All posts by dcphotoartist

The last acquisition from yesterday’s outing to Gettysburg – another possible occupational cdv of six men by Turner of Toronto. I’m guessing it’s an occupational although it doesn’t show tools of the trade, because all six men are wearing nearly identical outfits – three are definitely wearing the exact same shirts, and perhaps a fourth. Even with different shirts, the others’ attire is similar enough that they appear to be uniforms. The other possibility is that this is a family portrait of brothers and/or cousins – there is definite facial similarity amongst several pairs of the men.

Note the rusticated furniture they’re sitting on – I can’t tell if it is a single bench seat or a grouping of chairs. Also, for the curious, since it’s hard to read in a vertical orientation, the photographer’s imprint on the verso reads: “Turner, Photographer, Southwest Corner, King & Yonge Sts, Toronto”. This is my first Canadian (that I’m aware of) CDV.

I’ve done some mild enhancement and cleanup in Photoshop on this one, as the original is definitely more faded than this. I generally don’t do much if any photomanipulative digital restoration to the images I post because I want them to be representative of the actual image in my possession, but sometimes, as in this case, I do a bit of tweaking in order to make the image more readable. I promise no albumen was harmed in the making of this digitization.

CDVs, Collecting, Occupationals, Photography, Portraits

Sailor Jack

November 12, 2012 dcphotoartist 1 Comment

Another CDV from today’s excursion: I’m assuming the young man is a sailor, based on his attire and the view of the ship through the painted window on the backdrop. The only identifying mark of any kind is the oversized signature on the verso, “Jack”, although the “c” in Jack is oddly formed – could it be Jaek? Jark? Jack seems most likely.

Although it has as much to do with condition as it does the image itself, I love the atmospheric feel of the photo and the Mona Lisa-esque expression on his face. I don’t know if he is in fact a sailor, but without other evidence to the contrary, that’s what I’m calling him.

CDVs, Collecting, Photography, Portraits

Portrait of an unknown gentleman by Mrs. Stuart, Boston

November 12, 2012 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Here is a portrait of an unidentified sitter by Mrs. (yes, I said that right, MRS) Stuart. She is famous for not only being a very early American female photographer, but also an early pioneer of “spirit photography” and shared a studio space with William Mumler. She also produced and sold hair jewelry, which was often made for the purpose of remembering the deceased out of some of the deceased’s hair. This image is NOT a “spirit photo” but rather a simple legitimate portrait. It is beautifully executed, and the scan does not do justice to the original condition of the print – there is still a natural gloss to the albumen on the print as if it were new.

Anonymous Gentleman, photo by Mrs. Stuart

"gay interest", Collecting, Photography, Tintypes

Affectionate Gentlemen Tintype

November 12, 2012 dcphotoartist 4 Comments

Here’s another tintype, also acquired today, that fits into that “gay interest” category because it shows two men being physically affectionate. Once more, I will stress that there is NO WAY to know the meaning of the gesture: it was much more acceptable in that day and age for two male friends to hold hands as a sign of friendship. These two look like they could very well be brothers. That aside, it’s an excellent example of a hand-tinted tintype showing a slice of Victorian culture in America. I wonder what’s going on with the one white sock, or is it a single white spat, on the gentleman with crossed legs. This is where the intrigue builds – it could be just that he lost one on the way to the studio, or he got one dirty and decided that only having one looked better than having one clean and one dirty. Or he was absentminded and put on one white sock and one dark one, kind of like Albert Einstein. Or, it could be an 1860’s/1870’s code to indicate something about the relationship between the two men. Without knowing historical referents, it’s an exercise in making interpretive leaps from fragmentary, inconclusive evidence.

Cased Images, Collecting, Occupationals, Photography, Tintypes

Awesome Occupational Cased Tintype

November 12, 2012 dcphotoartist 1 Comment

I went to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania today, as much to get out of the house while we still had nice weather (I think it was nearly 70F for the high today, even if a bit overcast!) as anything else. My parents had been up there a couple weeks ago, and told me about this one antiques shop that they thought was worth visiting. The shop not only had a much better than usual bin of “instant ancestors” (more on that in a minute), but they also had an amazing display of (surprisingly reasonably priced) other Civil War -era photos (dags, cased tins, and cased ambrotypes) and a veritable museum worth of vintage rifles, muskets, pistols, swords, cannonballs, uniforms and paraphernalia (canteens, insignia, and so on). I picked up a quartet of “instant ancestors”, and had my eye on three others that were in the box but not bargain priced. Over in the big glass display case with all the high-ticket cased images of identified soldiers both Union and Confederate, there was this occupational tintype, complete with embossed leather case:

Occupational Trio, Cased Tintype ca. 1865

I’m showing it here out of its case because I scanned the tintype on my flatbed scanner while I had the packet apart to clean the cover glass (some idiot decided to stick the price tag to the cover glass with cellophane tape that was not a “magic” residue-free tape). This one was a minor splurge as I’m trying to keep myself to a budget, but given the overall quality I felt it was well worth it.

