Monday, February 9, 2009

Smile For the Camera Circa 1900



The subject for the 10th Edition of Smile For The Camera is: Costume. No, not as in Halloween. Costume as in dress in general; especially the distinctive style of dress of a people, class, or period.

This photo shows my great-aunt, Frances Whelan, in what appears to be the typical costume for a working woman in the early 1900s. Frances worked as a school teacher at that time. She was born in 1874, so she was in her mid-20s at this time.

For examples of costumes from this timeperiod, see Clues to American Dress by E. F. Hartley and Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929 edited by Halvor Moorshead.