Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
With the Winter Olympics in full swing, I thought it might be fun to share this carte-de-visite portrait of a young man holding a pair of ice skates in Uppsala, Sweden. Nineteenth-century images of people dressed specifically for winter sports are relatively rare. Because of the limitations of early cameras and photographic processes, such portraits... Continue Reading →
I had hoped to share a sporting image here on the blog while the Summer Olympics were going on in Tokyo, but the two weeks went by so fast that I didn't manage it. Since today is the day after the Olympics, it seems appropriate to share a stereoview titled After the Regatta. Published by... Continue Reading →
No bicycles appear in this photograph, but the sign at upper right tells us that the occasion for this gathering was a cycling club rally of some kind. Unfortunately, some of the names of the clubs are cut off at the edge of the photo. No one in the group is identified, but a visitor... Continue Reading →
On this final day of Women's History Month, I thought it might be fun to turn to the realm of sport. This photograph came to me from Wales. It has nothing written or printed on it. Update, April 4: This morning I came across another copy of this image on a blog post titled Pulling... 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 →
This cabinet card portrait was made by photographer George James Maddison, whose studio was at 9 Norfolk Road in Dalston, which is in the London Borough of Hackney. (In 1938 Norfolk Road was renamed Cecilia Road.) Information on the website photoLondon suggests he may have been the son of John Maddison, a photographer and retired... Continue Reading →
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 →
At the front of the group of people in this photograph are nine musicians. So it must have been a musical retreat in the woods. But wait, are the men in the second row holding baseball bats? Are the musicians and baseball players camping together? And who plays baseball in the woods, anyway? There's a... Continue Reading →
When I saw the carte-de-visite above, I wondered if it was a real scene or an elaborate joke. Could they really have sailed on ice? It turns out they could have! The sport is called ice yachting, and that's all I know about it. The guys to the left of the boat are skating and... Continue Reading →
This is the second photo on this blog showing a family in the UK in their garden with rackets. Well, only one racket, but they seem to be having plenty of fun, anyway. This is a cabinet card, while the photo I uploaded a month ago was a smaller carte-de-visite (Tennis and tea in Hampshire,... Continue Reading →
Since the U.S. Open tennis championship is ending this weekend, here's a CDV from the relatively early days of the sport. The family isn't identified, but the photo was taken by Samuel Whitbread of Havant, Hampshire.
Tokens of Companionship 
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