Wedding Wednesday - 1890's (Victorian Era) Belleville, IL Bride and Groom

This interesting 1890's Cabinet Card shows how many brides did not wear white, but instead wore serviceable dresses that could be worn again and  again for many other occasions.  This lovely bride is wearing a most likely dark brown or black dress, but with the typical white headdress with white flowers you see so often in this time period. The subjects in this photograph are unidentified.

The photographer is Frederick B. Merkel of Belleville, IL who was born 3 Mar 1851 in Belleville to German immigrants, Phillip and Elizabeth Merkel.  He practiced his craft in Belleville between 1880 to at least 1910 when he moved to West Palm Beach, FL.  He died on 27 Feb 1930.  I have published one other photograph for this photographer  - see here:  https://forgottenfacesandlongagoplaces.blogspot.com/search/label/Photographer%20-%20Merker.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - 1880's (Victorian Era) Vermont Woman in Feathers & Fur

This fabulous photograph was taken sometime in the 1880's of young woman in Bellows Falls,VT.  I am always curious when I see these old photos of subjects wearing their winter coats.  I wonder why they chose to be photographed this way instead of in a lovely dress or suit. In this particular case, she is wearing what appears to be a two-toned fur coat with matching fur hand muff.  The fur scarf has dangling balls which I have never seen before.  Her hat has several things going on as well with the bill jutting out at a jaunty angle, white, wispy feathers and a satin bow at the top.  I also see some thin white things - not sure what they are - sticking out of the top of the hat.  

I think she is quite proud of her ensemble, but alas, she is not identified on the back of the cabinet card.

The photographer is Blake, Frederick Joseph Blake of Bellows Falls, VT.  He practiced his profession in that area between 1880 to the early 1920's.  He was born 3 Dec 1853 to Seth and Martha Jane Blake.  He died in Bellows Falls on 1 Feb 1923. 

Eyes are the Window to the Soul (Victorian Era Women)

It has often been said the the "eyes are the window to the soul."  There is some confusion as to the original speaker of this quote, Shakespeare being in the running to be the author.    Something broght this quote to my mind and I decided to share a few of my favorite "soulful eyed" ladies of the past.

This first young woman is unidentified and she sat for photographer T. M. Sausman of Norristown, Pa in the late 1870's.  She has such a wistful look on her face, I wonder what she was thinking about.

 

Subject number two, another lovely young woman, also probably dated late 1870's  was from Iowa City, Iowa.  She too is unidentified and the photographer was James of that city.  

 

The third photograph is of a woman a little older, possibly fortyish?  This is one of my favorites, she appears to have such character to her face, not to mention good bones.  Also unidentified, she sat for photographers Brown & Gillis of Galesburg, Mich.  most likely late 1870's.

 

Fashionable Friday - 1860's (Victorian Era) Woman with Lace Shaw

I love the simplicity and elegance of this photo.  This Wilmington, Del. woman is wearing a cream belted hoop-skirt dress.  It is covered by a lovely black lace shawl and she is holding a straw hat.  It is hard to see, but she has a simple ribbon adorning her hair and has a snood covering the bun at her nape.

This young woman sat for the photographer, Wm. H. Curry between 1863- 1865.  Curry was located at No. 309 Market Street, Wilmington, Del.

Wedding Wednesday - Turn of the Century (Edwardian) Double Wedding in Westfield, WI

Looking at this photo of these two young Westfield, WI women you may think you are seeing double.  They appear to be sisters, possibly twins and are wearing identical dresses, veils and even hairstyles for their double wedding.  They are also wearing white gloves with their gowns and I believe I can see their rings through the gloves.  I find it interesting that only the bride on the right is wearing a locket around her neck.  I wonder if she is possibly the older of the two and this was an heirloom that was passed down to her?  Their grooms even look like and could possibly be related and are wearing identical suits as well.  Due to the style of dress and the type of cabinet card I believe this to have been taken between 1900 - 1910.  There is no identification on the back of the card.  I wish I knew who they were and what their story was.

