Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
This boudoir card photograph came to me from Maine. The boudoir card format appeared in the mid-1880s as a slightly larger and more expensive alternative to cabinet cards. The larger size was particularly suitable for group portraits.* This one was taken in the town of Pirmasens, Germany, near the border with France. The studio belonged... Continue Reading →
The unidentified young woman in this photograph is wearing a drop-waist dress and a Marcel Wave hairstyle, hallmarks of the flapper era of the 1920s. The photograph is about the size of a postcard, but it was printed on plain photo paper, rather than postcard stock. It came to me from a dealer in Pennsylvania who often... Continue Reading →
Effie Hegermann-Lindencrone was born in Hillerød, Denmark, on August 27, 1860. This photo of her was taken in July 1879, a month before her nineteenth birthday: The carte-de-visite portrait was made at one of the two studios owned by photographer Lars Dinesen, either in Odense or in Fredericia: A year after the photo was... Continue Reading →
This small tintype portrays an unusual subject for early photography: a standing woman appears poised to brush the hair of a seated woman, who has a comb and other items in her lap. The standing woman is looking down and is slightly out of focus, while the seated woman is looking in the general direction... Continue Reading →
March is Women's History Month in the United States. (International Women's Day isn't widely observed here, although that may be changing.) For the past two years, I've tried to pick out a photograph in March which I thought was especially relevant to the theme of women's history. In 2018 the focus was on education (Caliopians). ... Continue Reading →
I don't know what the proper administrative term would be for this group, but they must have worked together as a team. Someone wrote Devonshire Hospital on the back of the postcard, but nothing else. If anyone sees any clues about when the photo might have been taken, please leave a comment. Devonshire Hospital closed... Continue Reading →
The woman in this carte-de-visite portrait isn't identified anywhere on the photo. When I bought it last year, I never expected to learn her identity. Three weeks ago, while browsing the website of Britain's Royal Collection Trust, I noticed a woman who looked very familiar. The first thing that drew my attention was her shawl,... 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 →
These college-age women have a determined air about them, as if they're on a mission. They've arranged themselves around a pedestal with a Union Jack flag draped over it, adding a patriotic aspect to the portrait and perhaps suggesting political activism. Were they participants in the women's suffrage movement? What does the ribbon on the... Continue Reading →
The image above is the right half of a stereograph (stereoview) published by Benjamin West Kilburn and James M. Davis in 1898. The Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896 and lasted until 1899, with many fortune hunters arriving in the summer of 1898. Canadian authorities required all prospectors to bring a year's supply of food, weighing... Continue Reading →
I'm guessing about the relationships between the sitters in the previous post and this one. Do you think the baby in the portrait above looks like the one below? I think this may be the same child, a little older: *** *** A year ago today, I published my first blog post. To everyone who... 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 →
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