Boy in chiaroscuro. RPPC. Private Collection.
An artistic portrait of a teen with a half smile. He’s holding a large book, looking up and off to the side as if daydreaming. The background reminds me of a church or school hall.
RPPC: The back is divided with no stamp box.
RPPC. Private Collection.
He has his collar upturned and it looks like an all-in-one dress shirt + collar. This gent was an early adopter.
And there’s something of a defiant sneer behind this half smile. I’m willing to bet his father of the more conservative, detachable starched collar camp didn’t like that his son wore those shirts.
I can hear the father say “Get this travesty of a shirt off and get a proper collar! What is this world coming to? You look undone!”, to which this young gent replied something like “You and your stuffy old ways! I’ll wear what I want!”
Think I’m exaggerating? :) For us today this may seem like a ridiculous issue, but there was an uproar over the adoption of collared shirts into the mainstream. They were thought to make a man not look like a proper gentleman. Oh, the decaying of society! The British were especially against this trend coming from America. Surprised much? Well, they lost this battle.
Photographer: Elsner Studio. Loup City. Nebraska
RPPC: AZO 1904-1918
Barkeep serving group. Tintype circa 1880s-90s. Private Collection.
A tintype of a barkeep standing over a fur rug and re-enacting pouring ale to a group of gentlemen with a little boy looking on. The gent to the far right’s expression is funny. He looks disappointed as if saying “but there’s nothing in my glass…”
Studio photographs of fellows drinking together were very common. Because saloons were most always the main place for men to socialize and organize away from the house,they wished to remember their after-work get-togethers with a studio picture.
1890s-1900s Cabinet card. Private Collection.
More ladies than gents on this beautiful cabinet card of what looks like three sisters and their brother with the light bowler. They’re posing in a fun and unusual way.
That or actors? I cleaned up and enhanced this one. The lady in front moved some and is a bit blurry, but ever-so-slightly.
The front and back are blank on white card stock.
Cabinet card.
Digital restoration work titled The Eavesdropping Two by Caroline C. Ryan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Two with ferns. RPPC. Private Collection.
I remember seeing footage of families waving fern at departing WWI soldiers. Fern is a strong symbol of protection and the love and care of family and community. These two look close and each have fern in their hand. The gent on the left reminds me of Liam Neeson.
RPPC: AZO 1904-1918
Bowlers And High Collars 