The photographer was Fenner & Son of Westfield, Wis.  This was John Fenner and his son Jacob who were active in the area between 1895 - 1925.  John Fenner was born in Germany in 1834 to Jacob Fenner and Anna Martha Grebruse and he died on 3 Jul 1923. 

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Stylish 1909 (Edwardian) Woman - Bernice Clark

This young woman, identified as Bernice Clark on the back, sat for this photo on May 1, 1909.   She is wearing a stylish suit and hat and has a serene expression on her face.  The white flowers give the hat and the scene just a touch of needed whimsy.  She appears to be in her early twenties.  She signed the back of the card and addressed it to her Uncle Fay.  This is an unusual sized cabinet card (4" x 9") that unfortunately does not have a photographer's name or mark so makes it difficult to narrow down her identity further.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Two Young Edwardian Era Women in Big Hats

This picture postcard showcases two attractive young women from 1905 - 1910 in very large hats.  They are both dressed very sharply in fitted dresses with inset  bodices and high necklines.  The girl on the left is wearing eyeglasses and a locket that is pinned, not worn on a chain.  Alas, once again they are sadly unidentified.

Fashionable Friday - Stylish Civil War Era (Victorian) Woman from Buffalo, NY

This very stylish young woman from Buffalo, NY posed for this CDV photo from 1864 - 1866 for photographer W. M. Knight.  I am able to date the photo by the Federal Tax Stamp on the back.  She is identified as Ida F. Good.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find any further information on her.

Her dress is very beautiful, most likely silk with chevron trim on the sleeves and a beautiful colored plaid necktie.  She is also wearing ear-bobs and bracelets.  

The photographer was Willard M. Knight located in Buffalo from 1855 to 1879.  He had several addresses including 238 Main, 194 Main, 246, 256, and 258 Main as well as 308 Main.

Women with Hats - Two 1890's Edwardian) St. Cloud Women

I've been away a very long time.  I have excuses....work, my spouse's health issues, my own laziness, etc.  I've missed looking at old photos and more importantly doing the research to find what I can to determine the who, what, when, and where they occurred.  My first foray back into the mix will be simple with this photo of two 1894 St. Cloud, MN women wearing hats and coats.  I always find it interesting that people wore coats in their formal photographs.  In this particular photo on the back it says, " Dec 21th, 1894, Jane Whitelsy Mitchel & Mary."I could not find any trace of  Jane Whitelsy.

The photographer was Fritz who had an address on Germain Street.  If you look closely you can see embossed on the right side, "Fritz, St, Cloud.  This is most likely John J. Fritz, born in July 1868 to Andrew and Mary Fritz. Both parents emigrated from Germany.  He married Anna Hammerell whose parents also came from Germany.  They are seen in the 1902 St. Cloud census with children Willfred, Hugo, Robert and Margaret. He died on 28 Jul, 1918 at the age of 50.

Photographers were experimenting with different types of photo presentation in this period.  This particular one is about the size of a CDV and has saw-tooth edges on each side.    The back side shows the names of the subjects.

Tintype Tuesday - Late 1860's/Early 1870's (Victorian) Young Woman with Flowers in Her Hair

Today's Tintype Tuesday is a lovely young, unidentified young  woman wearing a belted, gingham dress with flowered headband.  This tintype photograph was most likely taken in the late 1860's to early 1870's, but since there is no photographer's mark or identification of the subject it is not possible to positively narrow down the date or location.

Fashionable Friday -1860's Civil War Era (Victorian) Philadelphia Woman in Checkered Hoop Dress

This 1860's CDV of an unidentified Philadelphia, PA woman in a checkered, hoop dress is simple, but interesting. I'm not an expert at deciphering fabrics, but this dress has a very striking checkered fabric with dark waistband. There is also a dark piece of matching trim running down the length of the pagoda sleeves. In addition, she has the typical 1860's small white collar.  Her hair is worn in the style of the times; parted in the middle and pulled back in a bun and note her decorative headdress. This young woman was quite lovely and demure in her pose.

It is very hard to tell from the scan, but it appears the photographer lightly tinted her cheeks.  This photograph appears to have been taken between 1862 to early 1864.  The back of the photo is almost more interesting than the front.  The photographer is listed as "Rehn & Sons' New & commodious Ground floor Galleries.  510 Arch Street Philadelphia. 

