Just bought this photo last weekend. Some of you will remember a similar one that I posted either on the old eBay Antiques board, or here, within the past year. This one is not extremely good condition. It's early 20th century, and shows a party with a bunch of people around a table. The photo below that includes the card mount also shows the color and fading of the picture. I also am posting a cropped version, and I've darkened it slightly and changed the tones to gray and white rather than sort of sepia yellow. The back is the dark color... in pencil, only visible under raking light, is written "One of Buds parties." (Or Buds might be Birds.) I notice the large bows, and the guy at the left is wearing very formal clothing. Maybe they all are. Do you think this is a costume party, or not?
Love the hat center, rear. Is it an optical illusion or my imagination or what - the guy on the left in the fancy dress has a napkin? in his hand wrapped around a doll? or a photo of a woman?
Great photo! Some kind of celebration, obviously. At least three of the men are smoking cigars. Guessing that is beer on the table, seems like they are fooling around with the napkins. My eyes went straight for that table lamp off to the right. Also intrigued by the picture on the wall. Nice! I also saw that baby doll in the napkin --who knows what is going on???
My mind can't see anything but a face. Here is more of a crop of the original tone, darkened a bit. What do you think?
Looks like a photo on some kind of "doll body" dressed in a fancy lacy hat and coat. Some of the really lacy "Hat" is actually the lace on the woman sitting behind "her."
It does look like that -- I wonder why she is there... but maybe we will never know that. Yes, I see the lace now, too.
Here is the picture hanging off to the right side of the photo. It's a man, with a tent in the background. He might be fishing... or might be a painter because it looks like an easel near him. What do you think?
Tough to say. I could make an argument for a painter - with the squarish dark item in front of him being a finished canvas. But I don't really see a crosspiece on the presumed easel triangle. The line through it appears too high up and is more likely to be well behind.
The cropped picture also shows a black baby doll sitting in between the man and woman, next to his thumb. Maybe it is a "Doll Party". Get out your magnifying glass and have a gander for others. As for the picture, I think it is an artist painting. Look at the way the right arm is held. Would you hold a fishing pole that way?
You're right, Pat! I had noticed that dark area but didn't see the "face" until you mentioned it! (Tried to give you a LIKE for that, but for some reason it doesn't want to work right now.) (And it took 3 tries to get my post to take. But now the Likes are working too.)
You folks are good. That certainly looks like a doll he is holding with a black baby doll between him and the woman. I think the people on the left side of the table are siblings or at least related because of their chins, mouths and noses - man holding the doll, woman, man and another woman. The woman with the flamboyant hat seems to have the same shape face. The 3rd person from our left, a man, that you can only see his face is also smoking a cigar making it 4 cigar smokers. There may be another table of people behind this one, going back through the door way to possibly a hallway. I also think that is an artist in the 2nd pic. In front of him on a camping stool is an open case that looks like an artist paint case. To me that looks like an A-frame easel. A-frame easels can be are folded making them portable for a camping trip. There is definitely a fisherman in the pic standing or sitting as the water edge closer to clump of trees. Just noticed that a canvas is on the ground leaning against one of the easel's legs. Oooops, wait, that isn't a canvas, it is the lid of the open case - sorry. --- Susan
Welllll, let me kind of take back my previous suggestion of artist, easel and paint case. That may be an opened camping stove on the stool in front of the man. If that is a stove then the A-frame easel may be cast iron stuff and such for hanging cook pots over a fire. Gee, at this moment I'm not sure which way to go on interpreting that pic. --- Susan
There are several people (heads only) in the background who seems to have on those white caps plus a man? left of center wearing a straw hat with a big round brim. The last man on the right side of the table has some all white very high collared shirt on too. Do you think the "costume" of the night is baby clothes?
Bakers - That would explain why I keep thinking the girl standing in back leaning on the right door jam - looks like she is in her nightgown. Maybe Bud was known for his "Themed" parties, therefore the inscription "One of Bud's Parties"
Fun! You all had so many other thoughts! I had not noticed the other doll, and want to look for more. Today I have to go in to my workplace for a while. We are hosting a Comic Con event, and I'm a volunteer. I will be back here by 6 p.m., so will hope to do more scrutiny this evening. Fig
Is that a Van Erp lamp??? Wedding celebration and little joke for the groom? I used to fill a baby bottle with nickels or dimes, tie on a pick and blue ribbon and give that.