Surname Saturday ~ MILLER

My paternal grandmother was Ada May MILLER. We are fortunate to have her little carte de visite (CDV) album. Unfortunately, she passed way several years before it came into our hands.

We have taken each photograph out of the album and there isn't a single name on any of them. There are nine on cardstock and nineteen are tintypes. Only six of the cardstock have the name of the photographer on the back (verso). Ten of the tintypes have thin paper frames, the other nine have none.

From what I can determine in searching about identifying photographs on the Internet, it probably dates from about the 1860's (tintypes) to about the late 1890's (cardstock). Now about 150 years old! A real treasure.

Ada's parents were Sarah BEEGHLY and William Howard MILLER. William and Sarah had 13 children, Ada was the eldest.

William Howard's parents were Mary FIKE and Phineas MILLER. (Their names appeared on the FIKE Memorial that I posted on Tombstone Tuesday.) Mary and Phineas had 10 children. 

I don't have a photograph of Mary or Phineas. However, I recently found a photograph of  one of Phineas MILLER's younger brothers, William MILLER Jr.

William MILLER Jr.

 Born 26 Sep 1827 - Somerset County, Pennsylvania

 Died 10 Jan 1908 - Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa

 SOURCE: http-phillippy.com/wkpancestry/wkpg105.htm

There is a very large GEDCOM available for download, but I don't plan to do that.

Two Mystery Men!

Photographed by D. B. Rugg,

 Main Street, Hiawatha, Kansas

Old pictures copied and enlarged.

J. M. MUNN,  PHOTOGRAPHER,

ATCHISON, KANSAS

SOURCE: Personal family collection.

I'm thinking that these young men may be members of the MILLER family.

Comparing them to William, they have the same slim face and straight hair. 

The back (verso) of the photographs became a work of art in its own right. At first they were blank and then had a very small imprint of the photographer's name. Finally, the artwork became worthy of collection for that alone. Although these small photographs were know as carte de visite (visiting cards) they were an excellent way for the photographers to advertise their service.

These photographs/business cards became so popular, that trading them with family and friends became know as "carte mania."

I have a poem about the CDV albums and collecting and sharing the photographs. I'll have to dig it out.

 

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ The Wedding

Sweet antique wedding photograph.

Original tintype 2 1/2" x 4" - circa 1865-1875.

In the original paper frame.

Original tintype 2" x 3 1/4" - circa 1865-1875. 

Without original paper frame.

This is the same tintype from my Grandmother's carte de visite family album.

In order to lighten and brighten it, I removed it from the paper frame that was already torn in the back. In the brighter photograph, it is easier to see the bride's lovely little dark and light pink  bouquet. She also has something that looks like pink lace at her neck. With  magnificaton, I can also see a light blush on her cheeks and ever so little on the groom's.

Of the 19 tintypes in the CDV album, this is the only one which has been highlighted with colour. Unfortunately, there were no names in this little album.

NOTE: In the bottom photo I edited it  using Picnik.com. 

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ Antique Carte de Visite Album ~ 1860 - 1900

This antique carte de visite album was given to my parents by my father's family. It measures 4" wide x 5 1/2" long x 1 1/2" thick. The edges are a shiney gold and it has a metal clasp to secure it. The front of it is slightly stained along the top edge of the front cover and the embossing is slightly damaged. It looks like moisture damage. However, there is no evidence of damage to the inside. The photographs on the inside arein very good condition.

As I mentioned before, there are 19 tintype photographs and 9 carte de visite card-stock photographs. Unfortunately not a single name was included. Possible families are GATES, HULL, ROOT, MILLER OR BEEGHLY.

Yes, this is my Album.

But learn ere you look,

That all are expected

To add to my Book.

You are welcome to quiz it

The Penalty is,

That you add your own Portrait

For others to quiz.

As this poem reveals, family and friends were expected to join in and exchange their carte de visite photographs. This hobby was so popular at the time, it was know as "carte mania."

The first process for photography was invented in Germany in 1839 and is credited to Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre. The process bears his name daguerreotype. This process used glass plates.

About fifteen years later the next advancement  in the process was made in France in 1853. It was patented in the United States in 1856. First called melainotype, and then ferrotype, in the United Kingdom, and finally became commonly known as the tintype.  There were special multi-lens cameras manufactured to product the tintype. Portrait photography became very popular during the Civil War.

Later a process was invented in France for producing the photographs on cardstock. The paper/cardstock photographs evolved into the carte de visite photographs. The backside of the first photographs were blank. However, it didn't take long for the photographers to realize the backside was the perfect place for their logo. The earliest were stamped simply with the name of the portrait photographer. Then the backside became a work of art in itself, with some beautiful designs.

J. M. WINN

Photographer 

Negatives Preserved

No. 28 Union Block

Ottumwa, Iowa

A collection of antique  multi-lens cameras and tintypes can be found at Marcel Safier of Australia Use the links on his site to see all that he has available in his collection. An educational and interesting site. Worth a visit.

Madness Monday ~ Somber faces. Who are you and what stories could you tell?!

My Mother was given a small photo album in the late 1960's by my Father's family. It's like a small bible, 4" x 5 1/2" x 1 1/2". She carefully removed each photo, only to find that none of them had names on them. How disappointing.

A few years ago I started to do some research and found that it is a "carte-de-visite" album. These were popular in the 1860's and even up to the late 1890's. They were so popular that for a period of time "carte mania" was all the rage!

Tintypes apparently were fairly easy and quick to produce. They were also affordable for most people to buy. They were usually made in sheets of 12 and then cut up with tin snips.

Because they were so durable, the soldiers during the Civil War could tuck them in a bible or carry them in a pocket without damaging them. They could also be cut quite small to be put into lockets and other jewellery.

So I have 28 antique photographs. Nineteen are tintypes (5 without paper frames and 14 with paper frames). Nine are  carte-de-visite (6 have the photographers logo stamped on the backside).

I've put these two together based on the stairway in the background. It looks like the stairway is actually a mural on the wall. Perhaps this boy and young man are brothers. They look a little alike. Don't you think?

Notice that the boy is holding a hat in his right hand. I've read that the photographer would have some clothes (hats and jackets) to lend customers for their portrait. It must have been exciting at that time to have a photo taken.

Now these antique tintypes would be about 150 years old. Amazing!

One of the sites I found a couple of years ago was Robert Vaughan's "Victorian and Edwardian Photographs"  It provides detailed  information an "how to identify" old photographs. An extensive  collection of his personal photographs and he provides excellent educational information.

It's well worth a visit.