Tintype Tuesday - Sweet Civil War Era Toddler

This sweet little boy posed for this tintype photo most likely in the early to mid 1860's.  I am not good at dating children's clothing, but the belted suit with jacket and jaunty cap he is wearing suggests the 1860’s timeframe. The buttons and trim on his suit are amazing.  His cheeks are colorized (tinted) and he is staring at the camera with the most soulful eyes.  He appears to be about 2 1/2 to 3 years old.

Tintypes were first invented in 1852 by Adolpe Alexander Martin, but were patented in 1856 by Hamilton Smith of Ohio.  A rival, Victor Griswold, patented a similar product which he called a ferrotype and later patented with the name tintype.  Tintypes were actually thin sheets of iron on which multiple copies of the photo were printed and then cut.*

Another aid in dating this photo was that this was actually encased in a gold metal frame (see below) which I tried to scan, but the photo came out blurry.  I removed the tintype so the boy's photo could be clearer.  These metal frames were used when tintypes were first introduced.

*Source:  Allen County Public Library, A Tintype by Any Other Name

Sepia Saturday #257 - Children Sitting on Steps - Century Old Photo Op

It's Sunday, but here is my Sepia Saturday entry for the theme based on the father, son and dog on the front porch steps.  I'm late getting this in, but this week at work some kind person shared their germs and I've been down and out with a terrible cold.  I just crawled out of my bed to publish this post so I'll keep it short and sweet.

This first photograph is a copy of the original and was poorly developed so I tried to darken it up a little to make it easier to view.  It shows three little boys and one girl sitting on the front porch steps of a Victorian style house.  None of these children are identified.  I am estimating this was taken in the 1890's.  I wish I could narrow down the time frame, but I am not good at dating children's clothing.

This second photograph again shows four unidentified children, and I am guessing two girls and two boys sitting on the front porch steps.  They are all dressed in white, but the two on the right have on black shoes and the two on the left have on white.  Note, the little girl second from the left is holding her dolly.  I believe this to have been taken between 1910- 1920.

Well, that's all for me.  To see more fabulous photographs step on over to Sepia Saturday!

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.

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 #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.

Sepia Saturday #157 - Christmases Past (My First)

There is nothing forgotten about the faces or place in this photograph, but  I felt it was a good picture to share for this week's Sepia Saturday.  It is a picture taken of me and my grandfather Diamond Milton Smith on Christmas 1955 in Mt. Vernon, IL when I was two months old.  I have always loved and cherished this photo as I  have always been told  how proud and excited he was of his first grandchild.   

Grandpa would have been in his 40's in this photo and it's hard to believe that he was younger than I am today.  I was fortunate to have him for so many years and he died in August of 1997.  He was not a man to share his feelings, but I always knew he loved me.  (And yes, now you can figure out exactly how old I am!)  Happy Holidays!  

For more wonderful Christmas tales please join us over at Sepia Saturday!

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - One and a Half Women from Danville, PA

This week's Women with Hats features a cabinet card with two for the price of one, or rather one and half women.  This photograph taken by McMahan & Irland shows presumably a mother and very young daughter, about age three or four, both wearing hats.  I believe this cabinet card photo to have been taken in the very late 1880's, probably 1888 or 1889.    The mother is wearing a typical 1880's bustled dress and an amazing hat.  The little girl is wearing an white dress and her sweet face is framed by the straw hat with the white flower at the top. 

The photographers are Thomas M. McMahan (1829 - ) son of James and Margaret McMahan and of Scots-Irish origin.  He began to learn the art of photography in 1853 and in 1865 settled in Danville.   In 1871 he went into business with  Mr. Ireland under the name of McMahan & Ireland.  In 1854 he married Carolyn Reed. 

Ireland is James M. Ireland, who was born in Northumberland County, PA in 1847, a son of John M. and Amanda (McMahan) Ireland, also of Scotch- Irish descent    In 1864 he enlisted in Company E, Ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry and served until the close of war and was captured at Woodbury, Tenn, and was paroled three weeks later.   After his return to to Danville he married Lucy F. Maxwell.

