Tuesday Tidbits: A PICTURE’S WORTH: THE CABINET CARD

Charles Joice (Personal Family Collection)

Today, people take dozens of pictures a day, but back in the 1880s, a person was fortunate to have just one photograph of a loved one. I can’t help but feel that the value of a photograph has been diluted with the plethora of digital images, both ones we’ve taken and the deluge of them on the Internet.

In The Débutante’s Secret, a stranger watching Aunt Henny has a cabinet card he is often looking at. But what is a cabinet card? The term and general meaning of cabinet card has been in my little brain filed under “things I can use in my stories set in the late 1800s and on,” but I can’t remember specifically when I learned this information.

Photographs were first printed on paper from a negative in 1847. That’s a lot farther back than I realized.

Allen Calkin (Personal Family Collection)

When photography was beginning to gain popularity, cartes-de-visite (visting cards) were created in France in the 1850s, a smaller (2.5 x 4 inches) precursor to cabinet cards. Cabinet cards consisted of a thin-paper photograph (roughly 4 x 5.5 inches) mounted on a light-to-heavy-weight cardstock (roughly 3.5 x 6.5 inches). Where the cartes-de-visite were small and designed to give as calling cards or to give to a friend, cabinet cards by design were meant to sit upon a cabinet and could be viewed from across the room.

Agnes McGregor (Personal Family Collection)

Due to the photography process and difference in paper, earlier photographs and cabinet cards were the brownish sepia tone because of the albumen process used. Albumen is found in egg whites. This process was replaced by collodion, gelatin, and gelatin bromide processes, which generally created black and white photographs.

Cabinet cards were first introduced in 1863 in landscape format before they introduced portrait style. Though they were around in the 1870s, they rose to the height of their popularity in the 1880s and began to decline in the 1890s.

Harold Blakey (Personal Family Collection)

Over the decades, various weights and colors of cardstock were used to mount these photographic memories on. Light-weight card and light colors were more common in the early years (1866-1880), then heavier card and darker colors from 1880s on. Borders and lettering also changed from decade to decade. Some had one or two lines in red or gold and some were edged in one color or another. Often some sort of embossing framed the picture.

Vanity, too, was a consideration. From nearly the beginning, photographers employed artists to touch up negatives to hide facial imperfections before making prints. I suppose this was wise to keep customers happy if they were going to lay down a chunk of money. Besides, the photographer’s name was generally printed or embossed on the card so others could find them to have their portrait taken.

E. D. & Mary E. Shugart (Personal Family Collection)

For a time (early on), cabinet cards supplanted the photographic album that had become popular with the smaller cartes-de-visite. The cardstock used for cabinet cards was generally thicker than for the cartes-de-visite.

With the invention of the Brownie camera in 1900 and personal photography becoming popular, cabinet cards fell out of favor. The last ones were likely made in the 1930s, but they had been mostly gone since around 1920.

***All images of cabinet cards in this post are from my private family collection and may not be used elsewhere without written permission. I feel blessed to have these treasures.

Russel & Floyd Calkin 1903 (Personal Family Collection)

I love to see tons of pictures of my grand-babies, but I also value these single images of bygone relatives. I love the feel of a physical picture in my hands and print off photos just so I can hold them.

Do you prefer digital or physical copies of pictures?

August 5th I'll reveal the cover for The Lady's Mission, Quilting Circle 5.

THE QUILTING CIRCLE

Historical Romance Series

By Mary Davis

THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily the man she loves?

THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *2020 Selah Awards Finalist & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *2021 Selah Awards Winner& WRMA Finalist*– Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) –Complications arise when a fancy French lady, Geneviève, steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.

THE LADY’S MISSION (Book5) – Will Cordelia abandon her calling for love? (Releases October 5, 2022)

 

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Quilting Circle 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; The Widow’s Plight, The Daughter's Predicament, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

 Books2Read  Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_card
https://www.thoughtco.com/identifying-and-dating-cabinet-card-1422271
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/photographs/cabinet-cards
https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/find-out-when-a-photo-was-taken-identify-a-cabinet-card/
https://www.archivalmethods.com/blog/cabinet-cards-carte-de-visite/

GIRLS’ WEEKEND!

