Two of the first three blog entries of this series have been cabinet card photographs. How about we go three out of the first four? Because this early 1900s pit bull and baby on a cabinet card is simply put – adorable.
Unfortunately, aside from a handwritten note – “Bill with his dog” on the back, there is nothing else to report for Archive #4 about who the pup and baby were.
The photographer’s studio name L.F. Bates is embossed on the front, along with his address: 283 Westminster Street in Providence, Rhode Island.
Research for his business produced a few results. On page 747 of the embedded PDF from this 1898 Providence House Directory and Family Address Book, it has a L.F. Bates & Co. listed at 303 Westminster Street.
My guess is perhaps he moved his studio down the street a couple years later, because what’s the odds? I say later rather than earlier, because I found a link on the site langdonroad.com with a database of 19th and early 20th Century photographers. In it, it has the same address listed as the one on the cabinet card (283 Westminster), along with the year 1902.
An early theme for “The Archives” blog series has been Cabinet Cards. Including this one, three out of the first four entries have been this classy type of photograph. Since this was taken somewhere between 1900-1910, the popularity of cabinet cards was already on the decline.
It was first developed in the 1860s, and grew in popularity in the 1880s. Essentially, it’s a photograph mounted on a stiff cardboard, and intended on being displayed in a sitting room, rather than placed in an album.
While still used until the 1920s, it’s use declined at the turn of the century once personal photography became more the norm. A great summary of how to spot a cabinet card is found in this Science and Media Museum blog post – How to spot a Cabinet Card.
The Archives is a special blog series that looks at the complicated history of pit bull dogs through photographs, newspaper articles, and other historical items. This blog is part of the documentary film – Once In A Lifetime.
Read all “The Archives” blog entries, and learn about their controversial past, but also the important role they played in the development of the United States.
