Mary Dolly Allen Collins - Old Cabinet Photo

Someone wrote a fair amount of information about the woman in this picture.  I've edited the picture a bit for this post, but you can see the whole thing on our eBay store.  Just go to the store & do a search on Mary Dolly Allen.

This is an early cabinet photo, possibly as early as the 1850s, certainly no later than the 1860s.  Its always possible we could be mistaken about the date, but we're getting a lot of experience with these things, and that's what we believe.  It is not in great shape.  There is a lot of foxing - little spots you can especially see on the front, and someone has trimmed this up greatly, and unevenly.

On the front, written in pencil, is "Mary Dolly Allen, married Collins. "

On back, also in pencil is the following information: "Think this is great-grandmother Archambeault's mother when young.  Mary Dolly Allen, married a Collins, lived in VT.  Came to Utica on a farm.  Great-grandmother was Harriet Jane Collins."

I don't know when this information was written down, and there is always the possibility that it is wrong. It is a lot more information than we usually get on these pictures. We did a tiny bit of research and we believe Mary Dolly Allen Collins died in January 1886, but we didnt really take it much further. 

But this is the way she looked 150-160 years ago, when she was younger and stronger and her death was still in the distance. 

I wonder how many decades it has been since anyone said her name aloud or thought about her.  I'm sure she'd be extremely surprised to know that I somehow ended up with her picture.

A Cabinet Photo of a Woman From Perry NY

This is a cabinet photo of a youngish woman who was probably from Perry NY, or a farm nearby. The photographer's name was Crocker, and based on graphics etc, we believe this dates to the 1880s-1890s.


The subject of this photo looks very human.  I think that is why I like it.

Click on the title to go to the listing, if you're interested.

Addie Kinabrew Morton of Cleburne Texas, Cabinet Photo

We have this photo for sale in our eBay store, and we believe it is of Addie Kinabrew Morton - that is the name written in pencil on the back of the photo.   Photographer information is also stamped on the back - "J. A. Lindgren, Photographer, Cleburne, Texas".  The Photo is about 4 1/2 X 6 1/2 inches.

Kinabrew is one of those names that can be spelled more than one way - I've seen Kinnabrew, Kinnebrew & Kennebrew, which are all probably different spellings of the same name.   There seem to be plenty of Kinabrews about though, and plenty of them still seem to be from Cleburne. 

Anyway, this is Addie.  We estimate this Cabinet Photo to be from the 1870s or so, and her hair style and clothing seem pretty typical.  She's holding two small purses, which is a little unusual, perhaps, but not much.  And she's wearing a dark dress with a huge amount of lace.

Click on the title to go to our listing.

S&H Modifications for CDVs

The fallout continues from our recent "charge back" experience.  The only way to even have a hope of protecting ourselves from things like charge backs or "Item Not Received" claim by a buyer is to have delivery confirmation on our items, signature confirmation if they are above $250 (I think).  This is because PayPal, the most common way things are paid for on eBay, assumes the seller is at fault, unless the seller can prove other wise.  If the buyer says he didn't get an item, or that it was an unauthorized use of a credit card or pretty much anything else, PayPal, and by extention eBay, assumes the buyer is telling the truth and the seller isn't.  PayPal apparently puts a hold on the seller's account immediately.  If the seller respsonds to a claim with a delivery confirmation number, PayPal investigates, and presumably releases the hold after awhile and all is well.   But I've read about some absolute horror stories on the eBay community boards.  I don't know if anyone in eBay pays attention to the boards, but there is a fair amount of discontent floating around.  I subscribe to the belief that it is usually the discontented that do the most posting, but still.  It seems significant.

The picture above is a beautiful little CDV, sold and shipped already.   Take a good look at it, because it is the last of our CDVs to be mailed without delivery confirmation.  It is also the last CDV to go out with a  $1.50 shipping and handling charge.   We can pay postage online and print a label off on the printer - the cost for delivery confirmation is cheaper when bought this way than it is if you purchase it at the post office counter.  But we send these CDVs out first class, so delivery confirmation is not free, and $1.50 will no longer cover the actual mailing cost for most of them.  So we increased the shipping and handling cost to $1.75, which should cover the cost of the actual postage, the cost of delivery confirmation and the cost of the mailer, with next to nothing left over.

I absolutely hate to do this, but it seems to be the only way we can protect ourselves.  $1.50 S&H was very reasonable and cheaper than most others charged.  $1.75 is still reasonable & may still be cheaper than most others, not sure, but I liked a $1.50 a lot better.  CDVs are the only thing we're changing our rates on though, postcards & cabinet photos & such remained unchanged, at least for now.

