Friday, February 3, 2012

Photo Number 782

This is a Cabinet Card  from the antique shop in Solway Minnesota.

Cabinet Card Solway Uncle John and H Von Koch

He looks very tall. She is holding his arm..which at this time would have been a great show of affection!   Her dress  has a ruffled trim along the hem.

On a side note.  I have looked at some of the traveling gowns/dresses in the museum.  Many of the black ones have different trims hand sewn along the bottom.  I was told that the bottoms of the dresses got soiled easily and this was one way to keep them cleaner.  One old lady remarked “They had to have extra trims for the bottom hems of their dresses because men spit their tobacco out in the street.”

Cabinet Card Solway back Uncle John  and H Von Koch

This may be Uncle John and H. Von Koch.  I have no idea why Eden Valley, Minn was scratched out and Berlin, Germany was entered. 

The Photographer E. K. Gesme was in Eden Valley from 1894 top 1895.   Perhaps he took a trip to Germany and took photographs while he was there. 

Thanks for stopping by, do come again:)

3 comments:

  1. Funny how Eden Valley is split across Meeker and Stearns counties.

    If they immigrated to the USA, they probably dropped the "Von".

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  2. He really is a big guy. I cannot imagine the "yuck" that collected on the bottom of those dresses. eewwww! But, her ruffle is very festive considering how severe the rest of the dress is.

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  3. They are both nice and plump aren't they? I also have heard about not only men spitting tobacco juice on the street, but also animals made their deposits where they were, chamber pots were emptied into the gutters depending on what part of town you were in....it was a messy time in sanitation to say the least! Another reason for having trim on the bottom of the hem is that where the fabric folds is more likely to become worn over time, even in the most genteel of lives. A strip of bias tape was put on to preserve the edge, and then replaced when necessary.

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Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie