Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Two Ladies Strolling in Berlin ca 1890

These two lovely ladies, possible sisters, are wearing nearly identical hats, dress styles and are posing with matching umbrellas.  The photographer was Pflaum & Co. of Berlin, Germany.  These unidentified ladies probably posed for this photograph about 1890.  I did not have any luck finding any information on the photographer.

Wedding Wednesday - Enchanting 1920's Newlywed Couple from Fall River, Mass.

This 1920's wedding photograph of a young newlywed couple looks just like something out of an old Hollywood movie. It is one of the more intimate and unusual poses I have seen to date.  While I cannot see the full face of either of the unidentified subjects, I am totally drawn in by the beauty and sensuality of the pose and can feel the love and affection of this couple.  The photographer, J. A. Bello, was quite gifted at his craft, creating lifetime memories for his clients.  Bello was located at 226 S. Main St., Fall River, Mass.  The 4" x 6" photograph is enclosed in a beautiful, Art Deco style, embossed cardboard folder .

The photographer's full name was Jose Augusto Bello born in Azevo, Pinheil, Beira Baixa, Portugal on 28 Jul 1879.  He immigrated to the US in November of 1913 arriving at the port of St. Albans, Vt.  By 1925 he was working in Fall River, Massachusetts as a photographer at the Main Street address.  In the 1930 Fall River census he listed his marital status as widowed.  In 1940 he was living in East Providence,  RI where he continued his photography business.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Lovely 1900's Woman with Hat & Fur Muff

An unknown turn-of-the-century woman, she is wearing a coat, probably made of wool, leather gloves  and a fur boa with matching fur hand muff.  And what can I say about her fabulous hat except that it is just that, fabulous!

Sepia Saturday #169 - Snapshots of Our Lives

The more I delve into this crazy hobby of mine, collecting old photos, I have come to realize more and more that despite all of our differences we all have so many of the same basic interests; home, family, love, travel, fun, humor, grief and despair to name a few. Since  man has been able to transfer these emotions and memories to some sort of medium, he (or she) has done so in many possible ways.  I myself, have dabbled in a few; scrapbooking  quilting,  collage, and while I have no drawing or painting talent I have for many years been the family photographer and historian.  This week's Sepia Saturday theme centers around this very subject and so I chose a few snapshots from a large box of photos that I purchased some time ago. They appear to have been from the same family from Michigan and Oklahoma and the owner may have been Beulah Miller who appears at different ages in many of the photos. I decided to get a little creative this week and created a collage using some of her family photos. 

Click on collage to enlarge

Although a little hard to see, a couple of the men in these photos are holding camera bags; take a look at the man standing to the left of the airplane and the man on the rocks at the bottom middle. Photography has been an important part of the human experience since the mid 1800's and is now an important part of the day to day life of each of us with the simple use of a cell phone.

For more great images and stories go to Sepia Saturday.

Fashionable Friday - Five Stylin' 1860's Guys

I always show photographs of lovely women on Fashionable Friday so today thought I'd change things up a bit and post pictures of some fashionable and debonair gentlemen from the 1860's.

This first gentleman with the dark suit, vest and long waistcoat was probably taken in the early 1860's.  He is holding his hat in his hand and he looks quite serious.  The back of the photo is blank and no photographer or location was listed.

Unknown man, 1860's

This next young man, sporting impressive mutton chops, had a bust pose taken so all we can see is part of his jacket, his white shirt, a little bit of his vest and his tie. On the back in pencil is written "S. B. Culver Sandy Hill, N.Y."  This is most likely Stephen Berry Culver born July 1841 in Sandy Hill, New York and died in 1902.  The photo was taken by W. Nims, Photographer, East Street, Fort Edward, N.Y.  The mutton chops suggest an early 1860's date, but I am leaning to perhaps a later 1860's date.

S. B. Culver 1860's Sandy Hill, NY

 

Young man number three is wearing a light colored suit, also a long waistcoat and is posing with his hand on a chair.  He looks quite young, probably early twenties.  This CDV photo was most likely taken between 1864-1869.  The photographer was O. A. Taft's Gallery, Opposite Post Office, Middlebury, VT.

Unk, 1860's NY man

 

Next we have Uncle Sidney Morse as evidenced one the back who posed for photographer C. H. Clark in Union Village, N. Y. probably between 1864 - 69.  I found a number of subjects in the New York area with this name.  I'm not sure what a good estimate would be for this particular Sidney's birthday.  How old do you think he looks here?  Thirty-five?  Forty?  Older than that?  I don't believe that he is as old as he appears at first glance.  His suit is very stylish and the vest appears to be made of a satin-like material.