In 4 years of selling we've never had a problem like this.  In recent months however, eBay/PayPal has made changes which make it very easy for a buyer with larceny in his heart to cheat a seller. It was only after these changes that we got our very first charge-back.  Co-incidence?  Maybe.  But it was a wake up call, it is irresponsible for us not to take some kind of precautions.   So this stuff goes out with delivery confirmation to at least partially protect ourselves, and we have to increase the S&H rates to cover the extra cost.

I really, really hate having to do this.  I hate that all of us have to pay because maybe 1 person in a 100, or even 1,000 is dishonest.  But that is life, isn't it.

The Thackrey Family (except Otis), circa 1880's.

This is a detail of a cabinet card we have for sale.  The whole card measures about 4 1/2 X 6 1/2 inches, and it is of the Thackrey family, except Otis, who might have been no 'count anyway.  Who knows.

The names are listed on the back:  In the back row, left to right, they are Birtha, Cora & Mandy, center is Dad and Mother, and in front are Alice, Logan, Ioa(?) and Torrince.  Another sibling, Otis, is not in the picture.

The photographer was F.K. Frasier, but there is no indication of where the photographer's shop is located, or where these people lived or when the picture was taken.  Based on the looks of the card & clothing styles, we guestimate the age at 1880-1890s, with more of a nod toward the 1880s side of the estimation.   It is a family picture that was probably important to someone at sometime, and may still be if someone can tie themselves to them.  

I was just kidding about Otis being no 'count.  It's my sense of humor.  Most likely Otis was either the oldest and on his own somewhere, or he had yet to be born when the picture was taken. 

I like it because it documents what they consisered their "Sunday Best" clothes, and you can see some of the family closeness in it.  Alice is young and leaning into her father's leg, Logan has one hand on his father's leg & another on his mother's, Cora, I believe, has a hand on her father's shoulder. 

This was a good sized family - they almost certainly have decendants running about today, somewhere.  

You can click on the title to go to the listing.

Cathryn at San Marco, Venice, Italy, Feb 2, 1930

This is an Italian RPPC  (Real Picture Postcard) of a well dressed woman standing in front of a monument, and surrounded by pigeons. 

Written on back, "To my Valentine, much love mother dear, Cathryn".  And below that, "Taken at St. Marks, Venice, Italy, Feb 2, 1930".

The scene, if not the era, is very familiar to me.  Approximately 52 years after this picture was taken, to the month, I found myself standing in San Marco's square in Venice, very close to or possibly right at the same spot this woman is standing, also surrounded by pigeons.   Italy is quite a bit warmer than Germany in February and March, and it was a good place to go for a week or so, just to remember what warmth was like.

Going to Venice was like going to a different planet.  I loved it.

Click on the picture to make it bigger, click on the title to go to the listing.

Update: SOLD!

Cabinet Photo of a Woman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1880s or so.

This is an interesting cabinet photo of a woman from Lancaster, PA., probably dating to the 1880s or later.   It was taken at the "Fowler" Gallery, 12 West King street.

It's hard to put my finger on why I like this picture, but I do.  Maybe it's the choker with the cameo (or whatever) in it.  Perhaps it is just the way she looks. 

Any rate, its for sale, and you can click on the title to go to the listing if you want to. 

A Late 19th Century Family

This is one of my favorite antique photos, and I'm not sure why.  It shows a man with a heck of a beard, a woman (I assume his wife) and a baby.  I always thought he was smiling at something, but it's hard to tell.  Also it's a little unusual because I'm pretty sure this was taken outside, not in a studio.

I belive this is an albumen print mounted on cardboard - and most of the mounting was trimmed away at some point in the past. 

I think it's an interesting picture.  I've had it for a long time, so maybe I'm the only one who likes it, but I find it interesting just the same.

Click on the title to go to the listing, click on the picture to bigify it.

CDV Apenrade Germany (Apenraa Denmark)

This is a CDV of a woman with books. The photographer was J. H. Door, and the location was Apenrade, Beim Nordermarkt.

Apenraa is located in Denmark. It was occupied by Germany from 1864 to 1920, and renamed Apenrade. This picture was obviously taken during that period, most likely in the 1880s-90s.

A little bit of history. Interesting.

Click on the title to go to the listing.

UPDATE: Sold!

