Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
In the previous post we were in Kolkata, West Bengal. This week we're in the Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. We've also traveled back in time another ten years. As you can see, it's a little colder in St. Louis, but not too cold. A light jacket is all you need for winter sports!... Continue Reading →
If only we knew her story! Alas, she isn't identified. Her carte-de-visite was made by John Bowles Newman, whose studio was at 5, Old Court House Street, Calcutta (Kolkata). The only information I found online about Mr. Newman was that he filed a petition of insolvency in 1879. It always makes me sad to read... Continue Reading →
This portrait is the first one on the blog from New Zealand. (There isn't one yet from Australia.) The three chaps aren't identified, unfortunately. The cabinet card was made at the studio of Wrigglesworth & Binns in Wellington. James Dacie Wrigglesworth (1836-1906) and Frederick Charles Binns (1844-1915) also maintained studios in Christchurch and Dunedin. ... Continue Reading →
The group above isn't identified and the photo has faded quite a bit. The only information on the cabinet card is the name and address of the Chicago studio of William L. Koehne (1869-1965) and Charles F. Bretzman (1867-1934). The partnership between the two photographers began by 1894 and ended in 1899 or very early... Continue Reading →
Have you heard the term spinner's weasel? I hadn't until a few days ago, when I started researching the photo above. The photo is slightly smaller than a cabinet card and more square. I would tentatively date it to the 1890s (+/- 10 years). On the back, a previous owner wrote the word Shaker, referring... Continue Reading →
This large-format photograph came to me from the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, it has nothing written on it and I haven't identified anyone in it. Hanging high on the wall is a shield with a crown on it. Would the crown indicate a royal household? I've brightened it below to make it a little easier to... Continue Reading →
When I saw this cabinet card for sale recently, the men in the photo were unidentified, but two elements immediately appealed to me: the wintry studio scene and the older man's kindly smile. (I thought the man on the right might be his son, but that turned out not to be the case.) After receiving... Continue Reading →
In the first comment under the previous post, Shayne Davidson said the nurses' uniforms reminded her of the BBC series Call the Midwife. Her comment made me look anew at the photo above, which also came from the United Kingdom, and wonder if the young sitter might have been preparing to work as a midwife or... Continue Reading →
I don't know what the proper administrative term would be for this group, but they must have worked together as a team. Someone wrote Devonshire Hospital on the back of the postcard, but nothing else. If anyone sees any clues about when the photo might have been taken, please leave a comment. Devonshire Hospital closed... Continue Reading →
This postcard was sent from Helsinki (Swedish: Helsingfors), the capital of Finland, to the Finnish port town of Hanko (Hangö) on February 16, 1915. At that time Finland was a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire. Because Russia was engaged in the First World War, the card had to be cleared by a wartime government... Continue Reading →
This portrait of two friends was probably made in late imperial Russia (1910-1917). The only thing written on the back is a pair of names, which look to me like Tyosha and Marusya (Tеща и Маруся). I'm not sure about the name Tyosha, as I haven't encountered it before: The girls are both dressed... Continue Reading →
On November 11, 1918, an armistice came into effect which ended the fighting on the Western Front in the First World War. In connection with that event, many countries observe a public holiday or official day of remembrance on November 11 each year. In the United States, Veterans Day honors all veterans of the armed... Continue Reading →
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