Absence/Presence: Scratched Out Negative Cabinet Card Obfuscating Figure mid-century candleholders Structurally in great shape

Structurally in great shape

the art of practicing letters was alive and well in 1929

12" long x 2 1/4" wide x 2 1/2" tall

Only recently did I learn--through my mother's sleuthing of pottery marks--that it was made by Michael Cohen

Absence/Presence: Scratched Out Negative Cabinet Card Obfuscating Figure mid-century candleholders Structurally in great shapeI've seen a number of old photos at this point with subjects cut out or scratched out or otherwise omitted, which are always interesting and invite the invention of a story but this cabinet card is just about my favorite I've ever seen, with the very committed scratching out of one of the six figures done on the negative before printing the positive. I love the intensive markmaking itself, and the way it first reads as if the very long hair of a woman