Sidney Morse, NY 1860's

 

Last, but not least, is a young gentleman who it appears has the initials, "J. N.T."  Not much help there!  This picture is actually dated March 9th, 1870, but I thought it would be a good way to end out the 1860 decade.  The hair on his head and face are very clean-cut as was more common in the late 1860's and early 1870's.  He is sitting on a velvet fringed chair with his elbow on a small table which is holding a book.  His pants are a little unusual; I believe I have seen them before, they almost look like uniform pants.  This CDV like some of this others was trimmed at the corners to fit into a photo album.  The photographer was A. Corden located at the Cor. Fourth and River Sts., Troy, N.Y.

Unknown man documented Mar 9, 1870

 

Wedding Wednesday - Newlywed 1890's St.Louis, MO Couple

This unidentified newlywed couple were photographed at the Ludwig Hammer studio located at 1534 South Broadway, St. Louis, Mo. sometime in the 1890's.  The photographer was Ludwig Friedrich Hammer, Jr. born 24 Feb 1834 in Beutelsbach, Germany.  He came to the US sometime before 1861, married Julia ? and settled in St. Louis where he practiced his craft.  There are numerous St. Louis City Directory listings for him between the 1870's and about 1909.

Unidentified 1890's St. Louis, Mo Couple

I believe this attractive young couple were photographed between 1889 and 1895.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - 1900's Woman with Fur Boa & Large Hat

Unknown woman w/Large Hat

This unidentified turn of the century woman is wearing a walking suit, fur boa, large hat and is holding gloves in her hand on her lap.  The young woman probably posed for this photo sometime in the late 1890's or early 1900's.  This photo was cut down for some reason, most likely to place in a photo album and it appears there may have been a photographer's mark on the lower right hand corner, but it was cut off.

Fashionable Friday - Turn of the Century New York City Woman with Purse

This lovely young woman with the Gibson Girl hair was posed by the photographer standing next to a chair holding a purse.  The hand on the chair held a couple of roses and on the seat of the chair are more roses and what appears to be some type of rolled up document.  She is wore a dark dress with a white lace collar, large buttons down the bodice, a tightly cinched waist and the loose sleeves billow down to tight cuffs at the wrist. She was indeed a vision of loveliness and femininity.  The photographer was Speiss (William) who had a studio at 54 Second Ave. Cor 3rd St. New York between 1895 and 1900 according to langdonroad.com. 

Friday's Faces From the Past - Handsome Civil War Era Buffalo, NY Couple

Geneabloggers has a weekly prompt on Fridays called Friday's Faces From the Past that is right up my alley and this week I bring you a very attractive, but unidentified Civil War era couple.  This husband and wife, and I say husband and wife with much certainty because the wife is most definitely pregnant, posed for photographer R. H, Cline of 154 (Old No. 86) Batavia St. Buffalo, NY.  Cline was Richard H. Cline who was known to have operated a studio in Buffalo between 1862 and 1873.

Unknown 1860's Buffalo, NY couple

Those Places Thursday - William Barlow Briggs' Family & Friends - 1880 Linn Co. Iowa?

This 10 x 8 photograph shows eight people posing outside a home.  It is a quite interesting piece and has puzzled me for some time.  This photograph was surely taken in Iowa although I had my doubts for some time.  If you look closely at the first photo you will see what appears to be mountains or at least large hills in the distance in the far left. I did not think that Iowa had mountains, but initial research shows that this area has what are called "pahas" or sand dunes which could explain this appearance in the photo as well as the woman with the broom. 

1880's Linn Co Iowa Group?

On the back the subjects are identified as:

William Briggs

Olive Jordan Briggs

Lillian Emma Briggs Taylor

Lou Henry Hoover

H. Maria Dobbins

Lillian Nudgett Horn

Jean Henry

Mrs. Henry

I have identified the male as William Barlow Briggs born 27 Sep 1837 in the state of Maine to Ezra and Phebe (Goddard) Briggs.  In 1866 he married Olive Jordan and their daughter Lillian was born in April of 1874.    The 1880 Maine, Linn County, Iowa shows Briggs living with his wife Olive and five year old daughter Lily. By 1900 the Briggs were living in Whittier City, Los Angeles, CA according to the US Census.  

William Barlow Briggs, Olive Jordan Briggs, Lillian Emma Briggs ca 1880-81

In this photo their daughter Lillian or Lily appears to be about five or six years old which would date this photograph about 1880 or 1881.  Additionally the women's clothing suggests an 1880's date.  Briggs appears to be handing his wife a document of some sort, perhaps a deed?  This type of photo was typically not seen until the later 1880's so hence my puzzlement.  I had no luck find any of the other women in the Linn County census so I am not sure of their connection to the Briggs'.  I have also been unable to identify the photographer as parts of the name have been torn off on both side of the picture.

