These two women have similarly styled dresses, which leads me to believe they may be sisters or another close relative.
Side portrait of a lovely lady
Here we see a dress that looks to have been made of velvet or other napped fabric. The bodice is embellished with trims and buttons, many details to look at here. Her hair is dressed into an arrangement, then appears to be covered with a net and decorative headband. It reminds me of the Renaissance style of hair covering called a hood, but really only in a tangential way. A hood has a lot more going on with it than we see above.
A younger sister perhaps?
The jawlines on these two ladies look very similar, plus with the nicely made clothing and also both wearing earrings, I am thinking more that these are sisters.
This page was one of the reasons I so wanted to own this little gem album. I just love the two men pictured. There is so much to look at!
A couple of pals
Or perhaps they were brothers, I don’t know. I love the clothing layers, the hats, the pipe in the one fellow’s mouth. Both are wearing three piece suits of clothing, which was much more common way back when. The coat, vest, shirt, tie and slacks didn’t always have to coordinate either. The man on the left is wearing a type of hat I think is called a campaign or slouch hat. It looks a bit like a fedora or a homburg, all popular styles of hats in the later part of the century. The hat was made of wool and could be shaped to the wearer’s liking. The man on the right in the picture above is wearing a wheel cap, which I believe evolved out of or at the same time as the forage cap.
Hats of course were once a required accessory for ladies and gentlemen going out of doors. Originally, hats were designed for warmth and comfort, but humans being fickle, we quickly began designing them for style and ceremony as well. 19th century hats ran the gamut, from the simple newsboy to the formal silk top hat, and everywhere in between. Some hats were ceremonial and worn only for special occasions, other hats were commonplace and used for every day wear. It was a very personal choice which hat to purchase. These two fellows chose two very different, but very perfect hat styles.
Lovely ringlets
Juxtaposed with the sort of fraternity boy looking pair is this lovely lady. She has a strong jaw, but not hard. Her hair is parted in the center, drawn back into an arrangement, and then features long ringlets dangling from both sides. This was a very popular hair style in the 1870s. The curls were often times separate items that could be attached once the bulk of the hair was made into a chignon. Ladies magazines advertised these and women also could make them at home of their own hair. I have made ringlets like this and they are very delicate once formed, but oh so beautiful and softening to the face. We cannot overlook her bodice though. She has a small white banded collar beneath the bodice neckline, both fastened together with a very large brooch. Below the brooch you can see the tip of a decorative panel in the bodice, style I have seen on dresses from the 1860s through the 1880s.
I believe photographs were used sometimes on calling cards as a way to impress the young lady of interest to a young man. These two fellows dressed nicely for their images to be made, I suppose so they could share the images and thereby be certain Miss Susie Jones would remember them. Or so I like to think.
A half portrait
Up first, Mr Left sat for a half portrait, which is essentially half his body. A full portrait would obviously be his whole body, a bust shows the shoulders up. The seated pose allowed the subject to project an official air, or perhaps something more distinguished if that was desired. Mr Left rested his elbow on the chair back and that is the white patch you see in his underarm area. It is a fine portrait and hopefully helped with the heart of his lady love.
Oh, Mr Right!
While he looks a bit young and wet behind the ears, Mr Right surely impressed the ladies with his pinkened cheeks and fine brow. His hair looks to have been slightly curly and oiled into obedience. While his face is solemn for the portrait, it looks as though he could quickly smile and charm even the most stern spinster.
A soft and gentle up-do and a stern looking neighbor
There is no telling who put these photos into the album and what their thinking was at the time. Did they organize the photos to show relationships or friendships? Were they just putting them in to get a handle on all the tiny photos? Who knows. These two women look like polar opposites, if you ask me! One is soft and round with a floral hair piece, the other angular and stern with a high necked dress. I like to imagine they were both lovely people under the skin.
Beautiful dreamer
This young woman looks to have an off-the-shoulder dress – perhaps a ball gown – because we can see her full neck and part of the décolletage . Her hair has been pulled back in a soft fashion, and features a floral accent at her center part. You can just see something like a ribbon trailing down the back of her hair and down her back. This could have been an engagement photo, a coming-out photo for a debutante, or other special occasion.
Don’t mess with Texas… just kidding
Even though this photo makes the subject look stern, she has an unlined brow and no wrinkles, so she couldn’t have been described as “pinched” by her friends. She also probably has fine hair that just collapses on itself when pulled back into a bun. Mine does. Her band collar is white against a colored dress, with large contrasting buttons and a brooch. So, while she gives the appearance of being someone you don’t want to mess with, I bet she was incredibly nice and a great friend.
In an unidentified album I sometimes give the photo subjects names, just for my own entertainment. I name the women traditional names, like Susana and Jane, Martha and Mary. Men I have fun with because men’s traditional names are so very different from our modern names. Herman, Harold, Josephus, Isaiah, Eustace….all great, traditional names. All difficult for a modern boy to grow up with!
Young Susan
This young woman I have named Susan. She has a beautiful bodice with trim applied in a chevron pattern across the bust. This was fashionable and reflects the trends at the time. Many women decorated their dresses with trim in the bosom area to draw attention. I’m guessing this might be right after the war based on her hairstyle, which appears to be wider toward the top of the head rather than along the jawline. Her cheeks were tinted by the photographer.
Not so plane Jane
Jane here has a lovely, serene look to her face, but I bet she could bust out in a laugh quickly. She almost appears to be smirking. She has a cleft in her chin. Her hair is pulled back in an arrangement on the back of her head and bound with a ribbon, which may have been decorative rather than functional. Her collar appears to be a fold over collar and is fastened with a brooch. I’m going to say her dress was green, just because. :-)
Who Were They? 