Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
This photograph has an inscription on the back which is written mostly in Finnish: I was able to read enough of the Finnish words to guess that the men were cutting wood to heat a sauna. After I published this post, readers in Finland confirmed that guess. Luisella from Tra Italia e Finlandia helpfully typed... Continue Reading →
When I started this blog four years ago, I decided to post only photos taken before 1940. It was an arbitrary line to draw, but I wanted to draw one somewhere, and a century seemed like a good place to do it (1839-1939). For one thing, sitters in photos taken after 1940 are more likely... Continue Reading →
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 →
On this final day of Women's History Month, I thought it might be fun to turn to the realm of sport. This photograph came to me from Wales. It has nothing written or printed on it. Update, April 4: This morning I came across another copy of this image on a blog post titled Pulling... Continue Reading →
Unlike the mill workers in the previous post, these two seamstresses appear to be posing outdoors, perhaps at a seasonal or mobile studio. The photographer, Håkon Steinsheim (1860-1933), was based in the village of Oppdal, Norway. (Historically, the name of the town was sometimes spelled Opdal.) The photo (cabinet card) came to me from Wisconsin.... Continue Reading →
This photograph has nothing written or printed on it to suggest where it might have been taken. It came to me from Maine, so it may have originated there or in another northeastern state. The setting appears to be a textile mill. My guess for a time period would be 1895-1905. The surface of the... Continue Reading →
This cabinet card portrait was made at a studio in the port city of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The studio belonged to a man named John O'Neil. Google didn't turn up any information about Mr. O'Neil, so I looked at census records on Ancestry. In the 1880 U.S. Census, I found a John E. O'Neil, age... 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 →
This photograph was taken in southeastern Sweden. The photographer, G.M. Svendsen, was based in the town of Tingsryd. The photo was for sale on eBay in North Carolina. I wish I knew how it ended up there! The railway in the photo is the Nättraby-Alnaryd-Elmeboda Järnväg (järnväg = railway). The NAEJ (or NAÄJ) was... Continue Reading →
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 →
This undated cabinet card portrait was taken in the ancient shipping town of Gravesend, Kent, England. Gravesend is on the south bank of the Thames Estuary, about 21 miles (35 km) from central London. The photograph was taken at the studio of Frederick Charles Gould, who became known for images he captured of the many... Continue Reading →
Tokens of Companionship 
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