My sisters, mom, and I like to get together each year for a girls’ weekend or week. Due to the pandemic, we haven’t gotten together for the past few years. In June, we resumed getting together for my mom’s 84th birthday. We didn’t do a lot because of my mom’s bad back but had a great time.

Front row L-R: Kath, Mom, me. Back row: Deb

We stayed at my sister’s house. She cooked salmon for Mom’s birthday. It was delicious! We had my favorite birthday cake of choice—angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. (Mom’s favorite too.) However, I opted for raspberries. It was just as awesome! But the raspberries prompted a whole discussion with my nephew and niece on what are and aren’t true berries. Apparently, both strawberries and raspberries are NOT true berries. But blueberries, zucchinis, bananas, avocados, as well as most of the things we think of as “vegetables” are actually berries. I was so confused by the end. To me, strawberries and raspberries will always be berries.

Another thing we did was my sisters and I took a walk with my sister’s dog. We went through this wooded area along the river. It was gorgeous. All along the path were painted rocks. We think it was probably a class project for students at the end of the school year. I didn’t think to take any pictures and when my sister went back a few days later, they were all gone. We assume they put them day earlier in the day and retrieved them by the end of the day. They were cute. Some said “You Rock”, “Be Kind”, some had other words, others were pretty colors, while still others had pictures on them. They were fun to see.

We played ponytail canasta (a card game). But the most hilarious thing was giving my mom a perm. I roped my sisters into helping me wrap our mom’s hair in the rods so it would go faster, because Mom has a hard time sitting in a chair for long stretches. We laughed our way through it. Hen the next day, I cut Mom’s hair.

Being a crafty person, I brought a craft for each of us. I chose Diamond Art. They were on sale, so I picked up one each of us. I got a rose for my mom, a butterfly for my oldest sister, a white horse for my next oldest sister, and a brownish kitten for me.

I wasn’t sure if I would like this particular craft, assuming it would be too tedious. I really enjoyed it and found it addictive. When I finish this one, I want to do another. I’m going to look for a fairy, if they make one. We all loved working on them. I didn't finish working on mine while I was on vacation and haven't had the time or space to finish it since returning home. But I have been quite sick for a couple of weeks.

We went to a small farmers’ market where we got some awesome garlic bread. I bought myself this pretty purple ring.

It was a great get together. I’m so pleased we had been able to resume our tradition this year. We are already thinking about next year.

THE QUILTING CIRCLE

Historical Romance Series

By Mary Davis

THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily the man she loves?

THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *2020 Selah Awards Finalist & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *2021 Selah Awards Winner& WRMA Finalist*– Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) – Complications arise when a fancy French lady, Geneviève, steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.

THE LADY’S MISSION (Book5) – Will Cordelia abandon her calling for love? (Releases October 5, 2022)

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Quilting Circle 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; The Widow’s Plight, The Daughter's Predicament, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub

 

 

Tuesday Tidbits: COUSIN CONUNDRUM

1st cousin? 2nd cousin? 3rd cousin? Once, twice, thrice removed? Isn’t a cousin a cousin?

A lot of people find the whole 1st, 2nd, 3rd, once, twice, thrice, etc. confusing. My grandma explained it to me once and it made sense. So, now I hope to shed a little light on the cousin conundrum for all of you, the way I understand it. Pay attention, because there will be a quiz at the end of the post.

So who are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins? And why are some removed? Were they ousted from the family? No. It’s a way of tracking how closely family members are related.

For ease of reading and creating the diagrams, I have given each person two children, and beyond the initial couple, I haven’t listed anyone else’s spouse, though you can assume they all married. I have color coded it to hopefully make it easier as well.

In this diagram, Malcolm and Mildred are a married couple (all other pairs are siblings) who have two children, Valerie and Brandon. Valerie has two children, Phillip and Florence. Brandon has two children, Keith and Cinthia. Because they share grandparents but not parents, Phillip and Florence are 1st cousins to Keith and Cinthia. Pretty straightforward so far.

