Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Wedding Wednesday - 1890's Iowa Bride and Groom

Here we have a cabinet card of a very stylish and attractive young married couple from Oelwein, Iowa taken in the 1890's.  Look at the puffy sleeves on the shoulders of the bride's dress and the high neckline - this was the style in the 1890's.  Also note her very tiny waist with the matching bow.  What I think is interesting is that her corsage is a dark color, in the picture it looks black, but probably was green foliage and I can't make out the type of flower.  The groom is quite spiffy in his suit and is sporting quite the handlebar mustache. He is not wearing a wedding ring and I can't tell for sure if his bride is wearing one. Unfortunately, there is nothing to identify this charming couple.

The bride's dress and the photo's backdrop as well as the wicker chair all  lend credence to the 1890's date.  Additionally in Ancestry.com I found a mention of the photographer William H. Jacobs in the 1895 Fayette County, Iowa Census, born Sep 1858 in Pennsylvania , occupation, "photographer."  In the 1900 census, same location, his age listed as 41, he was married to Jane Jacobs aged 36 for eleven years with two children, Lorienia aged 10 and William H. aged 3.  No further information was found.

4 comments:

  1. I may see things which are not there at all. These early wedding pictures where the groom is seated and the bride is standing next to him, create the impression that she is there to serve (him). Probably a sign of the time.
    I also noted the romantic background/decor, the column and the fancy fence.
    All in all a beautiful picture full of meaning! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Peter, you may be on to something there with the subservient connotation. It was a sign of the times for the wife to defer to the husband and this groom does look pretty self-important. I love looking at all the little signs and try to figure what was really going on in the pictures as well. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. My money is on carnations - white for him and red for her. Does seem like a bold color though. Maybe they married on Valentine's Day. The groom seems to have a ring on his right hand, not necessarily a wedding band, but some kind of ring.

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    1. I'm laughing at myself Wendy, I never even looked at his right hand! You are probably right about the red carnation, it just looks so dark and funereal in the photo.

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