Photo copyright Ravenna Museum, Ravenna Michigan- click on photo for larger viewWas this couple going somewhere special? Or was this merely a photo for prosperity? They look like a wealthy couple. What time frame might this be?
I just can't make out the photographers stamp, can you?
I wonder if you were to take a piece of paper and the side of a number 2 pencil lead and make a gentle rubbing of the photographer's stamp...you might be able to figure it out. Or see if your image software will make a negative of the photo...I've had some success with that technique and hard-to-read gravestones.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Thanks Miriam, I will try both and see what I come up with!
ReplyDeleteThey certainly do appear to be dressed in their Sumday best. Whether they were dressed specifically for the studio visit, or rather for some other occasion, and merely wished to have a record of the occasion for posterity, perhaps we will never know. It looks to me to have been taken in the first decade of the 20th Century, but I'm sure Maureen Taylor, who's so good at hats, would know better. Her book might be handy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced that they are necessarily a wealthy couple, but I do agree that they don't look like farm hands.
I've had a try at enhancing the image of the embossed studio name, but the image really just isn't detailed enough. If you could scan it at a higher resolution, I'm sure I could make a better effort. However, the enhanced image that I have been able to produce (which I've posted here) suggests to me something like "S.... Art Co." but I can't make out any of the place name, which probably appears in smaller type below the flourish.
Do you have directories of the area in the museum, which you could search for photographic studios of names similar to that in the time frame suggested?
Regards and best wishes, Brett
No directories in our local museum but the library in Muskegon isn't far and I frequently go, I will have to follow up on a couple of these suggestions and post comments later!
ReplyDelete