Tintype Tuesday - Sweet Civil War Era Toddler

This sweet little boy posed for this tintype photo most likely in the early to mid 1860's.  I am not good at dating children's clothing, but the belted suit with jacket and jaunty cap he is wearing suggests the 1860’s timeframe. The buttons and trim on his suit are amazing.  His cheeks are colorized (tinted) and he is staring at the camera with the most soulful eyes.  He appears to be about 2 1/2 to 3 years old.

Tintypes were first invented in 1852 by Adolpe Alexander Martin, but were patented in 1856 by Hamilton Smith of Ohio.  A rival, Victor Griswold, patented a similar product which he called a ferrotype and later patented with the name tintype.  Tintypes were actually thin sheets of iron on which multiple copies of the photo were printed and then cut.*

Another aid in dating this photo was that this was actually encased in a gold metal frame (see below) which I tried to scan, but the photo came out blurry.  I removed the tintype so the boy's photo could be clearer.  These metal frames were used when tintypes were first introduced.

*Source:  Allen County Public Library, A Tintype by Any Other Name

Sepia Saturday - 1880's Dashing Young Men with Bowler Hats

The theme for this weeks Sepia Saturday is "Men" and the picture prompt used shows a group of men most  wearing hats. Every Sunday (or almost every Sunday) I publish a post called "Women with Hats" so I had to laugh to myself when I decided to use this tintype of eight stylish young men posing with their bowler hats. Maybe I should start a new category called "Men with Hats?"  Nah.  

This group of fine looking young men most likely posed for this picture with an unknown photographer in the latter half of the 1880's.  The four in the front row and one in the back left are holding their hats, I am assuming that the other three are holding their hats behind their backs. I could not date the photo using just the bowler hats as a clue as they came into fashion when the hat was created in 1849 in England for Edward Coke, a soldier and politician who was the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester.  The hat was popular with the working class during the Victorian era and became the most popular hat in the American West even over the cowboy hat.   What really helped me to narrow down the date of this photo are the tie pins that several of the gentlemen are wearing. In the 1880's bow ties lost favor to the modern tie and a small tie pin stuck in the middle of the knot was the norm.

Hold on to your hat and hop over to Sepia Saturday for more great photos and stories!

Fashionable Friday - 1860's Trenton, NJ Woman

Another CDV photo from my Trenton, NJ photo album - this one shows a lovely 1860's woman posing with her hand on a chair.  She is wearing a lovely dress that appears to possibly be made of satin or a similar material.  Once again there is no identification or exact date on this subject.   It's hard to tell from this view, but her cheeks are tinted red in this photograph.

Her dress is quite lovely, simple yet the small details make it exquisite.  Note the dark trim that defines her small waist.  This trim is continued on her upper sleeves.  The lower sleeves are quite interesting and are pulled back with some type of decoration and showcase elaborate lace underneath.  Her hair is dressed in the very typical 1860's style, parted in the middle and pulled back in what I would guess is a snood.  she is not wearing any jewelry that I can see.  As I stated before, simple but lovely as is the lady.

The photographer is C. Duval, Photographic Chemist, 29 1/2 East State Street.  According to Gary Saretzky at http://gary.saretzky.com/photohistory/njphotographers.html Duval had his studio in Trenton around 1863.  Due to the border around the photo I suspect this to have been taken around 1863- 1864.

The hand-colored steel fashion plate below is from the 1862 April issue of Peterson's Magazine and although not an exact match to our subject's dress, gives you a sense of the style of her dress.

Tintype Tuesday - Man in Top Hat

These are two of five tintypes I obtained somewhere of the same very attractive gentleman.  As is common with many tintypes, the subjects and photographer are both unidentified.   In these two particular photos the gentleman in question is posing wearing a top hat, first alone and then with a young boy at his side.  In the first photo he is wearing a long dark overcoat, sitting on a studio prop "tree stump" and holding in his hand an unknown object;  in the second photo he is wearing a white or beige overcoat, sitting with the boy standing next to him.  Tintype dating is always a challenge for me, but I feel that from the props in the first photo that it was most likely dated in the 1880's.  Perhaps in the near future I will post the other tintypes I have of this subject in which he is posing alone and with other gentlemen.

