I found this cabinet card at an antiques shop in Massachusetts. The owner had written "Thomaston, Maine, 1912" on a note accompanying the photo, but the card itself has no information on it.
Children in schoolroom in Thomaston, Maine
Breaking and sorting rocks (1891)
This unusual image shows a group of men engaging in the labor-intensive process of breaking rocks into pieces and sorting them by size for use in road construction. A small smokestack in the background indicates that a steam engine powered the conveyor which carried pieces of rock up to a sorting sieve.
Florence Clark and her “Eskimo dog team”
According to the Fall 2008 newsletter of the Upper Pemigewasset Historical Society, in 1928 Ed and Florence Clark moved to the town of Lincoln in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to raise sled dogs and demonstrate their abilities for tourists. On April 5, 1932, Florence summited Mt. Washington with a team of dogs, becoming... Continue Reading →
“In the Orkneys” (WWI)
These postcards were acquired by a British or American sailor during the First World War. They were probably made available to the men as keepsakes of their service. In the image above, a line of sailors is visible in the distance, probably on a brief leave to sightsee. The snowy hills on the island below... Continue Reading →
Young women posed around a swing in Michigan
This early cabinet card was made by a photographer identified as L.D. Austin in South Haven, Michigan. The young women appear to be in their late teens, and are grouped around a swing, which could symbolize the carefree days of youth. The sitter at lower left is also holding a long stick ... another symbol... Continue Reading →
A proper meal, al fresco
This cabinet card came from Missouri but could have originated elsewhere. The photographer isn't identified. Since everyone looks about the same age--except for the couple at the far end of the table--my guess would be that this is a college group on a field trip or celebratory outing.
Armistice on the Eastern Front (December 1917)
On December 15, 1917, an armistice was signed between the Central Powers and the new revolutionary communist government of Soviet Russia. It went into effect two days later, on December 17. The Soviets would officially leave the war the following March, after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, but the December armistice clearly felt like the end... Continue Reading →
Russian colonel and amputee with hospital staff (WWI)
This impromptu group portrait was likely taken at a medical facility not far from the front lines during the First World War. The man seated next to the colonel is wearing a tailored suit with a Red Cross pin on the lapel, suggesting he may be a visitor rather than a patient.
Studio portrait of a young cook
To continue the cooking theme of the previous post, this postcard from Germany is an unusual portrait of a young cook in her kitchen uniform. Taken in a studio against a rustic painted backdrop, her spotless white clothes glow under careful studio lighting. Like CDVs in the nineteenth century, individual postcard portraits were often exchanged... Continue Reading →
