Complete strangers would accost us on the street to exclaim over our big-eyed baby boy, and one of my photos of him won first place in a contest, but the baby in this cabinet photo from November, 1896, has to get a prize for "most beautiful baby" (in my humble opinion).
This photo of sister and brother has lived a hard life in spite of someone caring enough to write names and ages and date on the back. We have no way of knowing if John H. Buyers, 11 months, became a handsome man, but I think Anna P. Buyers, 5 years, was on her way to being a beauty. It was taken by Rippel in Sunbury, PA.
This photo is engaging – not only for the attractive subjects, but the composition and exposure are superb.
A note of interest from someone who has restored and edited many images from the 19th and early 20 centuries: regardless of gender, age or station in life, shoes appear to have been very utilitarian items of clothing; no matter how exquisite the rest of the attire, or the obvious care taken to present an attractive appearance, shoes are nearly always sturdy affairs, scuffed, worn, and hardly ever showing much evidence of polishing in preparation for the visit to the studio. I assume that the dirty condition of most streets and walks, and the general pollution from heating and manufacturing sources, made keeping up shoes a lost cause. One rarely sees slippers or shoes of a delicate or dressy design in the photos of the times.