As to the subject matter – does anyone have any idea what profession these gentlemen might have? My first thought was butcher, but they don’t seem to be wielding any butcher’s knives or have any of their product with them. My second thought went to baker, but again, no bread in the photo, and I’ve seen bakers before holding bread. Perhaps greengrocers? Shop clerks? The aprons are rather long for general store clerks, I think, but I’m not an expert on 19th century tradesmens uniforms.

Ambrotypes, Cased Images, Civil War, Collecting, Photography

Ruby Glass Ambrotype in Union Case

November 6, 2012 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Here is my latest acquisition, a ruby glass Ambrotype in an octagonal Union case. The funny thing about the Union cases is that the name has nothing to do with the Civil War – in fact they were losing popularity by the time the war started, as were cased images in general. They got the name Union cases in the 1850s, well before the question of Union vs. Confederacy existed. It helps to confuse the issue that many were made before and during the Civil War with patriotic themes, lending credence to the notion that the name had to do with the war. I’m not going to say that no Confederate-themed Union cases were ever made, but in my limited experience of collecting, I’ve not seen one. I have seen leather/papier-mâché cases with Confederate themes embossed, so I suppose it’s possible, although I believe most Union case makers were located in New England.

I bought this image over the weekend at the Photorama show in Tysons Corner, Virginia. The Photorama shows used to be big deal swap meets and sales, with dozens of dealers filling multiple ballrooms at the Best Western. Now, they’re relegated to a single room in the basement, with maybe ten dealers, mostly peddling castoffs and junk. Bargains can be had, if you’re looking for random odds and ends – I got a Stroboframe flash bracket that retails new for around $60 for $5. And I found this image in a box of stuff. It was dusty and dirty, and didn’t look like much. There was no price tag on it, so I had to find the dealer who had it to get the price. As I was walking up to him, I dropped it, it hit the floor, and one corner of the case cracked off. I told him I was buying it, as I had just broken it. Perhaps out of sympathy or as an acknowledgment of my honesty, he sold it to me for $40. I brought it home, saved the broken pieces, repaired and cleaned it.

You can see the repaired crack in the case in the first picture, and the second one illustrates the ruby glass. I’m not sure the reason for using red glass instead of black glass, unless red glass was cheaper, or perhaps it was believed the red imparted a warmer, more lifelike color to flesh tones.

CDVs, Celebrities, Collecting, Photography

Surpise CDV – George Pope Morris, by CD Fredricks

November 4, 2012 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

This was a surprise because my mom bought it for me when she and my dad were at Gettysburg for a little getaway vacation (their home is maybe an hour and a half from Gettysburg). The subject of the card is George Pope Morris, a 19th century American poet, and co-founder of the New York Evening Mirror which you may know of if you’re an Edgar Allan Poe fan, because it was where “The Raven” was first published in 1845, marking the first time the name Edgar Allan Poe was seen in print.

The quotation on the back of the CDV is the title of one of George P. Morris’ most famous poems, “Woodman, Spare That Tree”, which was also made into a popular song. The image must be from the last years of his life, as he died in 1864.

George Pope Morris, Poet and Publisher, by C.D. Fredricks

For more information about George Pope Morris, Wikipedia entry, George Pope Morris. From the accolades he received from his peers, it sounds like he’s yet another 19th century American (not to mention English) verist whose oeuvre is better off forgotten. If you really want to torture yourself, click here to hear a contemporary performance of the song. Trust me, you’ll need to cleanse your auditory palate afterward with a good dose of heavy metal or Justin Bieber or even cats having sex. But it’s informative as to the mindset and taste of the early Victorians when it came to popular entertainment.

Cameras, Digital cameras, Photography, Travel, Washington DC

The DC High Heel Race 2012 – part 3

November 4, 2012 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

For those who are too old (or too young!) to be aware of the video game, the above characters are from a video game series called “Street Fighter”. The series is immensely popular and has been around in some form or another since 1987. To me, they’re a little out of touch with the High Heel Race thing, as nobody in their group is actually in DRAG – it seems more like this was an excuse for them to wear their Halloween costumes one more time.

Until they got close enough to read their signs, I thought they were imitating the Carnival samba girls in their huge feather headpieces, just with balloons, as you could see their contingent from two blocks away.

And another pop-culture reference that may be lost on some – it’s Honey Boo-Boo and her Mama June, characters from a reality TV show about a trailer-trash child beauty pageant contestant and her dysfunctional family.

News/Announcements

25,000 views!

November 4, 2012 dcphotoartist 6 Comments

Just a little quick note, I’ve passed 25,000 hits on my blog. I’ve been blogging for one year, 10 months and 5 days. It’s been an interesting experience, I’ve made some friends from around the world, and had some really cool experiences (having conversations with the grandchildren/great-grandchildren of folks whose photos I posted from my collection).

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