than a 19th century photograph.  I like this one quite a bit.

Update:  This one sold!