Interesting mixed group of nine original antique photographs of women, including seven tintypes and two mounted paper photographs, dating approximately from the late 19th through early 20th century.
This is an especially appealing group because nearly every photograph depicts women together rather than individual studio portraits, offering an interesting look at female friendship, fashion, hairstyles and photographic portraiture during the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
One of the most unusual photographs shows two young women seated together with several extremely long, slender implements crossed across their laps and a woman's hat prominently placed among them. The objects have small rounded ends and appear consistent with the exceptionally long hatpins used around the turn of the 20th century, when large fashionable hats required long pins to secure them to the wearer's hair. They resemble oversized knitting needles at first glance, and their exact purpose cannot be established with certainty from the photograph alone. The deliberate inclusion of the hat, however, makes long period hatpins a strong possibility.
Other photographs include an attractive group of four women wearing elaborate hats, three women posed against a painted outdoor backdrop, three women posed beside a rustic studio gate, several smaller groups of women in period dresses, and a later close portrait of two young women.
One mounted tintype of four women retains period handwritten identification at the top, including a name that appears to read “Maude Sweeney” and another beginning “Alice…”. No attempt has been made to identify the women beyond the surviving inscriptions.
The lot consists of:
7 original tintype photographs and 2 mounted paper photographs — 9 photographs total.
The photographs appear to span approximately the 1870s through early 1900s, providing an interesting small collection illustrating changes in women's clothing, hairstyles, hats and studio portrait styles over several decades.
Condition: Mixed antique condition as shown. Several tintypes exhibit scratches, abrasions, edge losses, darkened areas and varying degrees of surface/emulsion deterioration. One mounted tintype has substantial tearing and paper loss to its decorative mount at lower right. The paper photographs and mounts show expected age toning, fading, spotting and edge/corner wear. Despite these faults, most of the portraits retain good facial, clothing and studio detail. Please examine all photographs carefully for exact condition.
Nine original period photographs — no reproductions.
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