Boy in dirty shirt. 2″ 1/2 x 3″ 1/5 snapshot. Private Collection.
A peppy boy from the 30’s or 40’s who posed in his dirty shirt, probably for a school picture. His eyes sparkle with life, and if his shirt is any indication there wasn’t a spot he didn’t crawl under or climbed above in his neighborhood. A very beautiful portrait.
Studio car RPPC. Private Collection.
No painted backdrop here, just the car and a nice trio of friends.
RPPC: PMO 1907-1915
Rochester Victorian young man. Cabinet Card. Private Collection.
What was going on in his head when he decided to pose like this? His long front hair’s curled atop instead of slicked back like his contemporaries, not only that but his tie is going sideways too. Cuckoo bird! Did he try to be different? His hair reminds me of Mr. Burghy of the Civil War era. We’ll forgive him. He’s still a cutie!
Miller. Rochester N.Y. Handsome young man with curl.
Photographer: Miller. 146 State Street. Rochester. N.Y.
Two on a bench. Private Collection.
If you’re smiling on a tintype, you’re halfway to joining my collection. This is a set of late period ones, I’d say 1910s-1920, of very relaxed and smiling friends posing together on a bench. The two on the first are also on the second, accompanied by their two other friends. The gent to the right on the first is smiling so wide on both, he really got into it!
1860’s Carte de visite. J.W. Gould. Ohio. Private Collection.
A handsome sitter from the 1860’s with very light blue eyes! Several points to make about this portrait:
I like that the picture was framed within the border lines of this carte de visite.
Also, the way he tied his neck ribbon is interesting.
And he chose to open his waistcoat with the top and bottom still buttoned, like many Civil War soldiers did on the pictures of the era…Was he a veteran in civilian suit? A good chance, the lines and corners of this CDV date this picture to be between 1864 and 1869. The next decade saw the rise of a civilian fashion trend where men wore their coat with the top buttoned but not the bottom. The thought behind it was to show the waistcoat, but I have a theory on it. I think the trend emerged out of respect for soldiers whose uniforms were standard issued and were too small for their frame…For example, the trend of bushy beards became popular with mature Victorians when they wished to imitate the soldiers who fought the Crimean war. I believe people were looking up to those brave boys and adopted their style…so why not the way a coat or waistcoat is buttoned?
Photographer: J.W. Gould. Main Street. Carrollton, Ohio.
Bowlers And High Collars 