The Circus Returns To Boston 1909

If the amateur photographer imagined for even a moment that anyone would be looking at his day’s work in 100 years, he would think we were focused on the parade just as he was; the very idea that we would also be scouring the scene for clothes styles and signboards would not enter his mind.

If your own photography efforts are looked at by generations to come, what do you suppose will interest them? What will be strange, quaint, charming, amusing and even disturbing?

Let’s begin with the crowds of onlookers. A lucrative commercial enterprise would have been haberdashery in 1909: nearly every man has his bowler or straw boater; every boy his cap; every woman and most girls her wide hat with mounds of ribbon and artificial flowers. Imagine the sheer yardage that went into the clothing of the times compared with the relatively skimpy investment in materials that cover us today!

On to the commercial establishments whose signs we can read: Thorndike Stables (Hacks To Let, Boarding); L. D. Johnson (business?); W. R. Wolfe & Co. House And Sign Painting (Painting, Decorating and Hardwood Finishing, Signs); Hyde’s Lunch; a Barber Shop; Plumber & Sanitary Engineer (Steam, Hot Water And Gas Fitting); A. Bray Co. Boots & Shoes; A. Hughson Carpenter And Builder (Jobbing A Specialty); Carl A. Yeitz (sp?) Genuine German Sausages (note the men have pulled chairs onto the roof above to improvise a box seat view; today the proprietor would be wringing his hands and whining about how his insurance does not allow it – get down from there immediately!) There is a little dog who has a fine seat at a window!

Oh, yeah, the circus parade (I was getting to that; I really was)! Looks like some sort of fancy wagon being pulled by 20 small ponies harnessed four abreast; and some other wagon pulled by horses. That’s all I can make out. (See the earlier circus post for another view – with camels! – and circus-related comments for the period)

Leg Of Mutton For Four, Please

And be quick about it! The leg of mutton sleeve began in the 1892/93 season and was all but exhausted by '96, so it was not in fashion for long; stories are told of women needing to pivot the upper torso to pass through doorways.

These four young ladies are at the Marsh studio on Tontine Street, Folkestone, England, c. 1896, and they are, as we might put it, pretty hot stuff!

The photographer has grouped them in an appropriately stylish triangular form, though he has gotten a little carried away in seating one in an unflatteringly low sitting position. He also failed to notice that the woman on the far right has her lace trim out of position (I'm sure she was not pleased); she and the one on the far left sport the more extreme cut – virtually the same pattern with very different trim but precisely the same embossed material (they may be sisters but it is not certain they are twins); the one in the center has already opted for the more feminine style that succeeded it. They all wear wide-brimmed hats piled with all the milliner had to offer. They did not buy either their dresses or hats off a rack – don't even suggest such a thing!

The Fine Art Made Evident

You would be hard put to come up with finer examples of the studio photographer's art than these portraits of a little girl about 4 years old, taken by Kimball of Concord, New Hampshire.

A seamless background has been used so there are no lines or shadows to distract from the figure and the simple elegance of the chair. The photographer lights the area evenly and naturally. His skill with children is evident by the way he allows her to assume her own stance, and he knows enough to give her a pillow so that her feet will not dangle above the floor and cause her to assume an awkward pose; she does not smile but she is obviously not at all uncomfortable with him.

These portrait prints do not appear to have been removed from their folders since they came from the photographer, indeed they show no signs of having been viewed and certainly never displayed – which leads me to wonder if there was another pose from this visit that the family preferred and these were just never used (virtual rejects)!

This child is not wearing hightop boots or shoes, a rarity to be sure – patent leather Mary Janes with rhinestone buckles! These are surely early 20th century, but the chair may have already been an antique from the 1870s when all things oriental were the rage.

Floral Elegance

Imagine commanding the masses of roses and other flowers such as you see women holding in portraits from the latter 19th and earlier 20th centuries. I have no idea if this late 20s – early 30s print is a bride, bride's maid or other formal attire, but nearly half of her gown is hidden behind the bouquet!

The embossed texture of the print looks like the pebbled pattern in pig skin. You learn never to be too surprised by what you see in studio photos, but here it looks for all the world like she is standing on an old unfinished board from a construction project scaffolding – nail holes and all!

The Two Graces

From Thessaloniki, Greece, (northeastern seaport, second largest city, capital of the Mecedonian region) comes this family photo of two little goddesses who deserve the appellation of Aglaia, one of the Three Graces and Goddess of Beauty. Perhaps two years apart in age but dressed identically, these two curly-headed blondes watch the photographer – the little one with shyness and the older one with the look children often reserve for strangers.

They have paper-covered wood or fiber toy cutouts of buildings and trees, probably studio props; the simple mottled background identifies this as a studio setting and the composition, focused close to the subjects without a lot of extraneous background, dates it in the 20th century, perhaps as late as 1930.

The print was tipped to heavy paper and was probably clipped from a family album; the condition is marvelous and so I was able to preserve its coffee-with-cream tones. There is no identification.