Mystery Monday - Unidentified Rochester, NY Woman

These two cabinet card photographs are obviously of the same woman from Rochester, New York. What is interesting to me is that although taken by the same photographer, I am not totally certain that these photos were taken on the same day. She is wearing the same dress but there are some slight differences in the two pictures if one cares to look closely.  In the first picture our lovely subject is wearing the typical 1880's bustled dress with fitted bodice.  The bodice has a number of buttons, around twenty, down the pleated front. At her neck she is wearing a pin/brooch in the shape of a letter "D" which makes you wonder if her name perhaps started with that letter.  She also has white lace jutting out from under the top of the neckline of her dress.  This photograph is a full-figure pose and she is standing with her hand resting on a studio prop faux, wooden chair; behind her the backdrop is a large tree trunk.  She is wearing a curly hairstyle that was so popular with women in the mid 1880's.

The second photograph is a bust pose in which we can only see the top half of her dress but it is obviously the same dress.  If you look closely however, you will see that there is no lace sticking out of the neckline as in the first photo. Additionally, in the photo she is wearing a different brooch at her neck in the shape of  flower with stem and leaf.  She is also wearing a pair of small drop earrings which I am not sure if she is wearing them or not in photograph number one. She is wearing a necklace of some sort in the first photo with a square-shaped charm that is sticking out of her buttons mid-way down the placket of her bodice.  I believe she is also wearing this in the second photo.  Her hairstyle looks very much the same in both photographs.

My question about our mystery woman would be, did she have these photos taken the same day and change accessories or were they perhaps taken some time apart and she wore the same dress? The photographer is a bit of a mystery as well - the front of the card says "Pomeroy Gallery" while the back says McMahon & Nelson.  I did find a mention of McMahon & Nelson in the 1887 Rochester, New York City Directory.  Due to certain clues in these pictures this is also about the time I would date these photos, 1885 - 1888.

Fashionable Friday - 1880's Woman from Cazenovia, NY

This photograph of a lovely young woman from Cazenovia, New York is quite interesting to me as I find myself increasingly fascinated with the fashions of prior generations. There is nothing written on this cabinet card to identity this woman or when it was taken but there are a few clues to perhaps help date the photo. The card is a dark maroon color with the backside being grey which was popular starting around 1884. The dress on this young woman is so common to the 1880's woman with the very fitted, bustled dress. Note the ruching surrounded by buttons from neckline to waistline and a very trim waistline it is! The sleeves on her dress have ruched cuffs that match that bodice. Her beautiful dress has a high neckline with lace and is adorned with a pin or brooch of some sort. Her hairstyle was quite common of the 1886-1888 woman and it is with all these clues that I date this photo with this time frame.

The photographer was Marshall Bros. of Cazenovia, N.Y., most likely Charles Marshall, however I could find very little to identify and date Charles Marshall and nothing in Ancestry.com.  Also note his monogram at the bottom center of the card; these started around 1886.  There was a very short mention of him on this page:  

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyccazen/MscLists/Photographers.html

To give you some similar mid-1880 fashions to compare with this photograph I have included the following:

http://pinterest.com/pin/16114511137125915/

Although not an exact match to our subject's dress, this dress is from the 1884 Peterson's Magazine and is in the same era.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Young Lady in Checkered Dress

This is a tin type of a lovely young woman wearing a checkered dress and black hat.  It's very hard to tell from this shot, but she is wearing a large bow tied around her neck, she has small ear-bobs, and she is holding in her left hand a small black purse which is dangling from the side of the chair.

