The Nankin Township Historical Society

I have a fairly good memory so when I purchased this Wayne cabinet card and tracked it to the studio that William Corlett, first President of said village, owned with a man named Frank Hickok, I recalled that post by The Wayne Historical Society about two women photographers taking over for their dead husbands. Mamie Corlett was one of them and since the lone name appearing on this card is her married name we can assume that she had taken full charge of the studio by this time, Anna Hickok having sold her share in the venture in 1895. Now to identify the people.

Meet my pal W. H. Whitcomb. I just purchased him a few days ago. Although his photo was taken in Detroit by C. M. Hayes & Co. I don't think he lived in the city. He was possibly a pharmacist and possibly lived in Vicksburg, MI. Also, meet his ghost on the back of the card of the little girl from Moore's studio in Seattle. I know that I've shared such a "ghost" photo before but have never ascertained what the process is called. Oh yeah, little Irene was included in the package. She was from Iowa City and the photographer's name has been chopped off. It appears to have began with a C. Perhaps Clench?

I bought these first two carte de visites, among a lot of nine, from an eBay dealer who apparently purchased them from a Livonia or Plymouth, Michigan estate sale. They have a possible relation to a man named P. Galt Miller. Beyond that they remain unnamed. A short biography of Stephenson along with some example of his other work gleaned from across the internet will follow this next CDV.   "Jerome J. Stephenson was born in 1847 in Michigan. He married Betsy Frazier in 1871 and bought Edwin P. Baker’s studio in 1872. He operated his studio in Ypsilanti until he sold it to Frank P. Ford in 1903. At one point during his operations, for a limited time he offered a free cabinet card photograph to anyone over sixty years of age. It seems like he was a man before his time by being one of the pioneers of  'senior discounts'." "This cabinet card portrait features a young girl intensely staring at the camera in a studio in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The child is wearing a dark...