Who Were They?

Lost and forgotten photos from the past

  Today from the Leather CdV Album is a photograph of a woman made between August 1864 – August 1866. The tax stamp in this case has been cancelled by pencil marks across Washington’s face. The lady is finely dressed and my costumer friends will notice how the tops of her sleeves are trimmed. First, …

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    Here’s a second photograph from the famous Bachrach studio in Baltimore, and a second photograph with some amazing hair. This young woman has obviously long, naturally curly hair which has been dressed to show off everything it can do. In the back, it has been brushed and shows the length. On top, we …

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    Next in the Leather CdV Album is an earlier 1860s photograph of a woman in early middle age. The image is rather typical of the time: smallish image of just the face and neck centered on the mount. The back of the card reveals a tax stamp, which dates the photo to between …

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This particular hairstyle mystifies me. I can only call it a “Lady Trump” because it looks so much like a giant comb over! Somehow, it also reminds me of the bohemian looking hairstyles of the early actresses of the 1910s, with lots of character in their tresses. She has at least three sausage curls hanging …

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  From spot #13 in the Leather CdV Album we feature a very decorated lady! Her hair is arranged in a double crown of braids with a side curl. Her dress is covered with an item that I can only describe as a fischu, although I don’t think it is one. The item can best …

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