Lets drill down another level.

Phillip has two children, Ashley and Abraham.Florence has Janice and Gilbert. Keith has Sally and Henry. Cinthia has Patty and Rubin.

Because Phillip and Florence are siblings, their children are 1st cousins, and Keith’s and Cinthia’s children are 1st cousins.

BUT . . . Phillip’s and Florence’s children are 2nd cousins to Keith’s and Cinthia’s because their parents are already 1st cousins.

Now it’s starting to get confusing, but bare with me.

So if Florence and Keith are 1st cousins and their children are 2nd cousins, What is Florence to Keith’s children? Hint: She’s not an aunt. So to Florence, Keith’s children, Sally and Henry, are 1st cousins (because of their parents) once removed because one is a 1st cousin and the other is a child of a 1st cousin.

Let’s go down one more level.

Will and Opal are 1st cousins to Joe and Beth.
Rob and May are 1st cousins to Sam and Cara.
Even and Fran are 1st cousins to Tim and Lynn.
Ray and Helen are 1st cousins to Toby and Tina.

Will, Opal, Joe, and Beth are 2nd cousins to Rob, May, Sam, and Cara because their parents are 1st cousins.

Likewise, Even, Fran, Tim, and Lynn (though 1st cousins to each other) are 2nd cousins to Ray, Helen, Toby, and Tina (who are 1st cousins to each other).

Phillip and Keith are 1st cousins. Their children are 2nd cousins to each other. And their children’s children are 3rd cousins.

If Florence and Cinthia are 1st cousins, then Gilbert and Rubin are 2nd cousins, and Gilbert and Toby are 2nd cousins once removed, because Toby is the child of one of the 2nd cousin's.

So the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc is how many levels you need to go up to find a common relative. The removed portion is how many children you go down.

Quiz Time!

1. Are Cara and Even 2nd or 3rd cousins?

2. Though Florence and Lynn are 1st cousins, how many times removed are they?

3. In the comic at the beginning of this post, if the first person is Abraham , list three potential relatives the second one could be?

4. Who are Ashley and Sam to each other?

5. If May and Ray each had a child (Stephanie and Logan), who would Stephanie and Logan be to each other?

Bonus: If Logan had a child (Mindy) who would Mindy be to Stephanie?

***Answers are at the bottom of the post after my bio.

RECENT RELEASES!

THIMBLES AND THREADS: 4 Love Stories Are Quilted Into Broken Lives

Love Stitched into Four Women’s Lives
Enjoy four historical romances that celebrate the arts of sewing and quilting. When four women put needle and thread to fabric, will their talents lead to love? #thimblesandthreadscollection
Click HERE to order yours today.
FREE Preview
#thimblesandthreadscollection
“Bygones” by Mary Davis
Texas, 1884
Drawn to the new orphan boy in town, Tilly Rockford soon became the unfortunate victim of a lot of Orion Dunbar’s mischievous deeds in school. Can Tilly figure out how to truly forgive the one who made her childhood unbearable? Now she doesn’t even know she holds his heart. Can this deviant orphan-train boy turned man make up for the misdeeds of his youth and win Tilly’s heart before another man steals her away?

Other stories in this collection:
“The Bridal Shop” by Grace Hitchcock, “Mending Sarah’s Heart” by Suzanne Norquist, and “Binding Up Wounds” by Liz Tolsma


THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT (Book 2 in the Quilting Circle series)
FREE Preview
Can a patient love win her heart?

As Isabelle Atwood’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams. While making a quilt for her own hope chest, Isabelle’s half-sister becomes pregnant out of wedlock and Isabelle--always the unfavored daughter--becomes the family sacrifice to save face. Despite gaining the attention of a handsome rancher, her parents are pressuring her to marry a man of their choosing to rescue her sister’s reputation. A third suitor waits silently in the wings, hoping for his own chance at love. Isabelle ends up with three marriage proposals, but this only further confuses her decision.

