Who Were They?

Lost and forgotten photos from the past

Now those are some sideburns!

Mrs Marvel

2 comments

December 3, 2010

When I became fully enthralled with this past time, I trolled internet auction sites looking for good deals on old photos. Much to my delight, one auction I won I call “the big batch from ebay” because there were over 100 CdVs, many of them incredibly interesting and all in fairly good condition. A large number of them featured men with facial hair, so this kicks off a series of photos of men and their whiskers.

These are some prodigious sideburns! The CdV is probably from 1862-1863 due to the use of two thin lines to border the image. The photographer was Bogardus, at 363 Broadway, New York. That address is now the corner of Broadway and Franklin and quite possibly houses a Quiznos sandwich shop. It’s on the southern portion of Manhattan Island, just west of Chinatown.

Edwardian young woman

Mrs Marvel

2 comments

December 2, 2010

Yet another treasure from Keepers! This photograph depicts a lovely young woman, dressed in Edwardian fashions. The Edwardian period (1900-1913) stylized the “S” shape of a woman’s body, making the bosom and bottom prominent and the waist a tiny curve between the two. While this young woman does not have the exaggerated bosom, her posture certainly supports the “S” shape of her corsetry. She is likely wearing several petticoats under her skirt as well to emphasize the feminine form. Edwardian fashions are sometimes called the last hurrah or the golden age of the feminine form, although there are many modern fashions that tittilate in different ways.

This photo is enclosed in a large matte, about 5″w x 7″h. The photographer was Johnson of Sioux City, IA.

Poufy hairdo

Mrs Marvel

6 comments

November 30, 2010

This photo is one of the batch I bought at Keepers, and I can see this lovey image framed and on someone’s piano, perhaps in the sunny conservatory. The hairstyle is the late 19th/early 20th century Gibson Girl style although the dress leads me to believe it’s a bit later, perhaps early teens. The girl looks quite young in the face; she’s wearing a bracelet on her left arm and possible a ring on her right ring finger. The photographer name is S. R. Cormish or Cornish of Columbus, Indiana.

UPDATED: Intense Guy found a reference from 1916 that JR Cornish had retired from the Cornish Brothers photography business and that the business would continue as SR Cornish. So we can safely date this photograph to 1916 or later.

Brother and sister

Mrs Marvel

8 comments

November 28, 2010

These adorable children are brother and sister. Their dresses coordinate. The boy, on the right, is younger than 5 years old, as that was the typical age boys went into short pants and no longer wore dresses. Modern conventions that boys not wear skirts or dresses are from the 20th century, although I don’t know what brought about that change.

Something else about these CdVs is very interesting. On the backs of both photos is a revenue stamp.

The revenue stamp was affixed by the photographer and then cancelled in some way, either with the photographer’s initials, an X, or hand stamp, and sometimes included the date. These stamps were cancelled only with a scribble, but we can date them as having been taken between 1864-1866. The stamps were part of the Federal Government’s fundraising efforts to pay for the Civil War. The 2 cent stamp was applied to photographs costing up to 25 cents.

But what is that behind them?

Mrs Marvel

8 comments

November 26, 2010

We all know that sitting for a photograph in the 19th century was a process that required patience. As we saw in yesterday’s photo of the little boys with body positioning devices behind them, sometimes it was very difficult to hold still for the required amount of time. Well here we have another method for keeping children still for the necessary length of time for a good exposure. This child is sitting on the lap of someone, probably their parent. You can see the cloth resting upon the nose and what I think were eyeglasses. It’s a bit disturbing, really.

Here’s another example, with a less thoughtful photographer who just draped the cloth over the person’s head! Even though the parent is holding the child, you can still see quite a lot of movement in the child’s hands. Below is the back of the CdV, showing the photographer was H. C. Call of Bangor, ME, and that this was Aunt Elosie or Elanie…presumably, this refers to the baby.

UPDATE: Thanks Iggy (Intense Guy) for clarifying the name is likely Elorie. The photographer HC Call was in business in the 1880s.

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