Harry, Arthur, Edna, Edith & Florence
Arthur is my Great Grandfather. Edith is his twin sister. The other children are his half-brother and sisters. I’m not sure what year this is but my grandmother was born in 1930. So, this has to be at least 1920. But probably earlier.
There is so much to say about this picture: the trim on the house, the flowers in the yard, the bows in the girls’ hair, the dresses, my grandfather’s coat, their haircuts and their very very grumpy faces. Honestly, this looks like the cover of a horror movie or something, doesn’t it? I always wonder about sad faces in old pictures—is it because cameras were so new and they couldn’t move? Or is it because cameras were so new there it wasn’t the norm to smile? Or were their lives just not that happy?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
i always think it’s so cool that you have so many pictures of your grandparents. my dad couldn’t find any of my grandmother’s and it makes me so sad to not have any to show my kids. what a blessing that is for you, and for lydia and asa too!
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Such dour faces! I have seen numerous photos from this era that have the same, unhappy faces. WW 1? The Great Depression?
On a lighter note, I can’t tell if it’s her hair or something behind her on the house but Edna’s hair kind of looks like Princess Leia’s. Just sayin’,,, :0) (Now that I look, it’s the bow that’s making her look like that. Then again, it’s also a very Nellie Olsen look!)
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Twitter: vanderbiltwife
July 15, 2009 at 1:01 pm
They do seem pretty angry, huh? I wonder about that too. Maybe it was just not cool to smile? Who knows?
I miss Agda.
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Florence is sure sporting quite a bow in her hair. I wouldn’t smile either.
They sure do look unhappy, don’t they? LOL
I actually posted a retro picture this week!!
http://atrailerparkmom.com/?p=1203
I love all these old photos you’ve been posting. I love old photos in general, from my family or someone else’s!
I could be making this up, but I seem to recall that the frowny faces in everyone’s old pics result from how long it took to actually take the photograph.
That is such a great photo!!!
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Dancing is right. It took a real long time for a picture to be taken and people were told to stand very still and sometimes to hold their breath. The picture would be blurry if they moved to much so when cameras were first around people were told to make as plain a face as they could with no movement. They just had to relax the face so they wouldn’t ruin the picture!