Who Were They?

Lost and forgotten photos from the past

Victorian Facial Hair is Amazing

Mrs Marvel

4 comments

July 19, 2011

According to one of my more favorite blogs Century of the Beard (dedicated to 19th century facial hair photographs and those who love them), this beard is called a “chin curtain.” Sounds good to me! This man from the Mearns Family Album is not identified. He appears to be younger middle age, perhaps late 30s, and has some extra padding on him, which was considered to be a sign of wealth! Of course a person who could afford to eat enough that he gains extra flesh, and also have his portrait featuring his gold watch fob and his chin curtain was certainly a man with some disposable income. We shall never know exactly who he was, unfortunately.

The photographer was F. Z. Fritz of Lambertville, NJ.

He’s a cute boy, for sure

Mrs Marvel

4 comments

July 16, 2011

This young man looks so handsome, similar to many young men in high school or college today. I am certain that all the girls in his town were taken with him! He isn’t identified unfortunately, so we don’t know if he is related to the Mearns, Clugstons or Fultons! Note that he is wearing a wide lapeled coat and vest, with an enormous knot in his necktie and pointed collars on his shirt. I believe these are the type of collars that were buttoned onto the shirt and then removed so the shirt could be laundered. The collars were heavily starched, although not as uncomfortable as those popular in the beginning of the 19th century. Those collars were very high and often the chin sat directly on the collar! Our photographer was Squyer (an interesting spelling) at 130 Genesee S, Auburn, NY.

Edwina Fulton

Mrs Marvel

5 comments

July 15, 2011

This lovely dark eyed girl is identified in the photo album as Edwina Fulton, niece of Emma Mearns. I looked through the entire book and there is not a photo of Emma Mearns and if there ever was one, it has long since gone with another family member. There are numerous open spaces in the album. However, there is a photo of an Emma Chandler. Iggy can you do anything with this? We shall see.

The photographer was A. K. P. Trask at 1210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA. I’d guess that Ms. Fulton is between 14-17 years of age in this photo.

Ms. Clugston, what is your name?

Mrs Marvel

4 comments

July 14, 2011

I am feeling pretty good tonight (thank you Vicodin) so I will try to put in a couple posts. This photo was identified on the back as Marnie or Mamie Clugston and dated January 20, 1890. In the album the person who went around identifying people wrote Fannie Clugston, Indiana. My guess is the name is truly Marnie / Mamie as it was probably written closer to the date of the photo. Her dress is very interesting. It appears to be composed of loosely rusched voile or other lightweight fabric, which was secured to an under layer. The neckband is probably 1 1/2″ high and shows off a lovely brooch and a strand of pearls above it. She may also be wearing earrings, I can’t quite tell.

The photo was made by Dot’s Studio in Columbia City, Indiana. We know that the fancy deckled edges of the card stock were available between 1886-1900 but were most popular in the 1890s. I cannot see the sleeves of the dress to give a better date, but I’ll go with the 1890s.

Side-back portrait

Mrs Marvel

6 comments

July 13, 2011

This is an interesting angle to achieve the profile view for a portrait. The subject is sitting with her back to the camera and facing to the right. Lucky for us, it shows off her hair arrangement, the back of which is often a mystery. It is pulled straight up to the top of her head and twisted into a bun, with the front bangs left free in a fringe. It appears she may have a fancy hair fork peeking out from the top. She has the puffed sleeves and high neckline that were popular in the 1890s, and also wears small earrings. Some have argued that “women of strong moral character” did not pierce their ears, but photographic evidence such as this and the vast selection of earrings available in mail order catalogs prove otherwise. This lady from the Mearns Family Album was photographed at Fritz’s in Lambertville, NJ.There is no date on the photograph, but following that the previous two were early 1890s, it’s a good suspicion this was taken around the same time.

Blog at WordPress.com.