A handsome rancher, a stranger, and an unseen suitor are all waiting for an answer.  Isabelle loves her sister, but will she really allow herself to be manipulated into a marriage without love? Will Isabelle capitulate and marry the man her parents wish her to, or will she rebel and marry the man they don’t approve of? Or will the man leaving her secret love poems sweep her off her feet?

The MISSADVENTURE BRIDES Collection

Love Is One of Life’s Greatest Adventures 
Seven daring damsels don’t let the norms of their eras hold them back. Along the way these women attract the attention of men who admire their bravery and determination, but will they let love grow out of the adventures?

Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure, a 1904 road-trip
Zola Calkin sets out on an adventure to be the first woman to drive across the country. Will the journalist tasked to report her presumed failure sabotage her efforts? Or will he steal her heart?

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection (January), Courting Her Amish Heart (March), The Widow’s Plight (July), Courting Her Secret Heart (September), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection (December), and Courting Her Prodigal Heart (January 2019). Coming in 2019, The Daughter's Predicament (May) and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads (July). She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub


ANSWER KEY:

1. 3rd cousins

2. Twice removed

3. Even, Fran, Tim, Lynn, Ray, Helen, Toby, and Tina would all fit the bill.

4. 1st cousin once removed

5. 4th cousins

Bonus: 4th cousins once removed

~How many did you get right?

Tuesday Tidbits: IT'S SNOWING! -- NOT

We are experiencing a mild winter. With each day that goes by, the chance of snow drops.  So in light of no white, I wanted to share these sock snowmen.

SNOWMAN CONVENTION!

Over Thanksgiving, I went to one of my sisters' home with other family members. I brought a fun, little craft project for people to do. Knowing a lot of my family members aren't as crafty as I am, I chose a no-sew, wintery project with lots of room for individual flare but easy enough for young and old alike.

A tall order, I assure you. But everyone who chose to make one, from ages 5 to 80, had a great time. There were a couple of complaints that there were too many choices. LOL!

Here are the pictures of the sock snowmen that were made. They turned out super cute!

My sister whose house we were at made these two.

Made by one of my grandnieces and her mommy, my niece.

Made by my mommy.

Made by me.

Made by my other niece.

Made by a grandniece.

Made by my other grandniece.

Made by my other niece.

Made by my other sister.

These are all simply adorable! I love them all!

I took ideas from several different YouTube videos. If you want to make some of these, type "sock snowmen" into the search window in YouTube and many variations will come up. Choose the one--or ones--that appeal to you most.

You all may have noticed I was absent from posting for a couple of weeks. That was due to moving, which I'm still in the process of. I'm still schlepping stuff from there to here. I wish I was done, but I'm not. I need to make room here before I can bring more stuff from there. Soon, I'll be done soon.


NEW!

The MISSADVENTURE BRIDES Collection

Love Is One of Life’s Greatest Adventures
Seven daring damsels don’t let the norms of their eras hold them back. Along the way these women attract the attention of men who admire their bravery and determination, but will they let love grow out of the adventures?

Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure, a 1904 road-trip
Zola Calkin sets out on an adventure to be the first woman to drive across the country. Will the journalist tasked to report her presumed failure sabotage her efforts? Or will he steal her heart?

Released December 1, 2018

COURTING HER PRODIGAL HEART

Mother-to-Be’s Amish Homecoming... Pregnant and alone, Dori Bontrager is sure her Amish kin won’t welcome her—or the child she’s carrying—into the community. And she’s determined that her return won’t be permanent. As soon as she finds work, she’ll leave again. But with her childhood friend Eli Hochstetler insisting she and her baby belong here, will Dori’s path lead back to the Englisher world…or into Eli’s arms?
(Book 3 in the Prodigal Daughters series released January 1, 2019)

RECENT!

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection (January), Courting Her Amish Heart (March), The Widow’s Plight (July), Courting Her Secret Heart (September), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection (December), and Courting Her Prodigal Heart (January 2019). She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub