For Ruggles I have several Cartes De Visitas (calling-card size) with
rubber-stamped information on the back that says:
W. H. Ruggles
WATCHMAKER AND ARTIST
Vevay, Indiana
Watches, clocks, and Jewelry
repaired and warranted.
Pictures taken at Cincinnati
Prices. Copying done to order.
and I have several with printed backs, which say:
Photograpphed by
William H. Ruuggles
Vevay, IND.
Dealer in Watches, Clocks, Jewelry,
perfumery and fancy articles.
Watches, Clocks, Jewelry repaired.
Additional copies can be had at any time.
One with a rubber-stamped back is hand-dated March 12, 1864, but it does
not have a tax stamp on it. And this one is identical to another small
photograph except that it is in an elaborate oval design around the subject.
One of these with the printed back is hand-dated May 12, 1866, but it also
has a 1 and 2 cent stamp on it, which I always understood indicated a
certain period during the civil war.
So I might theorize that Ruggles went from using a rubber stamp to a
printed back between 1864 and 1866, and the lack of later pictures might
indicate that he left the area or got out of the business. But that
doesn't explain why there are stamps on the 1866 photograph.
Bill Davis
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* William Albert Davis * wmadavis(a)kih.net * Box 337 * Ghent * KY * 41045 *
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