The Clover Leaf Picnic Club, 1895, Trenton, Missouri

So, 118 years ago members of a group call The Clover Leaf Picnic Club got together and had their picture taken, and an instant in time was captured and still survives. A bit faded maybe, but in the world of antique photos, it's alive and kicking.

I think there are 20 men and women in this photo, all look to be in their 20s or 30s. Everybody is pretty well dressed, much, much, MUCH more formally than people would be today.  Especially for a picnic.

I've looked at each individual, with a magnifying glass no less, just to see fashion details and expressions.  One person, the woman in the light blouse in the front row, is not looking at the camera.  I wonder what she was looking at and was thinking about.

This a large photo, almost 8 X 10.  The photographer was Smith of Trenton, Missouri.  My attempts to find anything about The Clover Leaf Picnic Club remain aggravatingly illusive.  Maybe I could contact the Trenton, Mo. Chamber of Commerce, see if they know anything.  I suppose it was a social club, a means for young men & women to put themselves in close proximity to each other during the late Victorian era.

Update: Sold!

Bertha Stoneman and other Students, Cornell University, 1889

Every now and then we come across a photo that is out of the ordinary, and we think this is one.  On the surface, it's just a slightly interesting photograph - a group of young people, looks like late teens to early 20s, nicely dressed in the much more formal fashions of the day.  What makes this really  interesting though, is what's written on back.

First, there was a name.   The first name was obviously "Bertha", but I originally thought the last name was "Stoniman", but my wife looked at it and said it was "Stoneman". Following that is "Anti T.N.E. Picnic,  C.U. 89", then below that (in what looks like different handwriting, but I'm no expert)  "Five miles walk to Trumansburg May 25."  Below that is the photographer's stamp "W.L. Hall, Trumansburg, N.Y."

 

So we googled "Bertha Stoneman" and found she was well known in Botany circles in the late 19th & early 20th centuries.  She was born in western New York to a prominent family in 1866.  She was a graduate of Cornell University, class of 1894, and received a Doctorate of Science in Botany in 1896.  She joined the faculty of Wellington College in Cape Colony (South Africa) and apparently remained there for the rest of her life.  In 1906 she authored a text book "Plants and their ways in South Africa".  She served as president of Wellington College from 1928 to 1933, when she retired.

 

Armed with the knowledge that Bertha Stoneman attended Cornell University,  and knowing that Trumansburg, NY is very close to Ithaca (google maps), and roughly knowing the age of the cabinet card based on the clothing of the subjects as well as the style of the photograph mounting,  we concluded that "C.U. 89" meant Cornell University 1889.   Once we figured that out, we determined that T.N.E. was probably Theta Nu Epsilon, a fraternity or secret society of some sort (I suppose of ill-repute).  And this photograph was a perhaps a memento when at least10 people walked to Trumansburg and had a picnic along the way somewhere.

 

We've seen pictures of Bertha Stoneman when she was older, and we believe she is in the middle row on the extreme right in this photo.

 

If anyone knows anything else about this photo, feel free to let us know.

 

It is rare to find something like this where you can find out so much about the person. Without the writing on back, this would be just another somewhat interesting photograph.

 

This Cabinet photo was just in with a larger group we purchased - I wonder about it's travels.  I wonder who owned it and how in the heck did it end up in our possession?

 

Update: Sold!

 

 

Tintype Men & Women, Umbrellas, Cigars, Canes, Hats & a bag

This is a tintype photo of two women & two men, though in reality I'm pretty sure no tin is involved.  But it is a photograph printed on a piece of metal.  Tintypes and similar photographic processes were very popular from the 1850s till near the end of the 19th century.  There is a lot to know about tintypes - plate sizes for one thing.  The size of this one I think makes it a 1/6th plate, which I suppose means a full plate is 6 times as large. But 1/6th & 1/16th size seem to be the most common sizes of tintypes.  I'm no expert, don't quote me on anything.

I like this picture, it has a ton of detail.  Everybody's dressed kind of formally - perhaps a 19th century Sunday afternoon at the boardwalk.  Both men are wearing the same kind of hat, the one on the left has a cigar in his had, the one on the right appears to be resting his hand on top of a cane.   The women are wearing very long dresses, large hats with feathers/flowers, both are holding umbrellas (for the sun, not the rain), and there appears to be a bag of some kind of the floor next to the woman on the left.

   

My opinion is that this was not a planned photograph, where they made an appointment and so on.  I think they just walked in, and it was taken and developed in a hurry.  The backdrop of the photographer's studio is hung kind of carelessly, and everybody looks a little slanted.  I don't think the photographer took a lot of time with this photograph.   I've cropped the picture a bit, the actual tintype has uneven edges and is rounded on the top corners - it looks like it was trimmed hastily.  I think these people were just out for some late 19th century fun in the sun and ducked into a little studio to have their picture made.  It's pretty cool.

I have this listed in the eBay store, you can find it here, if you wish.  At least for awhile.

Update:  Sold!