Smiling impishly with a bandaged finger. 2″ x 3″ tintype. Private Collection.
When you injure yourself on the day of your photoshoot appointment! This charming gent has a very playful smile on his face. Under his tilted hat he’s posing with a bandaged finger prominently displayed. He could have easily hid it but chose not to.
Gents Furnishing & Misfit Parlor storefront. RPPC. Private Collection.
I love this very quaint and informative picture. And there is another employee looking out from behind the shop’s door; too shy to get in the picture? This looks like it may have been a family business. Most caps in this shop were .39c. Some suits are priced at $4, some cheaper. At the time the median daily wages for average skilled workers was between $1.50 and 3 dollars a day, so it gives you an idea of how expensive clothes were. There were no cheaper options like we have today. After rent, clothes took the largest chunk out of people’s earnings, with food (and tobacco and drinks *cough*).
This shop sold menswear but also cleaned and pressed. I find it humorous they called it the Misfit Parlor. The younger gent to the left with a dog at his feet (probably theirs) is looking a bit bored.
Detail.
Another storefront group RPPC in this collection, this time of tailors.
Bowlers And High Collars 