Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
This multi-generational portrait was made at Atelier Fritz Tschira in the scenic town of Osterode am Harz. Osterode is at the edge of the Harz mountains, which are the highest in northern Germany. The postcard isn't dated, but my guess would be late 1920s. If anyone has a different guess, based on clothing or hairstyles... Continue Reading →
This undated postcard was addressed by a man named René to a friend, also named René, who was probably working at the Café Monico in London. The sender is very likely one of the men in the group above. The postcard was printed by the firm of G. W. Gibson in Coldstream, a town in the... Continue Reading →
This postcard has no message or information on the back, but it came from a dealer in Pennsylvania who specializes in photographs from Imperial Russia (pre-1917). The empire of the Tsars was truly vast, encompassing areas of northeastern Europe and Central Asia which today are made up of independent nations. It's impossible to say exactly... 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 →
UPDATE: Detail image added below. Galicia was a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire created from land taken from Poland during the First Partition of Poland in 1772. It ceased to exist as an administrative entity after the First World War with the dismantling of Austria-Hungary. Most of the territory was incorporated into the new Republic... Continue Reading →
The closest English equivalent of the German word Elfenreigen would be "fairy round dance," although Elfenreigen is also sometimes translated as "dance of the elves." "Carlsberg" may have been the location where this photo was taken. A very kind visitor to the blog (bradwardine42) left a comment under the post with the following information: I... Continue Reading →
The back of this postcard has a note: "Connie Richards, friend of Aurore (Chaillé) Marotte." Aurore is easy to find in Census records, but Connie eluded me. In 1920 Aurore B. Marotte (age 25) was living with her husband, Adelard, and her siblings in the home of her father, Azaire Chaillé, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. ... Continue Reading →
UPDATE: Albin Lindall is most likely the man standing at right. I found a passport photo of him on Ancestry.com that was taken some years later, when he was 29. Albin Lothard Lindall was born in Parkers Prairie in 1890, and the passport was issued in 1919, when he was a doctor and a lieutenant... Continue Reading →
This postcard was made by Walter Scott of Bradford, West Yorkshire. I count 33 men and 27 women in the group, with a range of ages. Two men are wearing clerical collars. Potted plants can be seen in the building. People are looking out through the bay windows on either side of the central window. ... Continue Reading →
This postcard is well-traveled. I bought it online from someone in Estonia, who told me he had taken it from an album he had bought on a trip to Romania. The message on the back of the postcard is written in German, so he assumed the photo had been sent from Germany to relatives in... Continue Reading →
The photograph above came from Latvia, which was part of the Russian Empire until November 1918. The photo was probably taken in the early 1900s. The men are most likely Latvian, but it's hard to say for sure. If only we could hear them play....The following postcard also came from Riga, the capital. Latvia was... Continue Reading →
I joked in an earlier post about sibling portraits being amusing, but a more appropriate adjective for this studio portrait might be "intense." Looking at the back, the postcard was likely printed in the United States. A note is written in a young hand in Russian: "To dear Grandma and Grandpa from Tamara."
Tokens of Companionship 
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