I am having trouble dating this photograph - I want to date in the late 1870's or early 80's due to the fringed chair and the type of hairstyle the woman is wearing with the fringed, feathery bangs.  However the dress is throwing me a bit; there is definitely no bustle.  I wonder if she is younger than she appears to be, therefore would not yet be wearing a bustled dress?  I've tried to blow up the picture so you can better see the details.

Workday Wednesday - Tea Time Anyone? Housemaid/Servant to the Uppercrust?

This cabinet card which is a bit scratched up depicts a house maid or servant holding a tray with dishes as if ready to serve her employer.  She is wearing what would seem to be a typical house servant/maid uniform with apron.  There is nothing to identify the young woman and I am not entirely certain of the date.  The photographer is E. L. Sayers of New Bethlehem, Rimersburg and Dayton, PA.  I found a number of his photographs on Google, but no information on the man himself, nor was I able to find anything about him on my old standby, Ancestry.com.  

In trying to date this photograph, I narrowed it down to the 1890's, most likely from the latter half of the decade.  This was using several factors in dating cabinet cards including that in the mid-1890's some cards were embossed around the edges in gold with a thin line. It is a little harder to date the card using the woman's clothing as the servant's clothing would not necessarily reflect the fashions of the time, they would be more utilitarian.  I could be wrong, however about this timeline and welcome any input.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Early 1890's New Mexico Woman

This cabinet card features a beautiful young woman in black standing next to an elaborate needlepoint frame.  She is wearing a black dress with a very fitted bodice, the sleeves are covered with lace and she is wearing hand mitts.  Her hat is quite pretty, it tilts to one side and appears to be made of lace and a vine like trim.  On the table to her right there is an object that may be her reticule (drawstring handbag or purse).  There is no identification of the subject.

I had a little trouble dating this photo.  At first I thought 1880's but she does not appear to have a bustle.  The uplift to the top of her sleeves says very early 1890's.  The photographer is The Crispell Art Parlors of E. Las Vegas, N.M.  I did find a T. Crispell in the 1885 New Mexico, Territorial District census for Las Vegas, San Miguel County.  He was a photographer, 42 years old, born in New York,  with a wife Millie? also a photographer age 35 and born in New York, one daughter Louise C, age 7 born  in New York as well.  They seemed to disappear from all records after that.  I found a number of websites with Crispell's photos but no information on the man himself.  There is one photo at the New Mexico History Museum of Louisa Carlyle Crispell playing the piano at home circa 1890's.  

According to PhotoTree.com, around 1890 photographers began placing a monogram of their initials in the center of their studio name and address on the imprint block.  If you look closely at the bottom of the card in the center above "Art Parlors" there is a monogram with the letters TC.  This became almost standard from 1890 to around 1894.  Also about 1890 foil stamped imprints with gold overlay were introduced.  These remained popular until about 1895. Therefore with these two bits of information I will date this cabinet card between 1890 and 1894.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Gypsy Woman?

This wonderful, if not a bit worn, Carte de Visite, was taken by the famous photographer Napoleon Sarony who specialized in photographing actors and actresses.  This particular photograph appears to be at first glance a Gypsy woman, but after learning about the photographer I am more inclined to believe the unknown woman was an actress.  Sarony was born 9 Mar 1821 in Quebec, Canada and died 9 Nov 1896, New York City.  According to Paul Frecker he was "as colorful, eccentric and theatrical as his subjects.  A tiny man like his name sake, he enjoyed strutting around in hussar's uniform."

I had a little difficulty trying to date this photo.  According to most sources, he moved his studio from 680 Broadway to 37 Union Square in 1871, however the black background of the CDV tells me this photo would have to be dated at least around 1879.  According to the Classy Arts website the 1871 move date is probably incorrect.  I am going to therefore date this photo around 1879.

Napoleon Sarony, Nat'l Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian

Mystery Monday - Girl from Spencer, Mass - Who is She?

