« Gentle Reader »

From the beginning of studio photography, the respect for education and the wish to make a bookish statement about oneself became something of a convention (an earlier post of a young woman holding a milk bottle was a startling departure from the norm); women and children frequently held flowers which also made a statement about their tastes and interests – throughout the Victorian era and into the 20th century much was made of the symbolism of particular flowers, a code for communicating sentiments.

As mentioned before, dating photos by children's fashions is a struggle because resources are paltry; often one has a sense based on having looked at so many images; in this case the bow, the smocking on the waist, the yoke accessory, cause me to guess early 20th century, but it could be earlier – the shoes and the wicker chair are not useful for precise dating.

In this photo we may be persuaded that this young girl, by her demeanor, might well spend her time reading, but we'll never know that any more than we will know anything else about her; we'll have to settle for knowing that she was/is pleasant to look at and was very likely a pleasant person to know. Write names, dates, ages and places on all your photographs – your heirs and total strangers will bless you for it.