Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Wedding Wednesday - Gibson Girl Wife & Husband with Crazy Hair!

This cabinet card of a newly married couple was most likely taken around 1900.  I am surmising this by the wicker chair and the woman's dress.  Also factoring into my date is the graphite like makeup of the card itself.

The photographer appears to be Orville B. Bates, born in Illinois in Feb 1853 to A. B. and Sophia Bates.  In 1881 he married Mary (unknown) and they had three children according to the 1900 Hampton, Franklin, Iowa census, Mildred aged 19, Milton 16 and Letha 12.  Iowa cemetery records show Orville Bates dying in 1927 and buried in Hampton Cemetery.


The bride's hair in this photograph is rather curly and she is wearing it in the popular style of the times, the Gibson Girl look.  She is quite trim and looks lovely in a dress that is somewhat simple except for the unusual rouching down the front of the bodice and the large bow at the waist.  She does not appear to be wearing any jewelry except I believe I can see a wedding ring.  She is also wearing a small corsage.

The groom, while quite attractive, has the most unusual, if not bizarre hairstyle.  I'm not sure how to even describe it - it is parted to the side but appears to have life of its own.  I think he needed some Brylcreem!

1 comment:

  1. That is some hair! Must have been thick and wavy and hard to control. I wonder what color dress the bride is wearing. It's much lighter than most I've seen in old photos. She almost disappears into the background.

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