Old-Time Photography

Tonight I am sharing a few old snapshots in my Old-Time Photography series.

This is the sixth entry in my Old-Time Photography series. The last entry, Old-Time Photography V, was about my Grandpa’s Football team. You can click on Old-Time Photography IV to get an overview of the series and links to  previous posts.

The pictures I will be sharing tonight were in an Eastman’s Solio Paper packet. The pictures were scanned by my cousin, so I don’t have the originals.

I really like this label. The art work is really beautiful. The packet is Eastman’s Solio Paper and had two dozen 3.5 x 3.5 inch pieces of photo paper. The folder of scanned pictures has about 30 pictures in it, so they would not all have been developed using paper from this individual packet.

The process of using Solio Paper is very interesting and I may have to do more research and write a blog post about it.

The back of the packet is interesting as it shows the Emulsion number and a disclaimer that the photo paper will not be replace for any fault of manufacture after MAR 15 1901. It even gives a Packed By number.

What is more interesting is the hand writing on the back. It includes a date that I think is December 12, 1897 and a note in my Grandma’s handwriting that says “Keep these some of my daddy – Chub.”

They indeed include pictures of my Great-Great Grandfather Charles Van Duzor.

Here he is with a pair of mules that they raised on their farm near Coin, Iowa.

If the date on the envelope is correct the picture would have been taken in 1897 when he was 17 years old. He does look about that age in this picture.

My cousin has this file labeled ‘Maude’, so I assume that it had writing on the back of the picture.

My assumption is that Maude was one of the mares that was mated to produce the mules on the farm. The size of the mule is heavily dependent on the mare, and Maude looks like a good strong work horse.

Some of the pictures in the package are not as clear, but they still tell a story. In this picture we have a team of horses pulling a cultivator.

The picture is not labeled, but it is possible that this could be my Great, Great-Grandfather. The man in the picture looks like he could be in his mid-50’s.

Another interesting thing in the picture is that you can see the shadow of the person taking the picture.

I really enjoyed looking at these pictures that were taken about 115 years ago. They definitely offer a glimpse into the work that my ancestors did on the farm.

Steven