Ever wonder why people in the 19th-century didn’t smile for photographs? It is often believed that it was difficult for people to hold a smile for as long as it took to take a picture in photography’s early days. However, by the 1850s, a photo was able to be taken within ten seconds so this belief doesn’t hold
support. So what is the reason why people didn’t smile?
The real reason has to do with the culture at the time. Going to a professional photographer was expensive and most people could only afford to have one photo taken in a lifetime. That person did not want to be captured for all eternity with a smile. This was carried over from the days of painted portraits which was how fools and drunks were portrayed. People believed if they smiled for a photo, they would be preserved in time and remembered as a fool.
Abraham Lincoln was known as a humorous man by those who knew him. However, we think of him as always serious, as he never smiled
for photos. Same thing with Mark Twain, who wrote, “A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more
damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever.
Tag: cabinet card
Urlin & Pfeifer Photographers
This photograph was taken by Urlin & Pfeifer’s Photo Palace in Columbus, Ohio . John A. Pfeifer (1859-1932) was active in the Columbus area from 1882 to at least 1913. For much of that time, he was partners with George C. Urlin (1854-1942). Urlin was active in Columbus between 1873 and 1887. The reverse of this cabinet card offers an interesting back stamp that highlights some of the medals the pair received for their photographic work. The latest date noted on these medals is 1887, which reveals that this cabinet card was photographed sometime during or after 1887.
Photographer F.W.Guerin
This is one of my cabinet cards that was done by Photographer F. W. Guerin, 12th Street & Washington Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, circa 1890. 
Fitz William Guerin was born in Dublin, Ireland, March 17, 1846. His parents were both born in France. The family arrived in the United States in 1849. Guerin is listed as a photographer in St. Louis in both the 1880 and 1900 census. He served in Company A, 1st Missouri Light Artillery, during the Civil War. He married D Ella Bell, July 3, 1879.
He was an accomplished and successful photographer, He won a Medal at World’s Exposition, Paris, 1878; Highest Prize at the Photographic Convention, Cincinnati, 1884; Gold Medal at the World’s Exposition, New Orleans, 1885; Diamond Medal at the Photographic Convention, Chicago, 1887; Medal at the World’s Exposition, Paris, 1889.
A further search of the internet revealed that Fitz W. Guerin was regarded as one of the two best photographers to ever work in St. Louis. Most of his work was society portraiture. Guerin was also a winner of the Congressional Medal Of Honor, for bravery in combat, April 28 & 29, 1863. It was during the Civil War that he became interested in photography, having come in contact with battlefield photographers. He worked for several established photographers, learning the methods of each, prior to opening his own studio in 1876.
Mr Banks
I would have liked to have known the story behind this vintage cabinet card.
