Two canes, three hats, a mustache and a whole lot of attitude. Tintype. Private Collection.
These three 1880s gentlemen by a balustrade are all very well-dressed, the one to the right with the creased pants, the other to the left with a tight-fitting striped pair. All are wearing Windsor ties typical of the decade.
The men look like they were business partners. The confident attitude of the man to the left makes him look like a ruthless go-getter. Roar!
1904 Lake Hopatkong -New Jersey tourist group. 1/6th plate tintype. Private Collection.
I love this casually posed group! They had their photo taken at a studio near the lake Hopatcong in New Jersey, sometime in the warmer months of 1904. The original orange sleeve came with it and is falling apart, but at least it has the name of the lake stamped on and the date in pencil.
These dapper friends decided to all pose with coats off and sitting on the wood floor, so the ones in the back were on their knees!
What’s funny too is the one in the middle decided to roll up his trousers’ hems, revealing some leg with the socks and sock garters (oh la la! lol). His pal with the cigar hanging off his mouth is also showing his socks. Because they’re without coats we see the sleeve garters, and the mixes of patterns on their shirts, ties and braces.
And of course, the hats and smiles. Such a great group portrait!
They give off the vibe of office workers (‘White Collars’ – guess that’s where the expression comes from). Maybe New Yorkers on a fun trip out of the city, the lake was a hot destination and just 80 minute from N.Y by train.
A bit on the lake and its visitors:
1900s Lake Opatkong advert.
The single most important factor in Lake Hopatcong’s growth as a resort was the construction of the Hotel Breslin completed in 1887. This hotel’s construction by a group of wealthy and influential individuals (including Garrett Hobart, who later served as Vice President of the United States under President McKinley) gave Lake Hopatcong instant credibility as a resort. As Gustave Kobbe noted in his New Jersey guidebook of 1890, “The Hotel Breslin gave to Hopatcong its first decided ‘boom,’ for it brought to the Lake the element of wealth and fashion, in the wake of which everything else follows.”
At the same time that the Lake was becoming a large hotel resort, other development was also occurring. Many early visitors camped at the Lake or built crude cottages. Wealthy individuals also were learning of the Lake and building Victorian “cottages,” including an entire millionaire’s community around the grand Breslin Hotel in Mount Arlington.
Lotta Crabtree
As with any “hot” resort, Lake Hopatcong was a magnet for many of the “rich and famous” of the day. The most famous female actress of her era, Lotta Crabtree, had a home built here in the 1880’s. Hudson Maxim, noted scientist and inventor, came here at the turn of the century and built a large estate in the Borough of Hopatcong. During the heyday of Vaudeville and Burlesque, the Lake became a favorite rest stop for performers during the summer when most theaters closed. Bud Abbot, Bert Lahr, and Milton Berle were among the many show business people to spend considerable time at the Lake.
Source: lakehopatkong.org
1880s teens. 1/6th plate tintype. Private Collection
This is one I acquired recently and there’s everything to love here; how the boy’s frock coat with the short bowler contrasts with the young girls’ elaborate Victorian fashion with the pleats and patterns. The details are amazing too, like the lace collar of the girl in the back and the feathered derby of the one in the front (I want it). The young ladies are all wearing their neatly brushed hair down.
Also, the two front girls are sitting high on the bench; they must be wearing bustle dresses.
These four most likely were brother and sisters who were close in age, or maybe fraternal twins with siblings, or perhaps siblings with cousins. One thing’s for certain, they were all very photogenic and made a gorgeous group portrait.
Some pictures make me want to stare for ages. This is one of those. I have it framed by my computer.
Here’s a CDV of the same era with another teen boy wearing a similar short bowler I find very stylish.
Digital restoration work titled Beautiful Victorian Teen Sisters And Their Cute Brother In A Bowler by Caroline C. Ryan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
I got these two tintypes from the same place. I didn’t notice when I got them, but the boy on the second one looks like he could be the same one as on the first.
What do you think? He has the same short nose, downward curled lips and dark eyes. The chin is different but it could be the way he’s posing. He also likes his bowlers.
The same boy ?
I like the way they’re posing with their hands on their father’s shoulders. He had them late in life it seems, or -less likely- he was their grandfather. Isn’t he a character too with his rugged looks and bushy beard? Right out of a Gold Rush story.
These tintypes give me this feeling this was taken in a rural area, a smaller town somewhere in the plains or mountains of the American west or northwest. They are dressed well, but decidedly adapted to the country life.
On the second tintype the boy is dressed up without a collar or tie (leave those uncomfortable accoutrements to the city boys!), and his shoes are dusty. There is something on them, some kind of flap, perhaps to protect from backsplash while riding a horse or wagon.
On the first tintype, the younger brother looks like he’s wearing some type of low hanging striped apron over the trousers. Maybe this served the same purpose.
Also, while the two backdrops are different they look like they were painted by the same artist.
Private Collection
1/6th plate of a brunette teen boy sitting cross-legged on a wicker chair. Most likely an American. I read somewhere -alas I can’t remember the source- Europeans (especially the English) liked to keep their suit pants and coat’s color matching. Americans were more adventurous and mix-matched (those crazy yanks!). This seems to be true from what I’ve seen so far.
An interesting bit of info on this collar after the cut.
Bowlers And High Collars 