(Photograph kindly provided and privately held by Gale W.)
“The word prompt 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. Show us that picture that you found with your family collection or purchased that shows the costumes of the rich to the not so rich, from the civil war to the psychedelic sixties. I know you have them, so share. Admission is free with every photograph!”
On the left is my great-aunt Elizabeth Ann “Doll” Brinlee and on the right is Nina Pounds. Doll Brinlee was the oldest daughter of Hiram Carroll “Dink” Brinlee and Eliza Caroline “Disa” Boone. Doll was born in 1866 and looks fairly young in this photograph, so I would guess it was made in the mid- to late 1880s. Her oldest daughter was born in 1884.
The first thing that strikes the viewer are the hats, but notice also the gloves and boots – Doll’s appear to be laced up and Nina’s appear to be buttoned up. My question for the experts out there is: Are these more likely to be Doll’s and Nina’s own duds or were they perhaps provided by the studio?
Doll was my grandfather Lawrence Carroll Brinlee’s older half-sister. Her mother was a great-granddaughter of Daniel Boone. (Yes, I know that’s a common myth among families with the name of Boone, but in this case it’s the real deal and easy to show. Besides, no glory to me – my grandfather’s mother was my great brick wall, Susan Elizabeth Smith Bonner Brinlee.)
I'm glad you mentioned the gloves and the shoes - those hats certainly do grab your attention!
ReplyDeleteNeat picture-love the hats!
ReplyDeleteApple and Tipper - Thanks your your comments. I sort of lusted after those shoes and gloves. One of my favorite pairs of shoes is a kind of half boot that buttons all the way up.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo! It's a perfect example of how lucky we are that we don't have to wear hats like that to be fashionable.
ReplyDeleteSharon - Yes, I can definitely leave the hats, but would take the shoes and gloves.
ReplyDeleteNoted how the skirt that Nina Pounds is wearing has an added shaped piece to the top. And both ladies are wearing belts!
ReplyDeleteJudith - You are right about the extra piece on her skirt; I wasn't sure what that was, and I wonder what it looked like when she was standing up. It appears as though they just had to put on all of their finest duds to show off!
ReplyDeleteThose look less like hats than misplaced items of studio furniture. Great photos, thank you, Greta. Regards, Brett
ReplyDeleteBrett - I wondered if some of their apparel might have been studio props.
ReplyDeleteYes, I suppose it's possible. The rough and ready nature of the "studio" setting, i.e. the makeshift white sheet as a backdrop and rucked up carpet suggests to me that it's a travelling photographer, perhaps even at some sort of carnival or fair.
ReplyDeleteI would have guessed that it was more likely to be from the late 1890s or early 1900s, but I'm not too confident about that.
Regards, Brett
Hello Greta,
ReplyDeleteI am related to Aunt Doll. She is my grandfather Louis Boone Brinlee's older sister. I was looking on the Internet for Daniel Boone information as Daniel Boone is also related to me.
Thanks
Raymond
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear from you; my e-mail is GMKoehl "at" gmail.com. Do you have any other information on or pictures of Doll Brinlee? Your grandfather Louis Boone was a real favorite of my grandfather Lawrence Carroll Brinlee according to my Uncle Bill.