These are two examples of the work of Elijah Beatty Core, (1853-1931) a children’s portrait specialist and former President of the Photographers Association of America (PAA) when they were taken in his New York City studio at 572 Fifth Ave. At left, a child dressed in a christening gown looks off-camera while at right, a young girl with large hair bow is shown in profile. Both images are believed to date to the first decade of the 20th Century.

Before arriving in New York City and setting up this studio as early as 1901, Core had been a long-time commercial photographer in the American Midwest.

His first business was in Lincoln, IL from 1874-1884, and he then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he maintained studios as E.B. Core & Co. at 56 W. Fifth, 1885-87; 58 W. Fifth, 1888-92; 206 W. Fourth, 1895-99.  (1.)

While running his Cincinnati concern, Core also shows up in the city directory of Newport, Kentucky, a short distance across the river from Cincinnati, where he also operated a studio at 111 Taylor in 1890 and identified as Core, Elijah B., photographer, 27 W 3rd in Newport in the 1892 directory. (2.)

The artist was around 20 years of age when he established the Lincoln, Illinois studio. Two years later, in 1876, he taught his younger brother, William Florance Core, the photographic trade.  In the 1886 volume, History of Logan County, Illinois, it states:

At the age of twenty he began to learn 
photography with his brother, Elijah Core, from whom he purchased his present gallery October 18, 1884, the “gallery having 
been established at Lincoln by his brother in 1874. (3.)

The Blogger site Cabinet Card Photographers lists Core as operating a studio at 572 Fifth Ave. from 1902-1906. This site also shows a variety of the photographers cabinet cards from his years in the midwest as well as newspaper articles including his obituary.

The Core studio was still active at 572 Fifth Ave. until at least September, 1913, as indicated by an advertisement in Abel’s Photographic Weekly, and may have been in business longer at the address.

1. Ohio Photographers: 1839-1900: by Diane VanSkiver Gagel: Carl Mautz Publishing: Nevada City, CA: 1998: p. 48
2. Langdon’s List of 19th & Early 20th Century Photographers: website accessed: March, 2012
3. City of Lincoln: in: History of Logan County, Illinois, Together with Sketches of Its Cities: Inter-State Publishing Co.: Chicago: 1886: p. 463