Sepia Saturday #256 - Fun Festivals and Fabulous Feathers

Possible themes for this week's Sepia Saturday include festivals, floats, feathers and fair maidens. Hmmm.  Well, after much consideration I think I can do the festivals and feathers.  I have lots of fair maidens but will save those for another day.

This first photo is a photo postcard of the downtown square of my hometown Mount Vernon, Illinois dated between 1904 and 1910.  I have no idea what the celebration was about and had quite a discussion on a Facebook group I belong to with fellow Mt. Vernon history buffs and no one came up with a definitive answer.  The women in white appear to belong to some organization, possibly like the Salvation Army and note the child in the middle carrying the American flag.  

One thing I love about this photo is that Mt. Vernon's main streets all used to be paved in brick, but with modernization those have sadly been paved over.  (Click on photos to enlarge).

Mt. Vernon, IL Square 1904 - 1910

This second photo postcard is Trenton, New Jersey from the same time period and depicts the 1909 Inter-State Fair.  Trenton is the birthplace of my husband's father and of many of his ancestors which is what drew me to it.

Trenton, NJ Inter-State Fair 1909

Well, that covers the festivals.....now for the feathers.  Two of my favorite birds are flamingos and peacocks and I just happen to have old Florida postcards of both.  The first one is of the famous flamingos of the Hialeah Park and Racing Casino.  This is a linen postcard ca. 1930's.  The flamingos were introduced into the park in 1934 from Cuba to inhabit the infield lake and have since become an iconic Florida image.  This particular postcard shows a breeding flock of flamingos with nests and five eggs.  

I myself have taken hundreds of photographs of them at Flamingo Gardens in Davie, FL including this one and never tire of looking at them.  Such beautiful birds!

And finally the majestic Peacock!  Another linen postcard from the 1930's or 40's from the Parrot Jungle in Miami, Florida.

I also photographed this beautiful peacock at Flamingo Gardens.  I chased the poor things all over the park in fact, trying to get one to open his tail feather to no avail.  I learned later that only the males open their plumes and only twice a year during mating rituals.  Just my luck!

Well, that's my entry for this week.  I urge every one to fly over to Sepia Saturday and check out all the wonderful photo's and stories.  You won't be disappointed!

Sepia Saturday #159 - Proud Victorian Papa & Children at the Seashore

The Sepia Saturday theme for this week refers to bathing costumes and seaside beaches.   Now living in sunny South Florida for over forty years one would think I would have photo albums full of pictures of the family frolicking at the beach.  Well sure, I do have a number of pictures of us in past years in bathing suits enjoying the warm tropical beaches of Florida, but let me assure you that you will not be seeing any photographs of me in a bathing suit in this forum or anywhere else!

However, I did do a post some time ago about Victorian bathing costumes that I feel is perfect for this theme and I am going to re-post part of it and add to it as well. Although you can't really see the beach in the tintypes below, you can get the feel for the excitement of the day as the proud father poses  with his children for the photographer before their day at the seaside.  These photographs were taken most likely taken in mid-1880's to about 1890.

Both of these tintypes were purchased in the same group of photos.  As I mentioned in my previous post I find it interesting that the man is wearing a suit and the kids are all wearing bathing costumes.  However in the second photo he is wearing his beach attire.  Additionally in the first photo he is posing with five children, in the second with three. I have to assume all these children are his, but why the difference between the two?

If you look closely you will notice that the boy on the bottom right is the same boy on the bottom right in the second photo and he is wearing two different costumes. I am assuming from this that these photos were taken on different days. Also, I believe at least that the oldest girl is the same in both pictures.  

Here I have found some examples of children's bathing costumes in my copy of the 1884 Peterson's Magazine, July and August editions:

Young Lady's costume Aug1884

 

Boy's costume July 1884

Young boy's costume Aug 1884

And finally, I will leave you with this photograph of a proud father, my own husband Jim, at a local beach with our three year-old son David in 1977.  Remarkably I remember the day quite well and they were having a lot of fun playing in the sand!

Click here to go to Sepia Saturday for more photos and stories about the warm sun, tropical beaches and bathing suits.

Wedding Wednesday - Blushing Belleville, IL Bride & Dashing Groom

This beautiful bride and her handsome groom had their wedding photograph taken in Belleville, IL by photographer Fred B. Merker or possibly his brother Charles who worked for him.  The bride's dress is stunning with the tiers of lace down the skirt and the style of the high neckline is quite unusual as well.  Maybe is just me, but it almost makes her head look too large for her body!  Her bridal bonnet is gorgeous with a large lacy bow and a flowery sprig in the front.  It also has trailing vines that were very popular in the early 1900's.  She is not holding a corsage but does have what appears to be a small book in her hand, perhaps a prayer book.

The groom is extremely handsome in a dark three piece suit with long tails.  He has a white bow tie and his boutonniere matches the sprig of flowers on the front of her bridal bonnet.  I do not like his body language with the way he is holding his arm - it almost appears as if he is pulling away from her. 

Unfortunately, the couple is unidentified  and the cabinet card has been trimmed on all four sides, most likely to fit into an album or frame.  Due to the embossed, foil stamped photographer's mark on the bottom of the card - note the monogram in the middle - I am adjusting the date this photo was taken to around 1896.  

The photographer, Fred B. Merker, was born 3 Mar 1851 in Belleville, St. Clair, IL to German immigrants, Phillip and Elizabeth (Rouscolb) Merker.  The parents were married in St. Clair County on 28 Jan 1841, the father a farmer.  A year before Fred's birth in the 1850 Turkey Hill, St. Clair County census, Philip aged 32 and Elizabeth aged 25 were living with their children George 8, Louis 6, and Charles 3.  Another son William was born about 1853 and Phillip died before 1860 leaving Elizabeth to raise her children alone.  I found most of the Merkers through the rest of the censuses up until 1930. Elizabeth was last found in the 1900 census.

Fred Merker was a photographer by 1880 (age 28) and on 3 Oct 1883 married Elenora Susan Dunn.  They had one child Hazel born about 1885.  He operated his studio in Belleville until at least 1910. The 1891 City Directory listed his studio address as 25 East Main. Note on the photo (left) that brother Charles was a photographer at his studio, George was a constable, Louis a tollgate keeper, and William was secretary and treasurer of the Belleville Carriage Works. Sometime before 1920 Fred and Elenora retired to West Palm Beach, FL. He died in FL on 27 Feb 1930 and is buried at Green Mount Protestant Cemetery in St. Clair County, IL.

Sources:

1.  Ancestry.com
2.  Find-A-Grave
3.  Illinois Statewide Marriage Index

Sepia Saturday #122 - Cypress Gardens - Florida

I can't find any family pictures that depict this week's Sepia Saturday theme, Gardens, but I do have these vintage Florida postcards that seem to fit.

These two postcards show Cypress Gardens, a historic Florida attraction that opened as a botanical garden on 2 Jan 1936 and later became known for its water ski shows, lush gardens and Southern Belles.  It became known as the "Water Ski Capitol of the World" and a string of Esther Williams movies were filmed there.  The park was severely damaged by several hurricanes in 2004 and never reopened.  In 2010 Merlin Entertainments bought the park with the intention of using it for the fifth Legoland.  (Wikipedia)  A sad end to a true Florida institution.

Please check out all the other green thumbs at Sepia Saturday.