Years ago, I purchased a trio of vintage photographs from an Etsy seller. For a brief moment, I thought, “Hey, maybe I should start collecting old photos. Wouldn’t that be neat?” But then I realized I didn’t want to suddenly find myself with a pile of a million old photos and think, “What am I going to do with all of these?”
The main reason I was interested in old photos was to preserve history and memorialize the people they depicted. Because after all, they lived on this Earth like you and me, had their own thoughts, experiences, desires, happy days and sad days. Maybe they were good people, maybe they were bad people – either way, they’re now long-dead and forgotten. Ultimately that’s our fate too, right?
The Photos
Let’s look at the photos in question, which are all portraits:
First, there’s a youngish man. The photo has scratches, stains, and missing corners; there’s dry adhesive on the back, so it was glued somewhere at some time. No identifiable information, but I’m randomly guessing he’s from the 1920s.
Next up, is the moustachio’d man who reminds me a bit of Orville Wright. There’s a signature in the bottom left: Pather or Dather, and an address that’s in Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. According to the Minnesota Historical Society’s photographer directory, the photo was taken by H. R. Farr & Son and they operated at that address from 1880 to 1883. I also found a couple other photos taken by H.R. Farr: a hot air balloon at a fair and the construction of a bridge.
The final photo is of a woman, and it’s glued on a piece of cardboard that has the name of the company that took the photo (Norval, Dunfermline) printed on it. The words “Pleasant Memories” and the name “Kay” are written in the corner. Either this woman’s name is Kay or this photo was given from Kay. Written on the back in pencil is the number 241/43, so I’m just going to assume that 1943 is the year the photo was taken.
Scans
Hopefully these photos aren’t cursed…but if they are, maybe sharing them will protect me from the curse (like in The Ring)!
So who do you think they were? What were their lives like? If you know anything about fashion and hairstyles, can you pinpoint the exact years these photos were taken?
On Bluesky, there is a fashion scholar I follow who would probably know. These look like her time period. Cassidy Peacock @mimicofmodes.com if you’re interested.
I really loved this one. I’d do the same in trying to find out more and memorialize them.
In case true stories do not present themselves, one could make up fanciful ones…