A woman's true face - early daguerreotypes of women and girls, circa 1840s-60s *
* I'm not entirely certain that all of these are daguerreotypes; I'm really no expert on early photography. It's possible that some of these are examples of other techniques: ambrotypes, tintypes, etc.
Block out the hairstyles and you might see any of these women on the street today. On the other hand, those hairstyles! All those anecdotes about little girls having their hair tortured into sausage curls clearly had a basis in truth!
I love daguerreotypes, the photographs have such a wonderful depth to them, something that was lost when photography "progressed" to cabinet cards and such. The photos of the African-American women (assuming they were from the United States and not some other country) are amazing, so cool to see them in their fine dresses and gold earrings at a time when slavery still existed. Interesting that they're all relatively young. Or maybe not, considering that the average life expectancy was around 48 years in 1850.
These all look like real people, so immediate. And yes the hairstyles are something to behold. Reminds me of the description of the school-mandated hairstyle for girls in Cheaper by the Dozen ca. (1920?). They described it as big poofs out to the side and called them "cootie catchers". I wonder if some of these coifs would qualify...
Wow...the hair in some of these...just wow. Fun stuff, Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteBlock out the hairstyles and you might see any of these women on the street today. On the other hand, those hairstyles! All those anecdotes about little girls having their hair tortured into sausage curls clearly had a basis in truth!
ReplyDeleteI love daguerreotypes, the photographs have such a wonderful depth to them, something that was lost when photography "progressed" to cabinet cards and such. The photos of the African-American women (assuming they were from the United States and not some other country) are amazing, so cool to see them in their fine dresses and gold earrings at a time when slavery still existed. Interesting that they're all relatively young. Or maybe not, considering that the average life expectancy was around 48 years in 1850.
ReplyDeleteThese all look like real people, so immediate. And yes the hairstyles are something to behold. Reminds me of the description of the school-mandated hairstyle for girls in Cheaper by the Dozen ca. (1920?). They described it as big poofs out to the side and called them "cootie catchers". I wonder if some of these coifs would qualify...
ReplyDelete