Even More Fashionable Lady Cornetists

 

In the early days of photography
there were no candid snapshots.
A photograph was the result of a formal event
conducted at a photographer's studio.

Taking a photo was never done
on a spontaneous impulse.
It was always scheduled 
with a photographer in advance
and the client was expected to look their best.

The photographer used their artistic judgement
to place the camera in a position
that presented their subjects
in the most flattering light.

For photos of young women it was very important
to have an undistracting background
with gentle side illumination to avoid shadows on the face
or any glare reflected in the eyes. 

And sometimes when the occasion allowed
a skilled photographer might invite
their subject to look into the camera lens
and smile.

Today I present five beautiful portraits
of young women from New England,
all cornet players from the 1890s
and all, unfortunately, missing any identification.

My first young cornetist sits in the Holden studio of 393 Main St. in Worcester, Massachusetts. She is wearing a dark satin gown with puffy shoulders and a very tight waistline as she reclines on a velvet covered box. She has a pleasant wistful look as she gazes off to the left. Her B-flat cornet is embellished with a lot of engraving, the sign of a premium instrument. 

The photographer was Luman Holden who was born in 1865 in Massachusetts. In the 1900 census he was married to Addie Holden and his occupation was photographer. But the earliest date I could find for his photography studio in Worcester was around 1897. By 1902 his name was missing from the city directory and in the 1910 census he worked as a foreman in a shoe shop.

The second young lady's portrait is a ¾ view in an oval cut print. She is standing in the Haley & Akers Studio of  Meriden, Connecticut. Dressed in a dark striped blouse with modest puffy shoulders and a slim dark skirt, I'd put her age at around 17-20 years old, but I find it hard to be sure when a young girl is so elegantly dressed.

The photographers were John P. Haley and John Akers. Their studio first appears in the 1894 Meriden city directory but by 1901, Haley has left and only Akers remains in the photographers listings. 

My third cornetist is actually performing for the camera with her cornet at her lips. However I think it is only a pose as her embouchure would show some tension around her mouth if she was actually blowing a note. Her gown is all white with a ruffle band along the front button seam. Like the previous women she also has a very tight waistline. 

The photographer was the Partridge Studio of Boston, Massachusetts in Brookline. The back of the cabinet card photograph has a nice illustration of the studio building showing a kind of Arts & Craft style cottage with a fanciful tower on one corner. Perhaps the many windows on the circular tower was a way to insure good lighting throughout the day. 

The photographer William H. Partridge (1858–1938) was born in Wheeling, West Virginia to a father who was a photographer. William and his two brothers, Edward and Samuel Partridge, all took up photography too, and began working with their father in Boston in 1878 as A. C. Partridge & Sons. In 1884 Edward and William moved to Portland, Oregon where they established a successful studio there. They both made several trips to Alaska and made a number of landscape photos that were printed for sale on both the west and east coasts. In about 1887 William Partridge moved back to Boston where he ran a successful photography studio until 1914 and became known for his portrait and landscape photographs as well as botanical paintings. My collection has several fine portraits of female musicians including some string players that were taken at the Partridge studio, so I believe they all may be connected to the same Boston women's orchestra. 

The fourth cornetist is similarly dressed in a white gown with puffy sleeves. She looks the youngest of my set of young ladies, maybe 15-17 years old. The photographer has posed her standing in front of a vague cloud-like backdrop which give her an angelic attitude.  This picture was taken by Chipman & Keefe of the Temple Studio at 180 Temple St. in New Haven, Connecticut. 

The photographers were Walter F. Chipman and William J. O'Keefe. Chipman was born in 1863 and when he was 17 he listed his occupation as photographer in the 1880 census for New Haven. However his partnership with O'Keefe on Temple St. began with a listing in the 1894 New Haven city directory. This business only lasted two years as in the 1896 directory O'Keefe has the studio  at Temple. The following year, in 1897, O'Keef has departed and Chipman has a new partner named Beck with a studio on Chapel St.. And in 1898 New Haven has 25 photographers in its business listings but neither Chipman nor O'Keefe have a studio, though they each list their occupation as photographer in their individual listings. It's an example how photography became a booming field for entrepreneurs in the late 1890s but it was also a very competitive trade. It does mean that this young woman's portrait dates from the years 1894 to 1895 that Chipman and O-Keefe worked together.

My last cornetist has the most glamorous photo. This young lady is also dressed in a white satin gown with full puffy shoulders, ruffles, ribbons and a super tight waist. She is the only one who gazes directly at the camera lens with a very slight but confident smile. Her curly hair is tied with a ribbon into a topknot. In this ¾ view she is seated on an ornately carved wooden chair with her arm around her instrument that rests oddly on a wooly sheepskin. 

The photo was taken at another Boston photography studio operated by Elmer Chickering of 21 West St. in Boston. Elmer Chickering (1857–1915) was born in Vermont where he learned photography but in 1884 relocated to Boston opening a studio on West St. just a half-block from Boston Common park. His establishment had a first floor gallery that was arranged like a museum exhibition space. On the third floor his studio was outfitted with the best cameras including one of the earliest telephoto lens. Chickering was also skilled in several graphic techniques, being a good painter in oils, and an accomplished draughtsmen with crayons, pastels, and India ink. His studio employed several photographers with specialties in arranging photographs of artistic, landscape, and outdoor scenes. Chickering's handsome photo portraits became very popular and attracted a large clientele, especially with theatric entertainers, who purchased multiple cabinet card promotional prints.  

Like the Partridge studio, Chickering produced a large number of photos of Boston's female musicians, some of which are now in my collection. Like this young cornetist, almost every one is dressed in a white gown with big puffy sleeves, a fashion popular in the late 1890s. A few of these musicians are identified on the photo and I've been able to find them on the player rosters of several Boston ladies' orchestras from the 1890s. Because Boston was such an important center of American culture and entertainment in this era, it provided female musicians with a number of ladies' bands and orchestras that performed in the New England region. I think this young woman was one of those professional musicians. 

But as I put these photographs together this week I noticed a curious detail that I'd not seen before. It's quite small, and unusual to see on a woman of this era. Can you spot it? 

It's a tiny diamond or gold stud in the right ear lobe of the cornet player in the Partridge and the Chickering photos. I think it is the same young woman. Both have the same kinky hair which looks to be a ginger color. And both have a very narrow waist. But that pierced ear makes a statement that I believe only a confident talented soloist would make. Maybe one day I'll find her in a group photo of her orchestra. 

This is my contribution for Sepia Saturday

where grandma always tells
the best stories.