This is another anonymous CdV from the 1860s. Not only do the characteristics of the presentation card tell us that, but also the girl’s hair (center part) and dress. This is a fairly standard gathered front dress with a busy pattern that won’t show wear or dirt. She is not wearing gloves, but her hat reminds me of something my mother wore in the 1950s, not an 1860s style hat. The photo is not in the best shape, there is a lot of aging on the image, but I believe the cheeks may be hand tinted.
This happy couple is from the C Murray Album. Their images are not repeated in the album and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to identify them. The photographer is DP Thomson (aka David P Thomson) on the corner of Walnut and 10th, in Kansas City, MO. The studio was established in 1874, probably at a different location as the notes I have found place him on Main street. However, later in Kansas City’s history, DP Thompson was quite successful, sharing a two story corner building with the FG Smith Piano Co. It is known that DP Thomson took over 175,000 photographs during his tenure in KC MO.
There were some interesting notes on the back of the cabinet card:
They were very adamant that the gentleman’s picture be made into a bust portrait, weren’t they!
This is a Civil War era CdV of a rather dashing gent. The curly hair, the General Custer style facial hair, the tie, vest and coat combination, all display that this fellow cut a rather romantic image. I don’t know where he is from as there is no photographer’s information, but I can imagine the young ladies of some town swooning as he passed by.
This is a CdV from the 1870s or so. This lady has some really interesting hair going on, doesn’t she? I’m not very good with hairstyles, though if I really look I can find some information about them. Let me just say that you will never find me at a Victorian event with this particular hair style. The hair in front is crimped – you can tell because the waves are even across the head. Crimping became popular and stayed for quite a while into the 1880s, I believe.
She also has some ornate chandelier style earrings. The French hook was used in this time period, as the ball and stud were not developed until the 20th century.
She has very deep eyes, which give the photo a lot of depth and detail. Makes me wonder if here eyes were deep due to genetics (a la Sir Paul McCartney) or from illness.
This lovely cabinet card is from the C. Murray Album. After the great disappointment of Flora Moses’ passing, I needed to take a moment before getting back to the album. You may not recognize her at first, but this mother is the bride in this wedding photo. The way I figured this out was by looking at the brooch she has at her throat. After noticing that Abbie J Moses wore the same necklace in all her photos, I became curious if I would find this repeated with other women. Lo and behold, under a magnifying glass, I was able to determine the same pin being worn in both photos of this woman.
This photo features Mother and a lovely baby girl who appears to be quite curious. Unfortunately, this was written on the back of the card:
It breaks my heart. It also makes me wonder if whatever took this lovely baby also took Flora Moses. We will never know.
This is my first Sepia Saturday post. Take a moment and look at the other sites, too.
UPDATE: This mother is Kate (Parish) Streeter, wife of Arthur Streeter. Kate and Arthur married May 1, 1889. Kate passed away in 1896.
Who Were They? 