The old photograph came to us from the daughter of a former owner of this house. She had it in a closet but she knew the photograph belonged with us as the present owners of the house because it had been found in our attic years ago.
It was wrapped up loosely.
Here are some close ups.
Look at all those buttons and cinched waist.
Why is this one not looking at the camera? Is that a cameo at her neck? A wristwatch?
Dan thought the one on the left and the one standing were twins. I said sisters which I think applied to four of them
This one is the mother. She has on a wedding band and also a wrist watch.
A protective hand is on this daughter who is gripping the chair. Her eyes don't look quite like the others and I wondered if she was sight impaired?
The photo was not taken in this house. More than likely in a studio but there is no writing anywhere on the front or back to identify these 5 women. Dan scanned the photo and did a web search. There are lots of similar photos but no one has ever put this one on the web identifying them. Did they live in this house at some time? It would have been very crowded for them with only one bedroom then.
Then there is this cat at the bottom of the photo. Ceramic or real?
The frame is interesting too. At first I thought it was inlaid but it's carved with paint. I don't know if it dates to the same time or not.
As for dating the photo by the dress it's late 1800's to early 1900s but not past 1910 when dresses got looser and tight corsets were going out of style. Is there a fashion history expert out there who can date these better?
Addendum: John of Stargoose in his comment below suggested that the studio name would be written on the back of the photo. Unfortunately the photo is glued to that mat board and to remove it would likely damage the photo. His other comments are very helpful in dating and understanding this photo.
...I'm not a fashion history expert, I just worn jeans and t shirts. But those dresses don't look comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI've always been fascinated by early portrait photography. That's certainly a studio portrait: that's the way people had their photos taken in those days. Exposure times took several seconds and chairs were often used to help people to stand still. They also had people hold things to keep their hands still. The cat is almost certainly not real for the same reasons. Books were used to suggest that the person reading them was well-educated. Wrist watches were often worn by women at this time to suggest their wealth; men had pocket watches. Those dresses, with their figure-hugging shape, are what was known as "Princess-line" and were inspired by Alexandra of Denmark, wife of the Prince of Wales. The most likely date is somewhere around the 1880s and the hairstyles are about right for that period. (I don't know all this off the top of my head but I've worked it out from some books I own about the history of photography).
ReplyDeletePS The studio's name is usually written on the back of the photo.
ReplyDeleteAs our blogger friend, Alan of "Sepia Saturday" would say, (he posts unknown portraits often) these were some people, somewhere, sometime! I agree with John's guess as to the period, or even a bit earlier perhaps. That two girls had exactly the same dresses would move me to also assume they were twins, while the others were sisters. Mom is certainly more protective of the youngest with the eyes caught in strange light.
ReplyDeleteYou are good at noticing the detail, especially of the mother who very clearly displays her watch and ring.
ReplyDeleteWonderful picture!
ReplyDeleteCathy
Fascinating. I especially enjoyed the information posted here by blog friends.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a cool piece of history!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting photo and even nicer that it was given to you to be with the house. Your comments on the women in the photo were interesting to read as were John's. My curiosity would be as to why there was not male figure in the photo, perhaps the husband had died and these were his widow and daughters? It does look like a cameo of brooch that the one woman is wearing and 2 may have been twins as their dress is nearly the same, but then all the dresses are of a similar style.I hope you will be able to find out more information in the future and share it here, Marcia.
ReplyDeleteWhat a very interesting photo! Sooo many buttons! It must have taken forever to get dressed. But then, those must have been their formal clothing. They couldn't possibly dress like that everyday.
ReplyDelete