Fashionable Friday - Elegant Edwardian Couple, 1910's

There is something about the faces of this attractive Edwardian couple that really pulls you in as they gaze off into the distance.  The photographer posed them with the husband sitting on a wicker chair and his wife seated on the arm.   Both are wearing wedding rings, his is more prominently exposed.  The woman is wearing a Gibson Girl hairstyle and her dress is exquisite.   Her dress has a high neckline, and long sleeves with large buttons down the sides of the sleeves and on the bodice.  The bodice also has an inset of what appears to be a light-colored satin and outlined with an unusual trim that continues down to her very trim waist.

This photo itself measures about 4" x 5 1/2" and is set in a cream-colored photo card which was cut down,  most likely to fit into an album.  There is a photographer's name engraved at the bottom, but I cannot make out the name.  I believe it is "De------ Studio, but that is little help as there is no city listed.  The photo has a number of black spots, but they do not diminish the elegance of the subjects.  I am not certain, but believe the photo to be dated about 1910 - 1912.

Wedding Wednesday - Turn of the Century Wedding - Large Group Shot

This photograph features nineteen members an early 1900's ethnic wedding party.  The photo has ten females consisting of the bride in the middle and what I believe to be her maid of honor, possibly a sister to the far right.  On the left of the photo is a young girl that was possibly a flower girl.  There are ten males in the photo, the groom in the middle next to the bride and at the bride's right, most likely the best man or perhaps even the bride's father.  I would guess that the woman sitting between the groom and the maid of honor with the white blouse and dark skirt could be the bride's mother.  Most of the women are wearing the Gibson Girl hairstyle and the fashions that were prevalent at the time.  The bride looks extremely young to me as does the groom.  The bride's bodice is very lacy and lovely, the sleeves of her gown, although difficult to see, seem to be tighter at the elbow and have a large pouf at the wrist.  Her veil appears quite simple with just a few flowers at the top of the headdress and I believe she is wearing gloves so cannot tell if she is wearing a ring.  Her groom however is wearing a ring on his right hand.

It is a very interesting photo and there is is no identification of the subjects or the photographer.  However, on the back are two words written in some foreign language, perhaps someone can translate - see below:

Fashionable Friday - 1908 Edwardian Woman

I have been missing for a couple of weeks, took a week's vacation to visit my parents in Illinois and had a grand plan to post while I was there.  You know what they say about best laid plans.....unfortunately the Internet did not cooperate and I just finally gave up in frustration.  Next year I'm investing in an air card.

Today I am showing you an interesting photograph taken in 1908 of a unidentified, but fashionable young woman.  I have not seen another photograph of this exact style before but if you look very closely you can see a smaller picture of the subject in the lower left hand corner and she is wearing a hat!  Too bad they didn't use that as the main photo.  She is sporting a Gibson Girl hairstyle and her dress is most unusual.  I am not certain whether it is made out of cotton or perhaps linen, but it has a high neck and has triangular shaped designs down the bodice as well as over the shoulders on whatever those "things" are called.  The sleeves are especially fascinating to me with the tiered levels.  This dress appears to have the typical "S" curve and small trim waist and I think you will agree with me that she is a vision of loveliness.

The photograph measures 2 7/8 x 5 7/8 inches and is undoubtedly one of the unusual shapes to come out of the early 1900's.  Unfortunately the photographer is not identified.

Sepia Saturday #142 - Trio of Lovely Ladies from 1890's

This week's Sepia Saturday theme can be interpreted in a "number" of ways, but I am going with the idea of a trio of people.  I actually will be on vacation starting Friday so am posting my entry early for a change!

This odd sized photograph is from the 1890's and most likely of a mother and her two daughters.  Odd sized photographs came into fashion in the 1890's and while I can't find a name for this type of photo which measures approximately 2 7/8 x 7 7/8, it probably is one of the many specialty cards of the those times.  The photographer signed his name in pencil; the first name is unreadable but the last name is Townsend.  You may notice the card has an embossed emblem at the bottom which appears to have a "T" for the photographer's initial.  Unfortunately, there is no identification of our subjects.

The mother is wearing a white shirtwaist blouse, small dark bowtie, glasses and Gibson Girl hairstyle.  Her two girls are wearing dark clothes.

To see more interpretations of this week's Sepia Saturday theme please click the link.

Wedding Wednesday - Starchy Hooper, Nebraska Couple

There's a lot to look at in this wedding photo of a young couple in the late 1890's or very early 1900's in Hooper, Nebraska.  The unidentified married couple are sitting side-by-side and their body language is a bit stiff. Although he is leaning his knee into hers, he seems rather tense, note how his hands are fisted.

The bride's dark colored dress is a little unusual with the floral bodice insert and high neckline as well as cuffs and belt.  The dress also has puffed up sleeves at the shoulders and beautiful trim sewn on the lower sleeves as well as in several tiers along the bottom of the skirt.  One can assume this dress was to be used over and over again as her Sunday best. Her bridal bonnet/headpiece was quite lovely and typical of the very early 1900's with the beautiful sprigs of flowers and trailing vines.   She is not holding a bouquet, but does have a small corsage which adds to all the busyness. If you look closely  you can see her wedding ring as well as the groom's.

The woman standing behind her I am going to assume is her sister because there is a striking resemblance.  She appears quite tall and trim and is also wearing a dark dress and corsage. She personifies the Gibson Girl look of the time.  Both the groom and best man are wearing boutonnieres that match the bride's headpiece and the best man has the most unusual striped bow-tie.

The cabinet card itself is most unusual and is the first I have seen like it.  The background is a striped paper and the photographer's mark is deeply embossed.  I had much trouble reading the photographer's name and after much research on the Internet I finally discovered that he is Peter Wilhelm Traulsen.  Traulsen was born 13 Sep 1862 at Tating, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  He attended school in Germany and served three years in the German army.  In 1887 he emigrated to the United States from Hamburg with his two brothers, Herman and Claus.  Upon his arrival he worked as a painter in Minton, Iowa.  In 1891 he moved to Hooper, NE where after a short time he took up the trade of photographer.  He opened a studio in Hooper  and became one of the area's leading photographers of the late 19th and 20th centuries.  On 14 Jun 1896 he married Wanda Augusta Kruger, also from Germany, and they had three children.  Peter Traulsen died 30 Nov 1926 and is buried at Hooper Cemetery in Dodge County, NE.

Sources:
1.  NEGenWeb Project -Darrell Moyer,  http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/asc/photog/obits-notes.htm
2.  Find-A-Grave
3.  Ancestry.com