Source:  Montour County, Pennsylvania, Biographical Sketches

Presented by Pennsylvania Genealogy Trails & History

Fashionable Friday - Girls' Dress Fashions of the 1860's

Yesterday I posted a photograph (CDV) of a very young girl dated between 1864 and 1866.  A reader made a comment about the "off the shoulder" style seeming a little mature for a young girl.  That had me thinking so I did a little digging into my existing stash of photographs and came up with a couple more from the same era of young girls in similar type dresses.  The first photo I believe to have been taken between 1862 and 1863.  The photographer was J. Good, 36 Greene St., Opposite the Post Office, Trenton, N.J.  This little angel with ringlets in her hair, perhaps five or six years old,  is wearing the same style dress and notice her fringed sleeves.  This is one of my favorite photos, I absolutely adore her.

Unidentified Girl from Trenton, NJ

 


The second girl who appears to be a bit older, perhaps ten or eleven,  is also wearing the off-the-shoulder style in a belted, gingham dress.  She also is wearing a necklace, bracelet and ring.  This photograph was taken between 1864 and 1866 as evidenced by the revenue stamp and initialed by the artist "RB."  The photographer's imprint reads "Barcalow, 76 Bowery, NY."  He was Richard Garrison Barcalow (ca 1826 - 1891), a daguerreotypist and photographer in New York as early as 1859.  I believe he had a studio in New York as late as 1889.

Unidentified Girl from NYC

 


I also found these drawings in Peterson's Magazine from 1862 showing that the off-the-shoulder style for young girls was quite popular around that time.

Petersons July 1862

Petersons Sep 1862

1864-1866 Girl in Pantaloons - CDV with Revenue Stamp

This CDV photograph features a sweet young girl from the 1860's era, probably about five or six years, standing next to a chair wearing a gingham dress with pantaloons.   She is so adorable with her tight curls and the pursed lips, almost a frown. During the Civil War, faced with heavy financial demands, Congress passed on June 30, 1864 a new tax on all photographs, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes or any other sun-pictures, to be paid for by attaching a revenue stamp on the back of the photograph. The stamp tax on photographs was repealed effective August 1, 1866.   Therefore we know this carte de visite is dated between 1864 and 1866.

The amount of tax required for a carte de visite was determined by the cost of the photograph.  In this case the 3 cent "Proprietary" stamp tells us that this CDV  cost between 25 and 50 cents.  Photographers were required to initial the stamp although you will find that this is not always the case. You will see that on the back of this CDV the photographer did indeed initial the stamp, however, as there is no photographer's mark we unfortunately do not know the identity of the artist.  

Sepia Saturday #145 - Boys (and Ladies, too) with Boxing Gloves

This week's Sepia Saturday theme is supposed to center around feet, shoes, football boots, cows, etc. I couldn't find anything that fit that theme just right and I just kept coming back to this one particular photograph and then I realized why. The theme was saying to me "pairs," pairs of things, leather things and since I really like this photo I just decided to go with it.

I don't have any information about the people or location of this picture, it's just one I picked up somewhere, but my guess is that it is probably from the 1940's.  It looks like it is autumn from the lack of leaves on the trees or perhaps even Christmas and the young man has received these boxing gloves as a Christmas present.  It's such a fun photo and if you click on it to enlarge you will see that he has the most devilish little grin.  All I know is he looks like he is immensely enjoying himself and hopefully found a worthy sparring partner!

For more fun and games head over to Sepia Saturday!

Tintype Tuesday - 1860's Baby in Christening Gown

This week's tintype features a young baby probably about 3-4 months old in a christening gown.   Both the type of chair and flooring clue me in that this photo was taken some time in the 1860's.  The sweet little tyke is chubby faced and alert and I'm sure the child's mother treasured this  photograph of her child.  Too bad, once again that there is no identification.

