Military Monday - WW1 Soldier and Cosmopolitan Friend

I came across this quirky and fun photo of a World War 1 soldier and a friend sitting on a bench.  It's a fun photo; the soldier has a slight smirk on his face and his companion appears to be reading an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.  There is no clue to identification or date on the back and I had hoped to date it by finding the date of the magazine issue, but could not find this issue doing an Internet search.

Something about the soldier's face was familiar and then I remembered a post I did from a couple of years ago:  Military Monday - Unknown WW1 Soldier.  The photos in that post were dated 1917 on the back and this is quite obviously the same person.  These photos are all small snapshots measuring 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches and are in a large envelope I have marked "Michigan Family" and which I purchased some time ago off eBay.  I searched through all the photographs again hoping for a clue to this soldiers identity but alas with no luck.  It is my belief that this was spring 1917 before this young man shipped off to war; I can only hope he returned from war and lived a long and happy life.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Edwardian Era Michigan Woman with Felt Hat

I have been shamefully absent from my blog for a very long time for multiple reasons.  These include a new job, spousal health problems and just plain burnout, but it has been calling to me lately so today I return with this young woman from the turn of the century.

Anna Budd

I am estimating this photograph, which was taken in Portland, Michigan, to have been taken circa 1900. The young woman is identified on the back as Anna Budd.  She looks quite serious in her dark starched dress with white neckscarf.  She is wearing some type of pin on the scarf and her hat is tam style with a small pom on the top.  Underneath her hairstyle appears to be the fashionable for the time Gibson Girl style.  I found a few Anna Budds on Ancestry.com, but was not able to conclusively identify her.

The photographer was F. B. Rhodes of Portland, Michigan, most likely Frank Bartlett Rhodes who was born about 1865 in Michigan and died 10 November 1921 in Gaylord, MI.  He had several studios in the state including one in Portland in this time frame.

Portland, MI City Directory 1903

Fashionable Friday - Lovely Young 1880's (Victorian Era) Michigan Woman in White

This beautiful young woman posed for E. Gillis about 1888 - 1891 in Lawton, Mich.  She is dressed in a white dress, most likely off-white or cream and I believe the dress may have a bustle so the 1880's date would work.  Her dress is high necked with tight fitted bodice and has matching ribbons down the front of the skirt.  The sleeves are of great interest to me as I don't believe I have ever seen anything quite like them - notice the odd loops near her wrist which appear to be holding flowers and then the sleeves extend down to the hands into mitts.  She is holding what appears to be a white puffy fan or perhaps a purse?

This cabinet card has a thick gilt border  with a beautiful scallop design on the edges.  I was unable to find any information on the photographer, E. Gillis.

Sepia Saturday #177 - Children on Fences, Columns, Rocks & Other Photographer's Props

I have a lot of wonderful old children's photographs and for some reason rarely post child photos so when I saw the theme prompt for this week's Sepia Saturday I decided to share some of my favorites.  Here are just a few:

This first photo (CDV) is a very young, unidentified Trenton, NJ girl taken between 1864 and 1866 as evidenced by the revenue stamp on the back.  Such a little sweetheart and look at her darling dress.  The photographer was Aller & Brown of Trenton.  This little miss is posing on the photographer's fake balustrade railing.

This next photo (cabinet card) features five young Michigan siblings and their dog posed next to a faux fence and pile of hay.  The photographer was Dave Bradbeer of Charlevoix, Michigan.  This photograph was most likely taken in the late 1880's.

 

Next up is a cabinet card featuring an 1890's boy wearing Little Lord Fauntleroy attire holding the obligatory whip.  This was a very popular costume for boys to wear for their photographs in the 1890's.  This particular young boy was posed by photographer Strunk of Reading, PA seated on a large "rock."

 

This young girl from Trenton, NJ is quite a picture in plaid posed next to a "stone column" and behind an "iron gate."  I've posted  this cabinet card before, but I think she deserves another mention - just love her entire outfit.  The photographer was J. E. North of 31 Centre St.  This photo is also from the 1880's.

 

This young lad leaning on the "stone column" is quite dapper in matching jacket and knickers with  hat and cane and take a look at those plaid leggings!  What a good looking young man.  No photographer is listed, but the boy is identified on the back as Howard Prue Price, I believe.  My guess is this cabinet card is from the late 1870's.

 

And finally we have this sweet young girl leaning on the photographer's "stone fence".  Such a sweetie in her simple dress and lace collar and notice the necklace with long chain around her neck.  The photographer was H. S. Stephens of Rushville, Indiana.  This photo was probably taken in the late 1880's.

If you have enjoyed these photos I hope you will hop, skip or jump over to Sepia Saturday to see even more wonderful photos.

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.