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glass plate negative
hidden mother
desk
apron
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The Partially Hidden Mother

The Partially Hidden Mother
Uploaded for the Vintage Photos Theme Park theme of: A TABLETOP OR DESKTOP AND THE THINGS ON IT
This is a very new acquisition and I got it at the same place I've been buying my glass plate negatives for the past few years. Sadly, they're going out of business in October. I will really miss the friendly, interested couple who owned it - as well as their cool place.
They only had a few glass plate negatives left - and I bought them up. This was one of them.
The thing about glass plate negatives is, it's sometimes tricky to see what you're getting - because you're just looking at the negative. After years of collecting these, I've learned how to assess the quality and I could see that the baby's face was well out of focus - but what I couldn't make out was why the woman seemed to have no head!
There are vintage collectors who focus on the "hidden mother" image, which is exactly that - a mother holding up an infant or young child but hiding herself so that (usually) just her hand is visible. It clearly was not that type, as could make out her apron - but, after, forking out two dollars, and "developing it" on the computer at home, this is the comical image that emerged.
And, serendipitously, it turned out to fit perfectly with this week's theme!
So, here's a desk with a baby (!), a lamp, a globe, a postal scale, a clock, and lots of paperwork on it - and a semi, "hidden mother" holding the baby next to it!

Nouchetdu38, Alan Mays have particularly liked this photo


Comments
 RicksPics
RicksPics club
What a sweet smile on the baby. That "hidden mother" thing is new to me and a bit weird but I'm sure they must have had some reason for it apart from not wanting to see their image in a photo. Sorry that you are losing your source of negatives.
8 months ago.
 Deborah Lundbech
Deborah Lundbech club
Thanks, Rick. I think the hidden mother pics were prompted by wanting a portrait of just the child and the child too small to be safely left alone without them toppling over!
This coming Friday I'm going to the annual town-wide "yard sale" in Warrensburg, NY where I've been lucky to pick up some great GPNegatives in the past - so, fingers crossed!
8 months ago.
 Alan Mays
Alan Mays club
Cute kid and an interesting photo! Hope you were able to find some more GP pics at the yard sale.
7 months ago.

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