J. K. Emmet, Vaudevillian actor
27 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in 1900s, Cabinet Card, Children, Identified, Men, Sepia Saturday, Unknown Tags: antique theater photo, j. k. emmet, vaudeville photograph, yodeling
Son of a famous yodeler
Looking through my photos for a theater themed photograph, I came across this one, a mystery cabinet card labeled J. K. Emmet. The slightest amount of research identified J. K. Emmet as a popular vaudevillian actor from the 1890s through the 1910s, with a more famous father Fritz and a less famous son J. K. Jr. How could I pass this up? Fritz Emmet was a famous yodeler, cited in numerous magazine articles for his songs and acting in the 1890s. J. K. was also well known, but apparently not quite as well as Fritz, as he was noted in 1912 to have sung some of his father’s yodeling songs during a one-act show entitled A South Dakota Divorce. The few references to J. K. Jr really only are that his father was more famous than he.
The photograph itself is quite interesting, to say the least. J. K. Emmet appears to be wearing wooden shoes and leather (?) gaiters of some type, a puffed sleeve blouse and possibly even bib overalls, all while strumming the guitar and looking fondly upon the young child in the center of the photo. Yes, I did compare the profile of the man to two known photos of J. K. Emmet and by the nose, it’s him. The set they are on is quite cluttered and messy, with a picnic basket, hanging coats in the background and some sort of odd mess to the left. Could this be depicting the stage of their show, whatever it may have been? Surely it was Dutch themed, which would explain the shoes, but beyond that, I have no clue what is going on there. However, it was popular at the time to stage a vignette from a current musical show and sell the photographs, much like modern trading cards. This particular card is fairly rough, and at some point had been glued into something, maybe a photo album or frame, as there is a large splotch on the back. No photographer was named. The photo is on loan from my friend Pauline and it was found among numerous other unidentified family photographs from the 19th century. Someone in her family history liked vaudeville actor J. K. Emmet, apparently.
How I would love to attend a musicale that featured yodeling! For more theater themed photos and probably some interesting stories, click the link below to Sepia Saturday!
For the love of the theater, click it!
The gleaming camera logo
27 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in 1870s, CdV, J. R. Fisher, Men Tags: antique photo, camera, cherub, logo, Victorian photo, vintage photo
Just the other day I posted a few photos of young men and reader Mike Brubaker pointed out the “gleaming camera” used in the backmark. Here again is a gleaming camera plus an added cherub on the backmark for J. R. Fisher of Fremont, PA. Notice that the backmark says “Yours truly, J. R. Fisher…” I have never seen that, as though the photographer has sent the CdV himself as a note or as the proverbial visiting card. I believe this particular photo can be dated to the 1870s due to the rounded corners and oval masking of the photo.
Two by Harrington
24 Jan 2012 3 Comments
in 1870s, 1880s, CdV, Harrington's New Gallery, Men Tags: antique photographs, young men in old photos
Today I will show you two CdVs of young men, both taken by Harrington, both at his new gallery.
Both images date from the 1870s or 80s. I have several photographs made by Harrington that I will gradually post for your examination. Unfortunately all my resource sites have no information on this photographer! How is that even possible when I have so many photos? Regardless, it appears that the photographer relocated from *somewhere* to his new gallery with improved French light on the ground floor, just one door south of Barnett’s Dental Rooms. Imagine getting an advertisement today noting the location of another business in its direction! My guess is that the lower photograph was made before the cards for the upper photograph came in, necessitating the stamp.
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