Cabinet Card of a Young Lady

This cabinet card is identified as coming from the studio of “Smith, East Saginaw, Michigan.” According to David Tinder’s Directory of Early Michigan Photographers, a William L. Smith ran a successful photography studio in East Saginaw from 1883 to 1890. Thereafter, the address was simply “Saginaw.” His services included copying photos, which is probably what happened with this cabinet card because the young woman’s ensemble dates from the late 1860s. She wears a light-colored dress whose silhouette has fullness toward the back, a characteristic of the years right before the bustle silhouette arrived. It is obvious that she is wearing a corset. The fingerless gloves and fan accessorize her outfit.

Cabinet card

References

Tinder, David. V. Directory of Early Michigan Photographers. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan. https://clements.umich.edu/files/tinder_directory.pdf