Friday, October 2, 2026

George M Smith of Decatur, IL

photographer" Smith
Decatur, IL
example from contributor

George W Smith was working as a photographer with his own studio, from at least 1893 to sometime in 1899. City directory listings and newspaper items do not mention him before or after that.

Decatur Daily Review -
20 Mpr 1895
Decatur Herald and Review -
02 Dec 1897
Decatur Heerald and Review -
22 Apr 1899

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.

Old stuff here...

About Me

My photo
I am 4' 3", eat small insects, dress in the dark and take annual showers. phase65@yahoo.com