Yesterday I posted in my ongoing "Women with Hats" category a post about a young woman from Spencer, MA which I dated between 1895 and 1900. Today I am posting the second of two photos taken on the same day of my unidentified subject.  E. L. Jaynes who had a studio in Spencer between 1873 and at least 1920, was the photographer of this mystery girl.  The cabinet card from yesterday had plain rounded edges - today's card although nearly idential front and back, has beveled edges with gold gilt.  Obviously these pictures were taken on the same day; she is wearing the same dress, jewelry, her hair is the same minus the hat.  She is posed from the side in this shot and if you look closely you can see her long hair in a bun at the base of her neck.

Yesterday I talked about my trouble dating the photo, but I had decided it was between 1895 - 1900.  According to PhotoTree.com  "an analysis of nearly 200 cabinet cards from 1885 to 1900 showed about 50% were beveled and 50% were straight cut with the largest concentration of beveled card from the late 1880's."  Beveled edges were most popular between 1885 - 1895.  Her dress with the very short sleeves is what is giving me the most trouble in dating the photo, that is something I have not seen much but I have dated these cards around 1895 possibly to 1900.  I welcome any information to the contrary.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Girl from Spencer, Mass

This lovely young lady with dark, curly hair is wearing a beautiful lacy dress and what appears to be a matching lace hat.  She also is wearing a choker necklace with pendant.  She has a very serene and contemplative expression on her face. There is nothing on either side of this cabinet card to identify her, but the photographer is E. L. Jaynes of Spencer, Mass. who had a very long and illustrious career in Spencer.   According to the back of the card, Jayne's studio was located at Comins & Ames's block, Main Street in Spencer. Dating this card has been difficult for me; E. L. practiced in Spencer between 1873 and 1920 and this card I at first believed  to have been done around 1885.  However, I have never seen a woman wearing such short sleeves in that time period.  I now believe this to be between the years 1895- 1900, tomorrow I will share why I think this to be true.  If anyone knows something that would point to a more definite date I would gladly appreciate the information.

E. L. Jaynes was Edward Lyman Jaynes born in Massachusetts in October 1842 to Lyman James (1814 - 1902) and Harriet Towne Janes (1821 - 1895).  It appears at some point E. L. changed the spelling of his last name adding the "y".  On 9 Aug 1862 at Sturbridge, MA he enlisted as a Private in the Civil War for the State of Massachusetts, listing his occupation as farmer.  He mustered out on 14 Oct 1862.  

According to the book, "Leading Businessmen of Spencer, Brookfield and Vicinity" published in 1889 by Mercantile Publishing he set up his photography business in Spencer sometime around 1873.  Also per the  book he was very succcessful at his profession and his work "decidedly superior to two-thirds of the work turned out in City Studios."  His studio was burned out in 1887 and he relocated to his then location on Comins & Ames - Main Street.  

In 1879 Edward married Inez McNeil, most likely in Spencer.  According to the 1900 Spencer, Worcester, MA census she was the mother of four children, three living, Florence I. aged 18, Emily M. aged 7 and Irene E. aged 2. With the large age gap between Florence and Emily most likely the fourth child was born and died between the two.  I found Edward and Inez in every census in Spencer up to 1930 at which time he was 88 years old.   He practiced his art until at least 1920 when he listed his occupation as photographer in the 1920 census.  His death is reported on Ancestry.com  in 1937 at age 95 in Worcester County, MA, but I could not find any documentation to back this up.  Regardless he lived a long and productive life.

Mystery Monday - Mystery Man From Chicago

This cabinet card photograph of a very handsome and distinguished, but unidentified man from Chicago was taken at Gehrig Studios, 337 West Madison St.  He is wearing a suit and a heavy outer coat while holding an umbrella and gloves and he looks quite prosperous.  I am dating this photograph between 1888 and 1894.  I had several clues including the beveled edges with gilt on the card as well as the photographer's attractive, cursive imprint at the bottom of the card.  The biggest clue however is the photographer's mark at the bottom that says "Place's Extra Finish." These imprints were used during this time period.

