This cabinet card of a stylish young woman in Champaign, IL is quite a mystery. She is unidentified and I cannot find anything on the photographer, "Holland." He seems to not exist anywhere. There are a number of Hollands in Champaign around the time frame I believe this was taken but they all worked in the furnace industry.
I believe this photograph to have been taken in the late 1880's, probably 1887 or a little later. Our subject is wearing a dress with a fitted bodice and most definitely a bustle although it is a little difficult to see. She appears to be wearing the tight curls so fashionable in the 1880's and possibly short hair or at least pulled back in a bun, both also popular. The type of hat she is wearing is hard to see and describe, but it has a large sprig of flowers on the top. She is also wearing a lacy neck scarf and pearl earbobs. Too bad we will probably never know who she was.
