I love this "real photo postcard" image of sisters. On the left is Jewell Faye Hill (b. 25 Oct 1913); Elsie Lou Hill (b. 11 Apr 1911) is on the right. I'd estimate Jewell Faye to be about 3 years old and Elsie around 6, so I'd date this photo to 1917, give or take a year.
(You may click on the image to enlarge it.) They both have flowers pinned to their dresses. What was the occasion, I wonder? I see a house in the background between the girls and what looks like plowed dirt in the distance. There are a lot of poles on the horizon--did they hold up lines for electricity or telephones... or both? Behind the closest tree, a dirt road or driveway seems to curve to the right.
I adjusted the color on the photo side of the card quite a bit; you can see on the card's reverse how yellowed it has become:
Playle's Online Auction site has a great identification key for old photo postcards:
(You may click on this link to go to their web page.)
Most Real Photo Postcards, abbreviated RPPC, have information on their backs to help in identifying the manufacturer of the photographic paper that was used by the postcard publisher. If you can identify the paper manufacturer, you can approximate the age of the old postcard. If the postcard has a stamp box, click on one of stamp box links below...
CYKO was the photographic paper used to print this photograph on, as shown by the stamp box. This particular stamp box was used on their cards manufactured from 1904-1920s, which isn't a big help for dating this photograph.
Patsy wrote:
ReplyDeleteThe picture of Elsie and Jewell Faye with the flowers pinned to their dresses was probably taken on Mother's Day. My grandmother always had flowers of some kind in her yard. There wasn't much water for yards, but nevertheless, she had some flowers, and sometimes, even roses. She explained to me when I was very young that the wearing of a white or red rose (or flower) on your lapel (on Mother's Day) was to depict whether or not your own mother was still living. (1914 seems to be the date that Mother's Day was declared official in the U.S.)
Here's another early photo of my mother that is new to me. She told me that when she and Jewel Faye were little girls, she was very embarrassed by adults bragging about her little sister's naturally curly hair! Neither girl here looks happy. May have just been told to BE STILL FOR THE PICTURE, AND DON'T MOVE!
ReplyDeleteBud