1860s ‘uncle’ John Randolph. CDV. Private Collection.
This handsome fellow with the small smile came on a CDV with the beautiful design around the vignette portrait. His name is written in pencil on the back. Was he of the famed Randolph family of Virginia?
I wonder if his bowtie was a patriotic red and white.
John Randolph CDV with the intricate chandelier-like frame design.
Paper moon duo. RPPC. Private Collection.
I’ve been wanting to add a ‘paper moon’ to my collection. The moon is so small these two buddies are almost on top of each other. And what a toothy grin!
Close up
Two more examples of gents with paper moons here and here.
I need to find out where this paper moon craze came from. They were found in amusement parks and people loved them. This Pinterest page is worth checking out.
RPPC: AZO 1904-1918
Circa 1910 British army cadet. RPPC in tintype case. Private Collection.
This circa 1910 British cadet who can’t be more than 12-13, is proudly posing in his green wool uniform with peaked cap and sword by the side.
I find this photograph quite beautiful yet sad and haunting. This boy went on to fight in the First World War at a very young age, of this there’s no doubt.
I also find interesting that his paper picture was framed in a tintype case.
So I asked myself, “is there a name or note hidden to the back of the picture?” I opened it.
Well, it wasn’t all for nothing (I think I would have kicked myself if I found nothing but something told me). It did reveal a note, the partial name of the boy and that this is a RPPC with the divided back, which dates the picture to around 1907-1914; it fits the era of the uniform.
I think his surname was either Stan or Stanley, and his given name most likely Carl or Charles.
From C. Stan to Dick.
Of course I put the case back together and wrote the name in pencil on the outside.
Those cases are fragile but this one had already been meddled with by someone who removed a tintype and replaced it with this RPPC, so I took a chance. I can imagine a family member lovingly doing this or the boy himself to give as a keepsake.
One million British soldiers and allies died during World War I. I set to research some for a match and got sidetracked reading the many individual stories of those who fell. I won’t lie, as an army wife it was particularly emotionally exhaustive, and a partial name isn’t enough to come to a definite conclusion, but I tried. I did find two soldiers by the shared name of Charles Stanley who died in 1917 and 1918 at the same age (19). No one by the name Stan Carl or Charles died during the war is all I can say for sure.
(On Netflix in the U.S you can catch Our World War, a three part BBC docu-series of particularly powerful individual stories of British soldiers who experienced those truly horrible years. If you can get past the choice of music for the soundtrack I highly recommend it. The husband says it is to relate to younger audiences.)
1890s-1900s European circus performers. CDV. Private Collection
The CDV is blank, back and front, but someone wrote their names and even the circus they toured with. Unfortunately I haven’t found info on either the circus or this pair of dancers/circus performers. I can’t even begin to imagine what their lives were like performing on the road back then. What do you think, siblings or a couple? It would make sense to imagine siblings growing up training how to dance, and they look similar.
Robert og Hilda Smith
Cirkus Frank C. Louis
Violinist in the snow. RPPC. Private Collection.
This musician in his late teens has impossibly light eyes, accentuated by the bright lights of the snow covered yard or street. A beautiful portrait of him posing with his instrument.
A close up:
Detail. Private Collection.
RPPC: AZO 1904-1918
Bowlers And High Collars 