Category Archives: Types of Subjects

Frenchman of Marseille

French unknown sitter. Personal Collection.

French unknown sitter. Private Collection.

frenchblondeman2

2.5″ x 4″. Bottom was clipped off.

A clean cut young man from the South of France. He reminds me of “Bosie”, Oscar Wilde’s companion.

Photographer: Albert Langloir. Rue de la Republique. Marseille.


Max Kleiman of Germany

Max Kleiman (middle), and two friends. Personal Collection.

Max Kleiman (middle), and two friends. Private Collection.

whole card.

whole card.

A group of three friends re-enacting playing cards . Max Kleiman is the only sitter identified. The back of the cabinet card is blank. I like that his two friends are wearing light colored suits and he’s wearing a dark one. It may not have been intentional but it makes for a good composition. I tried to research him and there are a few Max Kleimans who fit his lifetime and emigrated to the US. Did he? Maybe.

Photographer: K. Timm. Nachf. Halle A/A. Schulberg 3. Germany.


1850s Melainotype Gentleman

2" x 2.5". Personal Collection

2″ x 2.5″. Private Collection

I got this one for the copper frame it was in I intended to use for another. The scan of the seller made the subject blurry and I really didn’t know what I was going to get. It was a nice surprise to see the subject is worth keeping the frame for. I delicately took it out for the scan and promptly put it back in.

The inscription on top is the patent for the process: MELAINOTYPE PLATE FOR NEFFS. DAT 19 FEB (18)56.

The melainotype was the precursor of the tintype. It had a thicker plate.


The Bootlegger Pals

Personal Collection

RPPC. Private Collection

This postcard is beat up and the back is almost completely erased by time. Someone drew a mustache on the Al Capone looking guy to the left. At first I was disappointed to see that, then it dawned on me it’s part of what makes it hilarious. Did one of the two others add it? The guy in the middle has quite the relaxed pose with his arms behind the necks of his friends. Don’t they look like your stereotypical 1930s gangsters? The suits and fedoras are fantastic.

Photographer: unknown. RPPC.


Wild Party with photographer Dana B. Merrill

Dana B. Merrill and his young rowdy subjects. Personal Collection

Dana B. Merrill among young, rowdy subjects. Circa 1910. Private Collection

danabmerrill2

Back. Click on the picture for larger format

Dana B. Merrill was a noted American photographer whose prints are still on sale today. I researched him based on the name and the N.H. in pencil I figured is New Hampshire.

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