 I found a number of similar time frame photos on Google by Rehn & Sons, but little information on the photographer.  I found this information on Ancestry.com in the 1864 Philadelphia City Directory, but due to the large amount of Rehns in Philadelphia was not able to pin down the exact name of which was the father and/or the sons.

Wedding Wednesday - Elegant 1930's (Art Deco Era) Wedding Party

For today's Wedding Wednesday here is a great photograph of a very fashionable and sophisticated 1930's wedding party.  The bride and groom are in the middle; not sure which couple are the maid of honor and best man.  The bridal bouquet is made of Calla Lilly's which were very popular in the 1930's.  Her veil and the long train are a work of art!

The photographer was Damoff Studio of 37 Monroe St., Passaic, N.J.  I was unable to find much information on this photographer.  This appears to be Herman Damoff  born on  15 Sep 1891 and died in October of 1978 in New Jersey as per this 1930 Passaic, NJ City Directory entry:

Tintype Tuesday - 1870's (Victorian)Teenage Girl with Long, Curly Hair

Today's tintype features a teenage girl from most likely the 1870's.  Unfortunately as is seen with most tintypes, this subject is unidentified and there is no photographer or year associated.  Her hair is worn long, braided back from the face and adorned with a large bow and some type of beading embellishment in the center part.  

The very busy neck and bust adornments are all characteristics of 1870 women's fashions.  Note the unusual bow scarf, frilly neck and long rope chain with pendant. Her dress has an unusual dark, quilted piece down the front that beautifully offsets the lighter colors of the rest of the dress and accessories.

1870's Teenage Girl

This tintype is badly scratched all over especially across her face, but using the "retouch" function of my basic photo program I was able to bring back to life her promising young beauty.  Note that the photographer has tinted her cheeks pink.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Feathery Hat on Columbus, O. Woman 1880's (Victorian)

This very stylish young woman had her photograph taken by photographer Pfeifer in Columbus, O. in the late 1880's.  I am putting the date around 1888.  She is wearing a fashionable bustled dress with beautiful pearl-like trim.  One tiny drop earring is showing and a hoop bracelet appears on her right wrist.  She is also wearing a large corsage with white flowers to offset the darker color of the dress.  I wish I knew what color is was; possibly gray or brown?  Her hat is stunning of course with the large feathery plumes and I see a dark satin bow on the right side.

1888 Columbus, Ohio Woman

It's hard to tell from this scan, but this cabinet card has gold-gilt beveled edges which was one of my clues in dating the photograph.  The photographer was John A. Pfeifer of Columbus who had a photography business in Columbus for many years. I found him listed in the city directory up until 1887 at the address on the card.  In the 1889 directory he had moved his business to a different address. He was born about 1858 in Ohio to German immigrant parents. I also found him listed in the 1920 census living in a boarding house, a widower and still working as a photographer.

Those Places Thursday - 1860's Actress Ada Webb

For a very long time I've wanted to post this CDV photograph of a very beautiful and contemplative young woman.  This photo was taken by C. D. Fredericks of 587 Broadway, New York, 108 Calle de la Habana, Habana, and 31 Passage du Havre, Paris. My belief is that this was taken in New York City, due to information published by Benson John Lossing¹. By looking at several things including the thin green border lines I can determine this the date of the photograph as between 1863 – 1864.

The subject is unidentified, but what is quite interesting is that while perusing Pinterest just the other night I came across this photograph of two sisters and the one on the left is most obviously my subject.  I tried to no avail to trace back to the original poster in the hopes of finding more information about that particular photograph – very frustrating indeed. 

UPDATE August 2018:  This is actress Ada Webb who often acted on the stage in the 1860's with her sister Emma Webb.

In researching the photographer, I identified him as Charles Deforest Fredericks born in 1823, died 1894.  He was born wealthy, taken to Cuba as a boy and when his father’s fortunes plummeted in the crash of 1837 he was unable to attend college.  He abandoned a finance career and sought his fortune in Venezuela.  Seeking something to fall back on he took up photography, taking lessons from Jeremiah Gurney.  After a serious misadventure in in Brazil he traveled to the United States before returning to South America.  He mastered his craft then crossed the Atlantic and using the glass negative conquered Paris.  Using the image enlarger developed by Snelling he created life size portraits and make a small fortune.

