Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
The day of the party has arrived. She and her friends have been working on their dresses for weeks. "Let's take pictures!" "I don't know, I have a lot of things left to do. Maybe later." "It'll only take a few minutes to set up the camera. We might be too busy later." "You're right. ... Continue Reading →
The two cartes-de-visite above were made by Henry Cushing in Windsor, Vermont, in February 1865. Windsor is on the Connecticut River, which forms the boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire. The town is connected to Cornish, NH, by the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, the longest wooden covered bridge in the United States. Coincidentally, the portraits were... Continue Reading →
The two cartes-de-visite on this page came from an antiques dealer in Greenfield, Massachusetts, in the northwest part of the state. On the back of the carte above is the name Adolphe with a question mark: The portrait was made at the studio of E.v. Eggert, which probably stood for Emmanuel von Eggert (see... Continue Reading →
The name "L.C. Pike" is written on the back of this carte-de-visite. Generally a name on the back of a portrait refers to the sitter, but not always, so it's important to try to find corroborating information. I searched on Ancestry for an L.C. Pike who was about forty years old in the early 1860s and... Continue Reading →
I’ve been playing tennis since I was twelve, so I always enjoy seeing rackets in portraits, even when they’re just props. This photobooth portrait is wonderful. I love the combination of a child’s racket with palm trees and pyramids.
Re-blogged from Photobooth Journal:
I adore the fact that this young lady thought to take her tennis racket into a photobooth! I’ve never seen another booth photo that memorialises a sport in this way. The background is interesting for its Egyptian theme of palm trees and pyramids. This is also something I haven’t seen before.
In faded handwriting on the back are these words. . .
My Spanish is good enough to make out some of the script on the back of this pic, but I am hoping someone out there might confirm that I have it right, or tell me where I have gone wrong!
A mi querida mama con todos el cariño, Julita – To my dear mother with all my love, Julita
The information on the bottom is too faded for me to make sense of. I am assuming it is a place-name and a date, 1945 being part of it?
The young man appearing on this carte-de-visite could be certain everyone would remember his profession. You might even say he was in tune with the latest trends in advertising and self-promotion. The one thing he neglected to do was write his name on the back, which is a pity. The CDV was made by James... Continue Reading →
If you've already looked at the previous post, Jeanne Fouillon and her beautiful harp, then you've already seen the portrait above. When I put that post together last week, I hadn't yet tried to identify the dignified gentleman with the harp. It seemed like a long shot, but one that might be worth a try. ... Continue Reading →
Is there any instrument as angelic to the ear and eye as the harp? I had hoped to find a reference to Jeanne Fouillon online, but haven't succeeded so far. Her harp is certainly very graceful and beautiful to the eye. The carte-de-visite was made by Augustin Michel in Grenoble, France, around 1890. Jeanne's... Continue Reading →
It was relatively rare for women in Britain and North America to set up their own commercial studios in the nineteenth century. In Scandinavia, in contrast, women seem to have embraced the business of photography from the earliest days and to have enjoyed commercial success on a par with their male counterparts. This topic has... Continue Reading →
These two young men may have been students at a military academy or members of a cadet corps, which was another type of officer-training program. They're both wearing a military-style tunic with no insignia. It's also possible the tunic was part of a uniform at an educational institution not connected to the military. I'll update... Continue Reading →
This enigmatic portrait was made by career photographer Stephen H. Waite (1836-1906). My eyes were first drawn to the large brush in the woman's hand, then quickly moved to the striking brooch which may have served to clasp her beautiful coat. Another fine garment is draped over the chair, possibly a cloak. Was she an... Continue Reading →
This is the first tintype I've put on the blog. Though darker than photos printed on paper, tintypes were inexpensive to produce and more durable than paper, which made them quite popular in the 1860s and 1870s. Soldiers carried them during the American Civil War. They could be produced easily in a mobile studio, so... Continue Reading →
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