Wedding Wednesday - Ethereal 1920's Chicago Bride

Today's lovely 1920's bride is posing with what I assume is her maid of honor.  This Art Deco photograph is in very poor shape with a number of scratches and flaws (see bottom photo below). The woman on the left has a black mark on her nose, but from their facial features and the shape of their mouths I suspect they were sisters.  This young bride was truly an ethereal and exquisite vision.  She appears so serene and is wearing a lovely white gown with the most beautiful headdress.  She is holding a large bouquet of white roses. One thing I always find interesting and have seen before;  she is wearing white heeled shoes, her maid of honor is wearing very serviceable black shoes.

Unknown 1920's bride and maid of honor (sisters?)

The photographer was the Liberty Studio at, 223 Milwaukee  Ave., Chicago.  I did not find any information on this studio, but perhaps another of the many ethnic photography studios along the Milwaukee Avenue corridor which included a large Polish population.

Tintype Tuesday - Two Young 1860's Brothers

Look at these two cuties from the 1860's; two little blonde brothers dressed nearly identically and staring at the photographer with such serious faces.  I am guessing that they were about three and five years old and it appears the older brother moved while the photo was being taken as his facial features are a little blurred. 

Unknown 1860's Civil War era brothers

I always have such difficulty dating photos with children, but according to Victoriana Magazine "by the 1860's boys were sporting a new style of trousers called knickerbockers. These wide leg pants fastened below the knee and oftentimes were worn with a matching vest and jacket. The jacket had a cutaway front with a single fastening at the neck, exposing the buttoned vest beneath." I'm not sure of the significance of the chain and charm, but the goal was for the boy to wear a suit resembling his father's so one can guess this was to assume the appearance of a pocketwatch.

Sepia Saturday #167 - 1890's Couple on Their Floating Home

Unkown 1890s couple on boat

I know absolutely nothing about this photograph of an 1890's couple on a boat, but I thought it would be perfect for this week's Sepia Saturday theme.  I'm not sure what you would call this type of boat, I'm guessing some type of flat-boat, but I'm totally clueless when it comes to boats.  It looks like this couple spent time on their boat on a river somewhere, perhaps as a home away from home or they may have even lived on the boat.  You can see a wooded area to the left and in the far distance what looks like mountains.  I've cropped the photo here, below you can see the actual  4" x 4" photograph in the white cardboard mounting that was popular in the 1890's. 

Sail away with more stories at Sepia Saturday!

Those Places Thursday - Fairlamb Home, Fairmount, PA Late 1880's

Fairlamb Home - Fairmount, PA ca late1880's L-R Retta Fairlamb, Oscar Fairlamb,
Stella Fairlamb, Mary Fairlamb, Bob Walker, Mary Diller, Annie Fairlamb

Last week for my regular Women with Hats post, I ran the picture below of Retta Fairlamb in the large hat.  I recently bought a large lot of photos, over 175 in all, and am finally getting around to going through all of them.  Retta in the flowered hat was one of the first ones I pulled out of the box. I was quite pleasantly surprised to find several more with the name Fairlamb identified on them including two more with Retta so I decided to post them here today.  I realized after I looked at these that the information I posted originally about Retta was incorrect, she was not Margaretta Fairlamb, she was Maretta Vernon Fairlamb (25 Mar 1869 - ?) and if you take a look at the original post you can see the corrections.  Interesting enough both Rettas were music teachers.  

I originally wanted to date the photo above in the early to mid 1880's, but have changed my estimation to the late 1880's due to the type of card this photo is mounted on.  I have cropped it above, but the last photo below shows the entire photograph.  These type of over-sized pictures on natural finished cards were not seen until the very late 1880's and most usually in the 1890's.  Using the Fairlamb girls' ages I am sticking to a late 1880's date as the absolute latest date possible.

Retta Fairlamb Apr 14, 1889 Age 20

Retta Fairlamb Oct 1, 1898 Age 29

Here are two photographs of Retta's older sister Mary Fairlamb 6 Sep (1862 - 5 Dec 1926) who married ? Harkness.  She is in the very middle of the large photograph above in the black dress leaning against the tree.

Mary Fairlamb Nov 1887

Mary Fairlamb Harkness Late 1880's

I also have another photographer identified on the back as Annie Fairlamb (1865 - ?) with a question mark and the date of 1888, but I question it validity as the dress dates it well into the 1890's.  She has a definite resemblance to the other women.