Tintype Tuesday - Two Winsome Tykes

Today's tin type shows two adorable young children, a boy and a girl, most likely siblings although the boy looks to me like he could have some Indian blood. They are each seated, the girl in front on perhaps a small stool, the boy behind her on what appears to be a fringed chair. She has the sweetest face and is wearing a dark dress with perhaps polka dots or small flowers. She is also wearing a chain around her neck with a cross.

The boy, who has such soulful eyes, is dressed in a boy's suit with knee-length pants.  He is leaning on her chair and has one leg crossed over the other.  This tin type is very dark and I have tried lightening it up to be able to see the details. I'm not really good with dating children's clothing, but if I had to guess a date, due to the painted backdrop, I would say mid to late 1880's, however, because of the fringed chair it could be earlier than that even 1870's.  These children and the photographer are both unidentified as well as the location.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - A Bird in Hat is Worth What?

This week's Women with Hats photo is most likely a very early 1900's woman posing with her baby.  As the 19th century came to a close cabinet cards began to take on many shapes and sizes.  This particular cabinet card measures 4 x 8 1/4" and is called a panel card which became popular in the 1890's.  The scroll work you see around the photo was very common at the turn of the century.

In this photo both the subjects and the photographer are unidentified.  The woman is wearing a blouse and skirt that were quite common for the time.  Her hat is also very unusual - it is white with a large brim with dark trim and has a black bird that looks like it has just come in for a landing!  Perhaps this was the fashion, but it is the first one I have seen.  Her baby unfortunately moved and is a bit blurry.  Too bad we don't know who they are or have a location, it's such a great shot bird and all.

Sepia Saturday - Two Fairy Sprites from Columbus, O.

 

When I saw this week's Sepia Saturday theme which centers around the 1920 image, the "Health Fairy" the first thing I thought of was two photos I have had in my collection for some time of two little girls from Ohio. I have always labeled them my little fairy sprites, why I don't know, but they seem so ethereal and delicate, yet spirited.

These cabinet cards are so unusual because they are not the formal poses we usually see, but the photographer allowed the girls, who I believe are twins, to just flit around and be themselves.  These girls were obviously well loved by someone.  There are no names on the photographs, but they came from the same lot of photos of which I previously posted about Muriel Blair and since it is the same photographer, Wells, I have to wonder if they aren't from the same family.  Wells was W. H. Wells, a successful African American photographer who had a studio in Columbus from at least 1895 and possibly earlier to around 1930.  I suspect these photos to have been taken at different times although not too far apart in time.  They were most likely taken around the late 1890's to 1900.

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Sepia Saturday #134 - Then Comes the Baby Carriage

This week's Sepia Saturday centers around baby carriages/prams.  I thought I would have some good examples in my stash, but for some reason I couldn't find any!  Here are three that I did find:

First is an early 1900's photograph (cabinet card) of a young toddler identified in a unusual carriage.  This photo, which I belive is of a young toddler girl, was taken by Geo. A. Joyce of 1073 Hunter Street, Columbus, O.  She is wearing as a sweet little print dress, black tights and black shoes.  She must have moved as her face is blurred.  I have had no luck finding the photographer in the usual ways.  

This next photograph is identified as Frank Owen Wilson, 1924. The young subject is sitting in a wagon and is smiling quite sweetly for the camera. I believe this photograph came from the same lot I purchased the family group photo I previously posted on May 19, 2012, Family Group Shot in The Front Yard. How this young boy might be related I have no idea. There is no photographer on any of these photos and when I did a Ancestry.com search on Frank Wilson Owen there were too many options to do a good search. Maybe someday someone will be looking for him.



Finally, this last photo is a tin type of a baby approximately one year old in a old-fashioned baby pram. Too bad the tin type has been poorly handled over the years, it is scratched and faded and of course, the subject is unidentified. I'm not entirely sure how to date this photo, I'm leaning towards the late 1890's. Note the fake mountain range in the background painting.


Push your carriage on over to Sepia Saturday for more rolling stories!