Tag Archives: 1880s-1890s

August 19, 2016

Fashionably Victorian in Adrian, Michigan

By C.E. Ryan
cabinet-wt-barnum-michigan

W.T. Barnum, Adrian Michigan cabinet card of young man with cross tie tack.

This handsome teen’s hair was a mess of waves in the front. He didn’t fight it with pomade, instead choosing to let it do its thing! He wears a distinguished white tie with a cross tie tack the focal point. A nice piece of jewelry with the chain hanging by the side. The cross itself appears to have horseshoes and bell symbols, and is this a saint in the middle? I’d like to find out what the cross represents, aside from being what I suspect is a luck charm. Could it be a military cross, a type of iron cross? It looks like the American sharpshooter one, except that one has a target in the center.

cabinet-wt-barnum-tieknot

This card is of the 1870s-90s when flat and fat ties were extremely popular (and yet -random thought- I never see them in period films!). The fabric looks beautifully regal too. This portrait reminds me of this other cabinet card of the same era, with the similar type of tie and collar combination (and pose).

Update: this young man was a university student, member of the  Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. The local chapter -Alpha Mu- in Adrian, Michigan was founded in 1881, and is still active today. This cabinet card is most likely from the 1880s! It would not be impossible to find out who he was. 

Thank you, Val, for your research!

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Cabinet Cards, Teens

April 7, 2016

Blue collar cigar smoking duo

By C.E. Ryan
tintype-affectionate-duo-on-chairs

1/6th plate tintype. c. 1880’s. Private Collection.

A close-up portrait of two collarless gents smoking cigars. The one on the right looks like he shouldn’t be messed with! By comparison, his friend looks much more approachable. And Mr. Tough has his hand on his friend’s shoulder, a protective and dominant gesture? He comes off as the leader of the two.

They didn’t bother to change into better garbs either, a rip is prominent on the pants. Once again, what their lives were like is mystery, yet one can’t help but wonder.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Groups, Tintypes

March 5, 2016

It was all dull and boring until…

By C.E. Ryan
jackdaw-copyright-c-e-ryan

click for larger image.

Combine inspiration from my little debacle with the Prince of Wales’ photomontage, a boring Saturday, and this is what you get.

Our Victorian gent on this CDV had too good of an expression to leave him be, so a jackdaw flew in and perched on his head. His face brightened. I think he likes it. ;)~

Here’s the original vs. the retouched:

Hm…don’t know if I am in the mood for this…
Ooh!

And well, if you’d like to see this gent retouched but without the bird, here he is:

cdv-russian-copyright-caroline-ryan

Staring at the viewer and a hint of a smile make a huge difference. Click for larger image.

 

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Original front and back. 1870s-80s CDV. Private Collection.

Photographer: Carl Anderson (a British expat photographer?). Wenden. Russia.

 

 

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in CDVs, digital art, Teens

February 26, 2016

What a Fine Time

By C.E. Ryan
tintype-duo-1880s

1880s-90s 1/6th plate tintype. Private Collection.

Together we laughed, we cried, we played. We danced!  And we drank, much more than you. We knew all the fine people too.

We tasted joys and pains, early springs and rains. We mourned lost lives, so fragile, more often than you.

Our time did come to an end. We are gone now, that’s true. Of all we felt remains a plated memory once in these hands, for you.

Ah, but what a fine time we had, what a fine time. We made it through! Say, will we meet again, at the call of a baby’s coo?

tintype-duo-1880s-detail

Click for larger detail

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in Gentlemen, Tintypes

December 19, 2015

A booming town’s young man

By C.E. Ryan
cabinet-rhinelander

1880s-90s cabinet card. B.F.Kaler. Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Private Collection.

This Victorian man’s collar resembles a bishop neckband, but here the collar and sturdy chest piece look to be an all-in-one.

When this unidentified sitter had his picture taken, Pelican Rapids had only been recently renamed Rhinelander after Frederic W. Rhinelander of New York, who was president of the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Road at the time. Rhinelander’s Wisconsin and Pelican rivers were ideal to transport lumber, as such the town became the newest timber mill of the northern part of the state. In 1882 the main railroad through town was completed, and in 1890 its population grew to about 3,000. Within the next decade Rhinelander boomed to almost double its size. Had this young man come to town in search of opportunities?

Photographer: B.F.Kaler. Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Mr. Kaler was the successor of Carl Krueger of The Krueger Studio.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Cabinet Cards, Gentlemen

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