Lot 123

Comic Eating Scene Cabinet Card Chicago 1888

Estimate: $50 - $400

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
Cabinet card photograph showing two men in theatrical costume seated together while eating food from their hands in an exaggerated comic pose. One man wears a tall hat while the other wears a fez-style cap, and both lean toward one another while chewing and holding pieces of food, creating a staged humorous scene.

Props including trunks, baskets, a wrapped bundle, and picnic items appear in the foreground, suggesting a travel or picnic narrative typical of novelty studio photographs produced for entertainment or theatrical promotion. One trunk bears the marking “Booth & Barrett Co.”

The mount reads “Extra Finish – 1888 – Negatives Preserved – 182 Wabash Ave., Chicago.” A handwritten name appears below the image reading “McDonald.” The reverse carries the pencil note “Mrs. J. T. Force & Vroom.” Cabinet card photograph, Chicago studio, dated 1888.

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