Friday, October 19, 2012

Fashionable Friday - Early 1870's Glens Falls, NY Woman

This CDV photograph of an unidentified young woman from Glen Falls, NY is a bit faded but still is a great example of early 1870's photography. She is wearing the typical, curled on top of the head hairstyle, and her dress has the lace collar and intricate work that was so popular at the time. If you look closely you will notice that her lips and cheeks have been slightly tinted.  The oval frame of the card is a big clue that this is an 1870's photograph as well as the horizontal imprint on the back of the card.

The photographer was A. Orr, Jr. of Glens Falls, NY.  I did not find Orr in any census records but did find him listed on an 1876 map of Glens Falls on Ancestry.com.  I also found several mentions of Orr when I Googled him, one in the "1871 Directory of Queensbury & Glens Falls" listed as "photographer, Traphagan's Building, Ridge."   Another link shows a photograph with the photographer's mark, "C. L. Lovejoy successor to A. Orr, Jr. 1878" which suggests that either Orr sold his business before 1878 or perhaps died or moved from the area.  This mention of him at craigcamera.com suggests that the photograph in question may be a picture of  Orr himself.


1 comment:

  1. He certainly looks like a photographer. The portraited lady looks very nice, interesting dress, hairdo and jewelry, and intriguing eyes.

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