Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
This boudoir card photograph came to me from Maine. The boudoir card format appeared in the mid-1880s as a slightly larger and more expensive alternative to cabinet cards. The larger size was particularly suitable for group portraits.* This one was taken in the town of Pirmasens, Germany, near the border with France. The studio belonged... 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 →
This cabinet card portrait was taken at the studio of F.B. Walcott in the town of Berlin, Wisconsin. The back of the card has a logo with F.B. Walcott, successors to S.M. Taylor printed under it. I've cropped and enlarged the logo, below, to make it legible. The green background is unusual: (You can see... Continue Reading →
I bought this photograph from a neighbor when she had a yard sale. I asked if she knew anything about it, and she replied that she had bought it many years earlier from another neighbor across the street. That neighbor had had a shop nearby which sold old books and antiques. We both agreed that... Continue Reading →
This photograph was in a collection of materials dating to the years just before, during and after the First World War. Printed on plain paper larger than a postcard, my guess would be that it was taken after the war. On the back is a brief inscription in German: "Rumän. Bäuerinnen i. Sonntagsgewand" (Romanian countrywomen... Continue Reading →
The group above must have participated in a festival or celebration of some kind. The people in the group are wearing a variety of different outfits. The photo came from an estate in Texas, with no information about where it was taken or when. The back is blank. [Note: this post has been updated with... Continue Reading →
This photograph came to me a few years ago from Scotland (Clydebank, near Glasgow). The print is mounted on stiff paper, which has nothing written or stamped on it to identify the group, the location or the photographer. Since all the members of the group are adults, I don't think this is an extended... 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 1880s or 1890s, 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. Some examples of his... Continue Reading →
This postcard came to me from a dealer in Pennsylvania who specializes in photographs from Russia and Eastern Europe. He said the photo was Russian, which made sense. The only woman in the photo is wearing what appears to be a Russian nurse's outfit from the First World War. But who were the men, and... 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 post features seven photographs. The first five were taken on August 1, 1891, in a small area of Cheshire, England, called Middlewood. Just southeast of Middlewood is Lyme Park, which is now part of the Peak District National Park (created in 1951). Less than ten miles west of Middlewood is Manchester Airport. In these... Continue Reading →
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