He returned to New York as a celebrity and established the successful Fredericks Studio on Broadway opposite the Metropolitan Hotel which was the largest and most stylish gallery in the city.  The studio was destroyed by fire in 1875 and relocated to 770 Broadway.  Fredericks died in 1894.

¹History of New York City, (New York, Perine, 1884), 411-13.  Charles DeForest Fredericks, The Photographic Journal of America 31 (1894), 310.

Wedding Wednesday - Exquisite 1920's (Art Deco Era) New York City Bride

What can say about this stunning 1920's New York City bride.  She is a vision of bridal perfection. Her dress is so beautiful and ethereal, but what is amazing is if you look closely, her dress is actually a short sleeved, light shift almost like a chemise. This seems to be a common theme in the 1920's and they were all so beautiful.  There is much more to the veil it seems than the dress.  The wrap-around headdress is magnificent with its pearl beading. She is also wearing a long pearl necklace and note her full length lacy gloves. 

Unfortunately, this beautiful bride is unidentified which is quite sad; she is probably someone's mother, grandmother or great-grandmother and I'm sure they would love to have this photograph.

The photographer was Speiss of 54 Second Avenue, New York.  His technique was excellent in the softness he applied to her face; she is truly a  bride for the ages.

Sepia Saturday - Turn of the Century Woman in Silhouette (Edwardian Era)

This past week I made my reentry into publishing blog entries after nearly a year and a half away.  It felt like meeting up with an old friend, one you haven’t seen in a long time, but fall right back into where you left off.  Today I return to another old friend, Sepia Saturday, who I have also greatly missed, and the wonderful people who post each week.

This week the subject is based around making silhouettes.  I had the perfect photos in mind, but of course, cannot find them.  A year ago my computer crashed (part of the reason I've been away so long) and when my son was helping purchase and set up my new equipment he insisted on putting all my carefully cataloged photos on an external hard drive while saying, “Mother, who keeps 40,000 photos on her C drive?”  Well, me of course.  The photos are now jumbled in a giant mess and I have neither the energy nor the expertise to efficiently organize them.

I finally decided on this photo of a very interesting "turn of the century" young woman in silhouette pose.  She is wearing a high-necked white blouse quite typical for the time and I love the poofy, flowery bow in her hair.  What really drew me to purchase this photograph was her spectacles – they help make her face so interesting.

The photographer was Elmer M. Enlow born in Lee Township, Athens County, Ohio on September 17, 1867 according to Jeffrey Weidman in his book, Artists in Ohio, 1787 - 1900:  A Biographical Dictionary.  According to Weidman, Enlow bought his studio from John C. Brannan in 1898 and was still active as of 1905.

I urge all my readers to click this link, Sepia Saturday, for more great photos and fascinating stories.

Tintype Tuesday - Stylish Young 1880's (Victorian Era) Woman with Hat

I love this tintype of a stylish young 1870's woman wearing bustled dress and hat.  She is leaning on a photographer's fake stone prop and is holding a handkerchief in her hand. Her dress has the typical fitted bodice and front buttons of the time and she is wearing a dark colored boater-type hat with what appears to be feathers on the top.  I love the not so typical bangs of her hairstyle.  She is quite lovely and I can't help wondering what she was thinking.


Update:  This one has been bothering me and I am changing the timeline to 1880's!

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

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - 1890's Nashville, TN Woman

Sorry I haven't posted much lately, much going on personally, but wanted to share this photo of a young woman from late 1890's Nashville, TN.  The quality of the photograph is not great, in fact it is a little blurry.  I like it for a several reasons; some of my ancestors came from that area, she is sporting a great hat and if you look closely you can see she is wearing eyeglasses.  I'm not sure what you call that thing around her neck, maybe a boa or just the collar of her coat, but it is wonderful as well.  I tried really hard to make out the photographer's name which is embossed right above the location at the lower right hand corner with no luck.