This CdV is of a tweenaged girl with a lovely wide lace-edged collar. I’d date this photo to about 1885, but it’s just a guess. There’s no photographer information on the back of the card. Her hair is pretty obviously curly as you can see the waves in it, even though it’s pulled away from her face in a more adult style.
I wonder who she was.
This is another mid-1860s young girl and I always wonder what are people thinking when they are posing for their portrait. I know what I think about – getting it over with!
This is an 1860’s vintage CdV that I call Grumpy Girl. She does not look happy to be having her likeness made at all! On the very right edge of the photo, you can just see the elbow and leg of the adult who was with her. Considering you can see both the elbow and the leg in the same area, it is likely a man, as a woman’s skirt would have been quite wide in this era. This girl’s expression makes you wonder if it was close to nap time.
This is another Civil War era photo. Even though the corners were cut – most likely to fit into a frame or album – we can tell by the borders of the photo. Plus her clothing just screams Civil War era! First, she has a very full skirt with minimal embellishment or trim, except the very tedious to make pleated trim. Next, you can tell by her bodice shape that she is wearing a corset, and in this period, the look was to flatten the body so that it sort of inserted into the top of the bell shaped skirt. Third, the sleeves of her bodice attach about 2 inches below the natural shoulder and feature detailed trimming at the mid upper arm. This was a very popular technique to draw the eyes wide and give the impression of a wide or round upper body. The sleeves appear to be coat sleeves with a small undersleeve peeking out at the cuff. The cuffs also are quite decorated. On to the collar. It is fairly plain, in a round shape, with a bow tie. This is a very common collar treatment. Finally, her hair. She has a nice round face, with the hair parted in the middle and drawn back over her ears, and gathered in the back in some dressing. She may have on a headband or ribbon. This is a very lovely lady of the mid 1860s.
This image is a carte de visite or CdV. The girl pictured has a lovely round face and an uncertain expression on her face, and she looks an awful lot like my own 3-year-old daughter. I’d guess this child is a little bit younger because she still has so much baby fat in her face. We can safely date the picture from 1864-1869 because 1) the square corners of the card and 2) the border style. According to Photo Tree these factors were popular in the mid to late 1860s. Because I will be at a Civil War reenactment this weekend, I thought this an appropriate image to feature.
I do wonder who this beautiful girl was.
Who Were They? 