Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
The man in this carte-de-visite portrait isn't identified. Why does he have a blanket wrapped around him? He seems to be pointing at it: The photographer, Thomas T. Sweeny (1831-1891), worked in Cleveland, Ohio, throughout his life. Although he was active for about three decades, information about him is scarce online. Census records indicate... Continue Reading →
The young woman above is wearing a skirt that matches the flag behind her. She's also wearing ribbons on her shoulders, bodice and waist. But which flag is it? From 1807 until 1953, the flag of Wales was white with a red dragon at the center. The cabinet card was made by Alfred Betts (1829-1890)... Continue Reading →
This cabinet card photograph is the first image I've shared from Australia. It was printed at the Anson Brothers studio in Hobart, Tasmania, which was in operation from 1878 to 1891. Founded by brothers Joshua, Henry Joseph and Richard Edwin Anson, the studio became known for views of Tasmanian scenery, which received medals at the... Continue Reading →
This cabinet card portrait was made at a studio in the port city of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The studio belonged to a man named John O'Neil. Google didn't turn up any information about Mr. O'Neil, so I looked at census records on Ancestry. In the 1880 U.S. Census, I found a John E. O'Neil, age... Continue Reading →
This undated cabinet card portrait was taken in the ancient shipping town of Gravesend, Kent, England. Gravesend is on the south bank of the Thames Estuary, about 21 miles (35 km) from central London. The photograph was taken at the studio of Frederick Charles Gould, who became known for images he captured of the many... Continue Reading →
The young man in this carte-de-visite portrait is wearing a military-style tunic with an "F" on the collar. The photograph was taken at the studio of Fredrique Holmstedt in Vadstena, Sweden. I had difficulty finding information online about Fredrique. Unable to read the handwritten dedication in Swedish in the upper left corner, I turned to... Continue Reading →
I had hoped to identify the dignified woman who sat for this portrait at the Bombay Photographic Company in the late 1890s or early 1900s, but so far I haven't had any luck. The photographer, S. Hormusji, is also a bit of a mystery, at least as far as online sources go. His first name... Continue Reading →
This carte-de-visite has me stumped. I assumed the girl in the image would be easy to identify, but so far that hasn't been the case. At first I thought she was holding an oar, but a rower I contacted told me it was a paddle. Well, that's a start! Actually, I think the most interesting... Continue Reading →
The young man in this small snapshot is wearing a military tunic with no insignia. He may have been serving as a musician in the Imperial Japanese Army. The photo is blank on the back, so it's hard to say when it was taken, but I'd guess it was printed in the 1930s. At the... Continue Reading →
I found this cabinet card portrait for sale on eBay in England (Northamptonshire) in January of this year. Books are common props in 19th-century studio portraits, but titles are usually too blurry to read, even after scanning them at high resolution. In this case, the book is large enough that the title is easily readable... Continue Reading →
The unidentified woman in this photograph is wearing a drop-waist dress and a Marcel Wave hairstyle, hallmarks of the flapper era of the 1920s. The photograph is about the size of a postcard, but was printed on plain photo paper, rather than postcard stock. It came to me from a dealer in Pennsylvania who often sells photos... Continue Reading →
Effie Hegermann-Lindencrone was born in Hillerød, Denmark, on August 27, 1860. This photo of her was taken in July 1879, a month before her nineteenth birthday: The carte-de-visite portrait was made at one of the two studios owned by photographer Lars Dinesen, either in Odense or in Fredericia: A year after the photo was... Continue Reading →
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