Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
This publicity photograph was taken at a summer camp in East Machias, Maine, called Camp Cunningham. The camp was organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to provide military-style training to students after their sophomore year. The decision to organize the camp was made after the United States entered World War I in April... Continue Reading →
The back of this photograph is signed in ink. Part of the name looks like Arivash, but I can't read the rest. There's also an inscription in pencil which is legible. The inscription: Москва 1925 год. Горькое время студенческое в материальном отношении и счастливое в моральном положении. Это не для всех, а только для... Continue Reading →
This postcard appears to show a group of international students at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Perhaps they were members of a club or student association? I was hoping to identify some of them, but so far no luck. A few are old enough to be graduate students, or possibly faculty... Continue Reading →
March is Women’s History Month in the United States, and few professions have historically been as closely associated with women as nursing. Update, April 11, 2019: I made a significant error in the initial version of this post. When I first searched online for information related to the Montefiore Hospital School of Nursing, the only... Continue Reading →
If you've already looked at the previous post, Jeanne Fouillon and her beautiful harp, then you've already seen the portrait above. When I put that post together last week, I hadn't yet tried to identify the dignified gentleman with the harp. It seemed like a long shot, but one that might be worth a try. ... Continue Reading →
March is Women's History Month in the United States, and I've been thinking about which photographs might best fit the theme. Any consideration of Women's History has to encompass a wide variety of fields, including domestic and family life, education, work outside the home, intellectual and creative achievement, and the social reform movements. All of... Continue Reading →
This postcard came from the estate of Hazel Alberts Peterson (1898-1989). The photo was taken in front of the Young Ladies' Hall at Seattle Seminary, a Free Methodist secondary school that was expanding at this time along with the city nearby. Hazel Alberts is the girl in white who is seated on the railing of... Continue Reading →
This postcard shows a group of Seattle Pacific College students on a hiking trip in the temperate rainforest near Seattle. The photo may not have been taken during the same trip as the photos in the two previous posts, but was likely taken within a year or two. The postcard came from the estate of... Continue Reading →
This postcard shows a group of Seattle Pacific College students on a hiking trip in the temperate rainforest near Seattle. The image was reproduced in the June 1914 school yearbook, The Cascade, in a feature titled "Jolly Hikers." The postcard came from the estate of Hazel Alberts Peterson (1898-1989). For more information about Hazel and... Continue Reading →
This postcard shows a group of Seattle Pacific College students on a camping trip in the temperate rainforest near Seattle. The image was reproduced in the June 1914 school yearbook, The Cascade, in a feature titled "Jolly Hikers." The man at the back, second from left, is Winfred Nathan Thuline (1886-1982). Eventually I hope to... Continue Reading →
An inscription in pencil on the back of this carte-de-visite says simply: "Dr. Sanford 1883." She was easy to identify, and her individual story is fascinating and inspiring. I also learned that Dr. Sanford's life and career were closely connected to those of other pioneering women in medicine and in other fields who supported and... Continue Reading →
This snapshot came with no information, but the sheet music on the left side of the piano is "The Kansas Spirit" by George L. Wright. Behind the title on the cover are the letters KU, for the University of Kansas.
Tokens of Companionship 
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