Gehrig studios was listed in Chicago City Directories at several different addresses between 1847 and 1900.  The main proprietor seems to be Joseph  W. Gehrig who listed 337 Madison as his place of business between 1881 and 1900.  Frank A. Place (note again the photographer's mark) was listed at this address between 1888 and 1895 which would be dead on with the photograph date above.  Joseph Waldon Gehrig was born 7 Mar 1846 in Switzerland to Gregorius and Barbara (Kuhnvonvason) Gehrig.  I don't know when he came to America, but he was married about 1880 to Annie Getchow.  Joseph died 13 Feb 1915 in Chicago and is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Cook County, IL.

Frank A. Place was born in June of 1851 in Indiana, married about 1858 to Abbie C. Place.  They had at least one child Alberta born about 1870.  His daughter Alberta married Charles A. Raynor also a photographer.  Sometime before 1910 he and his wife moved to Winthrop, Suffolk, Massachusetts where he continued his work as a photographer.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats!

Hi, all!  I have been on vacation for the past week and unable to post - I know, I know, I should have set up my posts ahead of time to automatically post while I was away, but I am not that organized!  I love looking at the hats women used to wear so I am starting a new tag, "Women with Hats."  This is a cabinet photo I was thrilled to snag of a beautiful young woman.  It was taken by Ely of Oshkosh, Wisconsin and there is nothing to identify the subject.  Look at her stylish outfit, with the bustle, the leather gloves and the feather in her hat.  Isn't she lovely?  I am still learning to date photos and my gut tells me this one is from the 1880's.

**Update:  Photographer Information - Cook, Ely, photographer, No. 2 Elm street. His business amounts to $5,000 per annum, established in 1876. He was born in England, near Boston, June 21, 1847. His parents emigrated to America in 1852 and located at Ripon, Wis. Mr. Ely was about fifteen years of age when he began learning his trade in Ripon, with a Mr. William Lockwood, where he remained about four years; then went to Peru, Ill., and worked for W. E. Bowman in the photographic business about two years. Then he went to Racine, Wis., and began business in company with Mr. William Lockwood, his former instructor, where he continued until 1876 at which time he sold his interests and moved to Oshkosh, Wis., where he has since remained, and has built up a splendid business and secured a good reputation as an artist of the first water. He enlisted in Co. B, 41st W. V. I. He was married in Ripon, Wis., in 1870, to Miss Lucy J. Snyder, of the latter place. They have four daughters- Mary L., Dora, Grace and Florence.

**Wisconsin GenWeb - Winnebago County - http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3386453083302606197#editor/target=post;postID=3132759688677119601

Sentimental Sunday - A Trip to the Library?

One of the most exciting things that happened to me as a young girl was when I got my first library card.  I have loved to read books since about the first grade and have been a voracious reader ever since.  Going to the library in my home town of Mt. Vernon, IL was always such an exciting, awe-inspiring, experience.  There was something about exploring all the rows and rows of books and finding exciting new stories about people and places.  I could hardly wait to rush home and curl up in my favorite place and start reading.  Nowadays, I just go online, pick out new books and download them to my eReader - takes some of the excitement out of it .

This picture I purchased of a beautiful young woman holding several books brought back memories of weekend trips to the library.  Her beautiful dress, or outercoat is something I have not seen in any of the hundreds of pictures I have perused to try and date this picture.   I tried to find an era where hats like this were worn without success, although I intend to keep trying.  The photographer was Copelin of Chicago, N.W. Corner of Madson and State Streets and there are no identifying names for her anywhere on the picture.  However, I have decided this Cabinet photo was most likely taken between 1882 - 1888 by using this Cabinet Card dating timetable.  The front of this is a matte finish and the back a glossy yellow finish.