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.
