Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Victorian Era Photographs

A lot of people, when they think of old photos, think of people standing or sitting stiffly in uncomfortable clothes with severe, bored expressions on their faces. This is evident in many very old photographs, it's true. This began to change as people bought their own personal cameras instead of having to hire a photographer to take a professional portrait. One of my favorite parts of researching my family history has been finding these old but expressive and sometimes intentionally comedic photographs.

The following photographs are all from my great-grandmother Poppy's family, as represented below. The individuals in blue are in the photos.



Claudia Wetherill Fries & husband William Overington II

Claudia Wetherill Fries & her sister, probably Helen Earl Fries

"Grandmother's wedding gown"
Claudia's daughters Peggy and Poppy

Claudia Wetherill Fries and her daughter Peggy