Mrs R M Brown of Kansas

This is a special page for a cabinet card by a very interesting photographer from the collection of
rfinch on Ancestry.com

Photographer: Brown
Belleville, Kansas
From the collection of
rfinch on Ancestry.com

The Belleville (KS) Telegram carries several items about Dr Brown and Mrs R M Brown documenting their stay in that town in 1897 to 1899.

One item, 17 Jun 1897, mentions Dr and Mrs Brown and daughter proposing to locate in Belleville, KS, from Alma, NE.

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 17 Sep 1897

The following month, there was this very descriptive item in the same newspaper.

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 08 Oct 1897

In December there is this descriptive item in a feature about new businesses in Belleview.

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 10 Dec 1897

Following this, over 70 small ads and items were found in the Belleville (KS) Telescope between the dates of 08 Oct 1897 and 19 May 1899. Examples:

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 10 Dec 1897

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 17 Dec 1897

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 04 Feb 1898

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 18 Feb 1898

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 15 Apr 1898

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 06 May 1898

Continued in the next row

In 1999 this item appeared:

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 21 Apr 1899

On 02 Jun 1899, there appears a short item in the Belleville (KS) Telegram which seems to indicate that Jun 23 and 24 will be customer’s last chance to pick up their orders.

Belleville (KS) Telescope - 22 Jun 1899

Unfortunately nothing has been found so far that documents their travels before or after their stay in Belleville, KS.

Further leads have been inconclusive owing to the fact that there were at least three doctors named Brown in the area. Though there are mentions in area newspapers of the activities of Dr Brown, there is nothing to indicate that it is the same Dr Brown that resided in Belleville, KS, in 1897 to 1899.

It is also unclear whether the initials "R M" belong to Mrs Brown or her husband. Some ads end with “Mrs R M Brown” and others with “R M Brown”

It is fairly conclusive however that the cabinet card here was finished between Oct of 1897 and June of 1899.

A few additional ways to date cabinet cards

Card stock
1866–1880: square, lightweight mount
1880–1890: square, heavy weight card stock
1890s: scalloped edges

Card colors
1866–1880:
thin, light weight card stock in white, off white or light cream; white and light colours were used in later years, but generally on heavier card stock

1880–1890:
different colors for face and back of mounts

1882–1888:
matte-finish front, with a creamy-yellow, glossy back

(From WIki)

Borders
1866–1880: red or gold rules, single and double lines
1884–1885: wide gold borders
1885–1892: gold beveled edges
1889–1896: rounded corner rule of single line
1890s on: Embossed borders and/or lettering

(From Wiki)



For more information on dating Cabinet Cards see PHOTOTREE

Lettering
1866–1879 Photographer name and address often printed small and neatly just below the image, and/or studio name printed small on back.

1880s on: Large, ornate text for photographer name and address, especially in cursive style. Studio name often takes up the entire back of the card.

Late 1880s–90s Gold text on black card stock

1890s on: embossed studio name or other embossed designs

(From Wiki)

Not the one you were looking for? Here's the photographer's INDEX by name. All the Cabinet Card photographers of the 19th century found in LOST GALLERY are listed there.

Cabinet cards typically have the photographer’s name and address printed on the bottom edge or the reverse of the card. 19th century photographers moved around a lot. The basic idea here is to find WHEN a photographer was WHERE, which will help date an unidentified CABINET CARD from your family album.

This is a work always in progress.

Aditional information and New examples are always welcome. Any additional information will help narrow the time that these precious antiques were made.

All submissions should be free of glare and shadows.
Do not crop.
Leave a border around each card. The edges are sometimes an important clue to the age of the card.
Email to the address found in the profile at the bottom of this page.

Some examples on this page have been enhanced or restored for clarity and presentation here.

This page is free for educational and research purposes only but, as always, if the original owner of any of these examples objects to the use on this page, just let me know and they will be immediately removed.