Annie Fairlamb ? 1888

 


There are a number of people with family trees listing the Fairlamb girls, I will contact some of them to see if there is interest in these photographs.

Fairlamb Home Fairmount, PA late 1880's

Wedding Wednesday - Beautiful 1920s Newark, NJ Bride

Unknown 1920s Newark NJ Bride

This beautiful young bride from the 1920's had her photograph taken by Silver & Steinberg located at Springfield & 15th Aves. in Newark, NJ.  She is wearing a white wedding gown with a scooped neck and sheer sleeves.  I love her bridal  cap with the Greek-like floral arrangement and the veil/headdress with the unusual trim along the edges.  She is wearing a pearl necklace and is holding a large bouquet of red roses and white carnations. She seems to be very young, probably a teenager.  I wish we could have seen a picture of her groom.

I found a few other pictures taken by the same studio, but had no luck finding any further information on the photographers.  This photograph was placed and preserved in a decorative Art Deco style folder, which although a bit stained, has held up over the years and is still very attractive.

Women with Hats - 1890's Hopkinton, Iowa Woman Seated in Wicker Chair

Ca 1895 Hopkinton, Iowa Woman with Large Hat

This young woman from Hopkinton, Iowa with the extremely large hat sat for photographer MacArthur sometime in the 1890's, most likely around 1895 +- a year or so.   She is  wearing a dark colored dress with the obligatory large sleeves of the era and if you look closely on her lap around the knee area she appears to be holding a fur hand muff.  She is sitting in a white wicker chair which was a common photographer's prop in the 1890's.

Her hat, her glorious hat from what I can tell, is made out of fabric, both light and dark and has feathery white puffs as well as real feathers sticking out of the top.  I almost thought that there was an artificial black bird on the front, but I am not convinced that is what it is, it may just be dark fabric.

Initial research did not give me any insight on the identify of the photographer.

Sepia Saturday #166 - The Markey Bronze Bushing Company - Delta, Ohio

The Sepia Saturday theme photo this week features a woman factory worker making paper boxes, a great photo showing the industrious spirit of those hard workers of the past.  Just this past week I had the great fortune of scoring a great buy on eBay of 175 photos for a steal.  A large box arrived just a few days ago and what a treasure trove it has turned out to be!  I'm still sorting through all these wonderful, old photographs, and shockingly the subjects are actually identified on a large number of them.  There was one photo though that I knew I had to use this week for my Sepia Saturday entry.

It features a group of thirty-six individuals (if I counted correctly) in front of a concrete block building with the name "The Markey Bronze B" showing.  The photographer was Elton Studio, Delta, O.  Note the two well dressed gentlemen flanking both sides, obviously executives, and the woman who I am guessing was a secretary for the company.   Unfortunately, there is no identification of any of these subjects.  I am not sure of a time frame for this photo but I am guessing in the 1930's.  See the full photo below which has Art Deco frame.

Markey Bronze Bushing Co, Delta, Ohio ca 1930's

My research tells me this was The Markey Bronze Bushing Company of Delta, Ohio.   Obviously they made bushings, which while not very exciting, were a necessary commodity.  I could not find much information on this company such as when it was started or if it even still existing although I do not think it is.  I found quite a number of obituaries on Google of men who worked at Markey Bronze, many before WWII.  Delta, Ohio is a village in Fulton County with a population of about 3,103 people according to Wikipedia.  It is near Toledo and Bowling Green.

I found a great genealogy site for Fulton County with lots of great photos and an active historical society.  I think I will contact them to see if there is an interest in this photograph.  Perhaps someone will be able to identify of these people.

Wait, there's more!  Please check out Sepia Saturday for more great stories and photos this week!

Fashionable Friday - 1860s New Bedford, MA Woman - Military Style Dress

Unknown New Bedford, MA woman ca 1864-69

This week's Fashionable Friday features a young Civil War era woman from New Bedford, Massachusetts  wearing a military style hoop dress.    I believe the military style is my favorite of the 1860 dresses.  I love the strong contrast of the trim and buttons against the fabric, in this case the dark trim against probably white or off-white silk. The detail on her sleeves is unique as well and she also has the lacy undersleeves.  Additionally she is sporting a flat bow at her neckline.

The photographer was M. Smith of No. 134 1/2 Union St. in New Bedford.  This was actually Morris Smith who was reported to have been active at this address as a daguerreian between 1849 - 1860 and remained active in New Bedford as a photographer until the 1880's according to Craig Cameras.