A two-horse carriage stands on a cobbled street before M. C. Fechheimer & Co.’s storefront. Adults and children occupy the open vehicle, with a driver seated high at the front. Its large spoked wheels, harness, lamp and passenger compartment remain clearly visible against the shopfronts behind.
The principal sign reads “M.C.Fechheimer & Co.” with “230” at both ends. A cropped sign at the upper-left edge retains the faint fragment “ALL”. Bottles line the glazed doors beneath panels lettered “SHERRY / WINE”, “Champagne”, “CATAWBA / WINE” and “PORT / WINE”. Two male figures stand beside the entrance. At the neighboring shop, two women in full skirts stand beneath an awning lettered “O. HESSELBACHER.”; a small window sign reads “[?] / Butter / CRACKERS”. A handcart and cask occupy the pavement.
This horizontal carte de visite bears an ornamental reverse backmark reading “CADWALLADER BRO'S / Art Place, / 223 Jefferson Avenue, / DETROIT.” It credits the Detroit firm identified in the owner’s reviewed records. The address is the photographer’s studio address, not an address assigned to the photographed storefront.
The owner’s records also cite a sibling card showing a carriage before M. C. Fechheimer & Co. and attributed to Cadwallader Bro’s. The passengers and bystanders are not identified, and the card bears no date.
- Medium
- CDV
- Subject
- Children, Occupational, Outdoor Scene
- Dimensions
- 3.98 × 2.45 in (101.1 × 62.3 mm)
- Condition
- Toned mount with light edge rubbing and softened corners; reverse with scattered foxing and light surface soiling, including a prominent brown spot toward the upper left and a small dark mark near that corner, as scanned.
- Catalogue no.
- MCDV923
Catalogue details
Location
M. C. Fechheimer wholesale wines and liquors, 230–232 Jefferson Avenue, Detroit · Detroit, Michigan, United States
Photographed subject · Street / district · 80% confidence
The card's sign reads "M.C.Fechheimer & Co." with "230" at both ends, and the door panels advertise sherry, Catawba, port wine and champagne. The 1874–75 and 1875–76 Detroit directories list Fechheimer & Workum (Morris C. Fechheimer), wholesale wines and liquors, at 230 and 232 Jefferson Ave. Cadwallader Bros. (the backmark) worked on the same street, at 223 Jefferson. This places the photographed building in Detroit. The coordinates mark the old pre-1921 numbering block on lower Jefferson near Bates Street, not a surveyed building footprint.
Source: Storefront sign on the card + Detroit city directories 1874–75 and 1875–76
