August 30, 2015

Hm…woman or not?

By C.E. Ryan
Woman or Victorian Crossdresser? Cabinet card. Private Collection.

Woman or Victorian Crossdresser? Cabinet card. Private Collection.

So once in a while I’ll spot a Victorian woman I find suspiciously looking like a man. Not a very flattering thought if indeed this woman in bustle dress was her own gender. She has some thick brows and a masculine jawline. The idea intrigues me.

I don’t see a crossdresser posing with family in this way either, and these don’t look related enough to be siblings…but maybe I’m wrong. Never say never…but this may not be her family either. The gent with the shaved head above her does look like her some. A possibility could be these are stage actors and the man is dressed as a woman for a role. A bit far fetched but…

To note the mustached gent standing up looks so very Victorian!

You be the judge.

You be the judge.

And look at her tousled hair (or wig). And the crazy looking hat…By the style of dress I’d say this was taken in the 1880’s.

Photographer: Beach. Bryan O.

9 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Cabinet Cards, Groups

August 29, 2015

1911-12 Springfield Medway Collegians basketball team

By C.E. Ryan
1911-12 basketball team. Collegians. RPPC. Private Collection.

1911-12 basketball team. Collegians. RPPC. Private Collection.

These players wore ‘plus fours’ over high socks. Two players are partially IDed as Felix and Harry, with their coach Evan (who doesn’t look too much older).

basketball-collegians-back

Aunt Cary -Please be sure to return this. C.W.H

This is our Medway Collegians. All home boys and graduate of our High School, Olive Branch, and they belong to the YMCA league in Springfield. Play every Wed. night – and we are proud of them.

To note, the game was invented in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts by James Naismith as a way to condition athletes in winter. The YMCA was key to popularizing this sport around the world. During WWI, the American Expeditionary Force brought basketball wherever it went. Together with the troops, there were hundreds of physical education teachers who knew and spread the game of basketball. Naismith spent two years with the YMCA in France in that period.

(There are 38 Springfield cities and towns in the United States. Was this picture taken in the birth city of basketball in Massachusetts? It would be kind of cool but it needs more research.)

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Groups, RPPCs

August 28, 2015

The Pink Smooch

By C.E. Ryan
1930s French postcard. Private Collection.

1930s French postcard. Private Collection.

This beautiful woman has the Vivien Leigh looks and style. The uniformed man is posing like he’s going to kiss her cheek, and there is something like a white flower branch hanging above their heads. By all accounts a very pretty romance postcard.

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August 27, 2015

Alice and friend

By C.E. Ryan

1880s teenage girls. Tintype. Private Collection.

1880s young girls. Tintype. Private Collection.

Definitely very off theme! I had to post this tintype I’ve had for some time now. I could not not share it here. I love the striped stockings of the standing girl, they feel right out of a Victorian gothic fairytale. These two’s dresses are amazing and their rosy cheeks complement them. And the way the standing girl placed her hands on the other one’s shoulder. A very lovely duo.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Teens, Tintypes

August 27, 2015

The Art Deco Cabinet Card

By C.E. Ryan

1930s cabinet card.

1920s-30s cabinet card of gentleman after the rain. Private Collection.

I love stumbling upon photographs like this. This cabinet card was made around a couple of decades after they ceased being produced. Perhaps it was a novelty photograph, or some photographers still offered them to whomever wished to have a “retro” portrait of themselves. There is no photographer info, unfortunately, but instead we have “cabinet portrait” surrounded by a gorgeous mirrored art deco design.

And the fact that this portrait was taken outside in a yard right after a rain. Those photographs always have a special glow to them.

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