Colorized Cabinet Photo Circa 1890s

This is a cabinet photo from the 1880s-1890s, probably more in the 1890s range. The interesting thing about it is that it is colorized, probably with crayon, but I can't really say for sure. The woman's hair is blond and you can see some pink in her cheeks.

Cabinet photos (or Cabinet Cards) were popular from the 1860s or so until the very early 20th century. They are roughly (tho not exactly) 4 X 6 inches, and they changed thru the years. That's how we can come up with an educated guess as to the age. The thickness of the cardboard, the ornateness of the writing & illustrations on back (or the lack of such), round corners vs square corners, borders etc are all clues.

This photo has very ornate photographer information on the front and back - this one is from Richmond, Virginia.

Also the photo itself is an albumen print on very thin paper - if there is silvering, that is indicative of a gelatin silver print, which dates it into the 20th century.

Click on the title to go to the listing if you're interested.

Update:  SOLD!

Charlotte Bronte CDV Circa 1870 (we think)

The image to the right is a Carte de Viste (CDV), which were very popular in the mid to late 19th century. These were usually photographs, and people would give them to each other - sort of like calling cards I guess. What is a little different about this one is that this is an illustration, not a photograph. I'm not sure of the process used to actually put this illustration on paper and affix it to the cardboard backing, it could be photography was involved, but I doubt it.

Anyway, we've figured out that this is Charlotte Bronte, and this is from a famous portrait of her. She died when photography was in it's infancy, and I'm not sure if she ever had her photo taken.

CDVs usually measure about 2 1/2 X 4 inches, and this is pretty close to that. You can date them by the thickness of the backing, square corners vs round corners, and the ornateness (or lack of ornateness) of any photographer information on it. Sometimes you get lucky and someone has written a date on it. This one has no such info tho. We believe this one is from the 1870s or so, but it's just an educated guess.

Click on the title to go to the listing if you're interested.

1933 Chicago World's Fair Photo Booth Picture

At the height of the Great Depression, a woman sat down at a photo booth at the Chicago World's Fair, smiled to the camera and snapped her picture.

Her last name is McDearmid, her first name was probably Maxine, and that is all I know about her.

There was another set of these pictures, we sold on eBay several weeks ago. This one is in much worse condition, but I thought I'd give it a try.

I like this for several reasons - the major one is that it has Chicago World's Fair 1933 on it. But also just because of the picture. She's wearing ordinary clothes, smiling, young, healthy and strong back in 1933. I wonder what kind of life she lived.

If you're interested, click on the title to go to the listing.

Italia E. Evans

We came across these pictures awhile ago, and just got around to listing them. Things like this are what makes doing eBay stuff fun, at least for me.

We have a series of 5 pictures with large matting of Italia E. Evans. The pictures show her at age 10 (2), 12 (1) & 18 (2). The picture with this article is her as an 18 year old.

Her name was written in ink, in very beautiful script on 3 of the pictures. Her age was written in pencil on the back of 3 of the pictures. The photographer was "Perrey" of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. This was embossed on the matting of 3 of the pictures, and carefully handwritten on the two "18 years old" pictures.

We decided to find out what we could about Italia E. Evans, and it was a fair amount. Here goes:

She was born in January 25, 1891, most likely in Ft. Wayne. That would date our pictures to 1901, 1903 & 1909. In 1910 she was a secretary for the Ft. Wayne Anti-Tuberculosis Society. In 1914, an Italia Evans graduated from the NY Public Library School & in 1917, Italia Evans "tendered her resignation at the Ft. Wayne Public Library to enter the automobile field as a local sales rep for Detroit electric". She was also a member of the Mary Pemrose Wayne Chapter of the DAR, #75222. In 1920 she was living with her mother (O.F. born in Germany) in the 10th Assembly District of Manhattan. Her mother was apparently divorced. Sometime between 1920 & 1930 (we believe) she married an Earle Moss. We're pretty sure her grandmother was a woman named Sarah Fairfield Evans. We saw two residences for her in Ft. Wayne - 2409 S. Harrison Str., and 521 East Berry Str, but we don't know what years she lived there.

Italia Evans died in June, 1977, at age 86.

So that's interesting - a name and a photographer's location lead to all that information. My impression was that she was very intelligent, ambitious, and probably somewhere between upper middle class and outright wealthy. It's interesting that she seemed to be a career woman, at a time when most women were not. I think her family was prominent at the time.

These are beautiful pictures, and I hope whoever buys them will be very happy with them.

You can click on the title to go to our eBay listing.

Update SOLD!