Category Archives: CDVs

Performers and People of the Theater

Peking Opera Performers
Peking Opera Performers

Peking Opera Performers
Peking Opera Performers

Circus Siblings, Gurney & Son, New York
Circus Siblings, Gurney & Son, New York

Trio of Boy Acrobats, by Drew & Maxwell
Trio of Boy Acrobats, by Drew & Maxwell – possibly the O’Briens?

Two Toreadors, by Fredericks of New York, Havana and Paris
Two Toreadors, by Fredericks of New York, Havana and Paris
Gullie & Lottie Tarkinton
Gullie & Lottie Tarkinton

Carte De Visite, Henry Irving, British Actor, by Elliot & Fry
Carte De Visite, Henry Irving, British Actor, by Elliot & Fry

Tintype, Violinist, in presentation mat
Tintype, Violinist, in presentation mat

Anonymous, Twin(?) brothers, ca. 1870
Anonymous, Twin(?) brothers, ca. 1870
Musical Duo, Boston
Musical Duo, Boston
Two actors in costume by Chas. H. Spieler, Philadelphia
Two actors in costume by Chas. H. Spieler, Philadelphia

C.T. Parsloe, Jr, Actor- by Brady. "Important if true"
C.T. Parsloe, Jr, Actor- by Brady. “Important if true”

Sallie Holman as Ike Pantington, by Fredricks
Sallie Holman as Ike Pantington, by Fredricks

Cross-dressed Women by Mattheson
Cross-dressed Women by Mattheson

I’ve selected this batch to group based on them being people of the theater or in theatrical performances of some kind. I excluded the circus freaks even though many of them were theatrical as well (Tom Thumb was a comic actor as well as a star of Barnum’s circus). I’m grouping the cross-dressed women in this because it may well have been a theatrical role they were playing, like Sallie Holman as Ike Partington. There are also acrobats in this grouping, as many of them performed in vaudeville halls as well as in circuses, so they count as theatricals in a way.

Take a look at the two violinists in the fifth row – I’m wondering if they aren’t in fact two pictures of the same duo, at different times.

Two CDVs from Washington DC photographers

Anonymous Lady, by Davis of DC and Richmond
Anonymous Lady, by Davis of DC and Richmond
L.M. Blackfoot, by Rice and Rice, Washington DC
L.M. Blackfoot, by Rice and Rice, Washington DC

Two more CDVs from the collection, both by Washington DC photographers. And no, Mr. Davis is no relation that I’m aware of. I acquired these in part because of the beautiful blind stamps on the backs.

Count Rosebud and Baron Littlefinger

Baron Littlefinger & Family
Baron Littlefinger & Family

I realize I just posted this image in my previous entry, but I think it’s worthy of a separate post. Frankly, I’ve had it in my collection for a while but for some reason I didn’t post it at the time I added it. So I’m making up for the past omission. I think it’s worthy of adding a separate entry because their story is interesting. Count Rosebud was an Italian named Primo Magri. He and his brother Giuseppe (or according to some accounts, Ernesto), Baron Littlefinger, were allegedly given actual titles by Pope Pius IX. They toured as performers. In 1885, Count Rosebud married the widow Thumb, Mrs. Lavinia Warren. They had to perform into old age because they supposedly had very lavish tastes and could not afford to retire. I haven’t seen any back story on the rest of the family referenced in this photo – who were they, were they really the Count’s family or just props like the Thumbs’ baby, did he divorce this woman at some point before marrying Lavinia, or was he a widower?

Maj. S.E. Houghton

My latest CDV of a circus sideshow midget. What was it with the circus and fake military ranks or titles? Major Houghton, Admiral Dot, Major Atom (although there’s a wee (pardon the pun) bit of irony in that one), Commodore Nutt, General Tom Thumb, Baron Littlefinger and Count Rosebud and just to name a few. Even when folks weren’t given fake titles, they often got dressed up in military-esque uniforms, like my photo of Landon Middlecoff, or some of the other giants I’ve seen.

Major S.E. Houghton
Major S.E. Houghton
Major Atom, by Chas. Eisenmann
Major Atom, by Chas. Eisenmann
Admiral Dot, published by E&HT Anthony
Admiral Dot, published by E&HT Anthony
Commodore Nutt and unknown little woman, Anonymous CDV (probably Brady)
Commodore Nutt and unknown little woman, Anonymous CDV (probably Brady)
Baron Littlefinger & Family
Baron Littlefinger & Family
Landon Middlecoff, the 'Kentucky Giant', by Eisenmann
Landon Middlecoff, the ‘Kentucky Giant’, by Eisenmann

More additions to the photographers’ maps

I added several addresses in the last few days, to all three maps. To New York, I added:

P.H. Rupp, 13 Avenue A

D. Appleton & Co, Cartes De Visite, A.A. Turner, Photographer, 443 & 445 Broadway

C. Henkel, 1288 Broadway

To Philadelphia, I’ve added:

Schreiber & Son, Photographers, 818 Arch Street

Photographed by Roberts, 808 Arch Street

Fitzgerald & Co, Photographers, 828 Arch Street

To Washington DC I’ve added:

R. W. Addis, Photographer, McClee’s Gallery 308 Pennsylvania Avenue

Tasset, Artist Photographer, 925 Pennsylvania Avenue

As per my usual practice, I’m including any advertising copy found on the photographers’ verso imprints along with the address.

Six Men by Turner of Toronto

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.

Six Men, by Turner of Toronto
Six Men, by Turner of Toronto

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.

Sailor Jack

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.

Jack the Sailor
Jack the Sailor

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.

Portrait of an unknown gentleman by Mrs. Stuart, Boston

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
Anonymous Gentleman, photo by Mrs. Stuart

Surpise CDV – George Pope Morris, by CD Fredricks

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
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.

Victorian Cross-Dressing and Circus Dogs

To take a break from the High Heel Race photos, here’s two new CDVs in the antique image collection.

Cross-dressed Women by Mattheson
Cross-dressed Women by Mattheson

This pair of women in men’s clothes are rather unusual for the time period (1860s-early 1870s). Without knowing any back-story behind the photo, it’s hard to tell if this was just a couple of friends on a lark dressing up like lads (the mustaches were added by the photographer, much as hand-coloring or gilding of jewelry would have been done, for an additional fee) or if this was a comic way of expressing a deeper relationship between these two women. Without knowing, I’m filing this in my collection under the category of “Performers”, because it certainly is a performance of gender and gender identity, and it COULD be a theatrical, like the Ike Partington photo I posted earlier. I don’t know if there was a comedic play of the time period that called for women to play men’s parts.

Jack Russell Dog in Circus Ruff, Uruguay
Jack Russell Dog in Circus Ruff, Uruguay

This is a CDV I bought from a vendor in Uruguay (on Ebay). These two photos kind-of go together in that the dog is wearing a ruff, so in some way he’s probably a circus performer. This is a heavily restored version of the CDV – the idiot seller shipped it basically in a plain envelope, with no protection, so it arrived with a MAJOR crack running across the CDV just above the dog’s head. I thought I’d at least preserve the image content and post it.