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.

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

Fashionable Friday - 1860's (Victorian) Woman in Gingham Skirt

I love the interesting side pose by this attractive young Chicago woman who is identified on the back as Millie Loudwick.  She looks quite lovely with a somewhat distant look on her face.  She must be thinking about taking a walk with her beau wearing her flowered, white hat which is on the sofa and carrying her parasol.  I was excited to see her name on the back, but alas was unable to find any trace of her in Ancestry.com.

I've decided that this was most likely taken in the late 1860's due to a number of factors including thickness of the card paper, measurements of the CDV, the two stripes of the border and it most likely had square corners which I believe were cut to put in an album at one time.  

The photographer is listed as Shaw's Mammoth Photograph Rooms located at 186 South Clark St. in Chicago.  A quick search did not turn up any results, but I like the slogan on the bottom of the card, "Pictures Taken In Cloudy Weather at these Photograph Rooms, Superior to those taken elsewhere in town on a fair day."

Wedding Wednesday - 1890's (Edwardian) Chicago Newlyweds

This attractive young Chicago couple posed for their photograph most likely in the early 1890's.  The bride's veil is similar to other's I have posted about here before.  Her finger-less gloves are the first I have seen though.  I can see a wedding ring on the groom's left hand, but am unable to see one on the bride's hand.  The bride is lovely with a tiny waist, wearing a light colored dress unlike the more serviceable dresses seen before in this time frame.  I'm not sure that it is white, perhaps gray?

The back of this dark grey cabinet card is very interesting.  It is actually much darker than seen here and to me it seems to have a Gothic feel. I have lightened it up so it is easier to see.  The front, of course, notes that the photographer is Rudolph's Studio at 957 Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.  Not much was found for Louis Rudolph but he shows up once in the 1904 Chicago City Directory and again in the 1930 Chicago Census as a Proprietor of a Picture Show.  He was born circa 1878 in Denmark.

Unfortunately, as so often occurs, there is no identification for the couple.  It's truly a shame as I'm sure there are probably descendants who would love to have this photo.