I have joined a photo meme called Sepia Saturday and this is my first contribution. I have several old photo albums that belonged to my two old spinster aunts. They were well known teachers and scholars in Adelaide and seemed to have a passion for collecting photos. Many of them were of former students, but these are two of the family photos I found. Who? I have no idea. As far as I can ascertain they are not any of my family. All I know is that they were taken in Adelaide and are most likely to be local families.
Such a prim looking mama with a very odd looking lace bonnet. The lace trimmed apron that the baby is wearing is very sweet.
A different family but a very attractive one. As my aunts were of German origin and their friends were mainly from a similar background, I would guess that these little blondes were from a German family.
Wouldn't it be amazing if one of my visitors recognised these old family portraits.
Liz Needle
Bond & Co were at that address from 1890-1911. It's a sweet picture and it would be be great to identify the children.
ReplyDeleteI have a few photos taken by this photographer - several photographers worked in Rundle Street about that time. Otto Von Hartitzsch, Bond & Co, S Solomon, Hammer & Co, T Duryea, Niesche, James R Dobson, Goode & Co, to name the ones I can find.
ReplyDeleteThe Lady in the first photo looks very stern! Not very maternal-looking...I wondered if she was an employee of the family rather than mother? She certainly seems to have an eye on the Time rather than the children..........!
ReplyDeleteI wondered that myself, but she seems rather well dressed for a servant. Why would you take a studio portrait of your children and not include the mother? I think the baby looks a little like the woman around the eyes.
DeleteI was just thinking the same thing about the baby and the woman's eyes looking similar.
DeleteI hope you can soon identify these families. One of the visitors to my blog suggested I post links to my blog in genealogy forums. You could try that too, maybe by posting in a forum dedicated to Adelaide or to a certain surname (your aunt's name or any related families).
ReplyDeleteA stern lady indeed. Keep trying as it is amazing what you can find or be found. My niece 'found' me from my blog and facebook.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Sepia Saturday,
Welcome to Sepia Saturday! It's fun isn't it? They are fantastic photos - I must confess I thought the older woman in the first photo looked like a grandmother or an aunt. And I agree that apron on the baby is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThe lace seems like an unusual touch. I agree the woman doesn't look very motherly. The kids in the second photo are adorable.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Postcardy on the appeal of the groups of children. The second one is charming. Welcome to our happy group Liz and I hope you'll enjoying visiting the other Sepians too - it can be a real eye-opener!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Sepia Saturday, Liz! I enjoyed your pictures and post. I hope that somebody will help you figure out who these people are.
ReplyDeleteKathy M.
I'll echo the welcome. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have someone identify these families!
ReplyDeleteIn the first photo the children are adorable and appear well fed and cared for but their mother looks a bit underfed! The second photo, one out of four seem happy to have her photo taken!
ReplyDeleteYes, first of all welcome to Sepia Saturday, we are glad to have you on board. I cannot say I definitely recognise individuals in your photos but I do recognise expressions, poses, manners and emotions - they are so similar to pictures of a similar age from my family and I suspect many others as well. If Sepia Saturday has taught me one thing, it is that there is a universiality of people that shines through old photographs.
ReplyDeleteYou could always look into their eyes, read their minds and discover their inferred history. It sometimes makes an entertaining story.
ReplyDeleteI just love old photos, especially CdVs. The stranger the sitter the more interesting. I see the lean women as being the mother of the children and I suspect she will go on the have more before dying of exhaustion brought on by child-bearing, hard work and poor and inadequate diet.
Welcome to Sepia Saturday, and a great first contribution too. Her's to many more.
ReplyDeleteSuch wonderful old photos. I wonder in the first one why the photographer added so much foliage to the shot. It would have been perfectly fine without all that straw or whatever it is. Maybe palm fronds.
ReplyDeleteNancy
Straw and gum leaves I think.
DeleteSuch lovely photographs and they show such detail in the costume.
ReplyDelete