Carte-de-Viste of the American Artist and Illustrator Charles Dana Gibson at his easel

New York: Pach Bros., 935 B'way, 1900. Ephemera no binding. Very good. Card measures 8 11/16" x 10 ¼"; mounted photograph is 7 ¼" x 9 3/8"; bottom right card corner chipped, light creasing across bottom of photograph and two light vertical scratches, spotting to rear of card; very good. Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944) was best known as the author of the Gibson Girl in the late 19th and at the start of the 20th century. The drawings of these beautiful, active, and seemingly independent women first graced the pages of popular magazines such as Life Magazine, Collier's, Scribner's, and Harper's Weekly, and later were published as collections in books. The photograph of the author and artist is taken in a sitting room setting, with two long couches in the background flanking a fireplace. Long decorative draperies have been pulled across the windows, probably to block the glare from outside lighting. The artist sits at an adjustable drawing table with a smaller table holding small bottles of ink and brushes at his elbow. Not smiling, he gazes calmly at the camera with one hand lightly resting on his drawing board. Balding in his later life, here he retains a full head of hair.