« I've Been Posing On The Railroad ... »

... not "all the livelong day" surely!

The cabinet card, imprinted "Boston Railroad Photo Car", which I took to mean a passenger car outfitted with a studio, was quickly confirmed by a Google search: photo cars with large glass windows, studio, darkroom, display gallery and living quarters were used on southwestern transcontinental routes from 1884 to 1900; the Boston Railroad Photo Car toured the southwest to California in 1891, so this young girl could have lived anywhere along the route. There were four cameramen on staff and the demand for portraits was reported to be heavy in those thinly populated states  – the claim was for more than 20,000 negatives! Certainly the negatives were developed en route, but were the prints delivered while the car was on location or were they mailed to the client at a later date?

She poses in an up-to-date dress of plaid wool adorned with ribbons and bows that may have been a personal addition; her straw hat has a fancy woven brim and more typical bows. The photos of young girls of this age have a directness and guilelessness that represents a time in life that is so brief.

The original is shiny albumen, so faded that it is almost ghostly, glued to a thin 4.5 " x 6.5" card with deckled edges, printed rather than embossed, all marks of relatively low cost to the sitter. No one took the time to write her name on it, but we do know the date!

The battered faux masonry prop could stand some repairs it will probably not receive.