Children in Vintage Photos

Posted as a "reading" photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park group, this real photo postcard shows two Iowa sisters, Lilly and Mazie Hitzemann, who are reading--or maybe just looking at--a magazine. The girls are dressed nicely for the photo session, and Lilly, left, is wearing a necklace while Mazie, right, sports a bow in her hair. Both girls are staring intently at the magazine they're holding. From what I could make out after enlarging the image, the front cover of the magazine displays a young child's head, and a full-page advertisement for "1847 Rogers Bros." silverware appears on the back cover (1847 is part of the brand name and doesn't indicate when the magazine or ad was published). Visible under enlargement on the front cover of the magazine is a date that includes the year "1912," and the title of the magazine looks like it ends in "-n-ator" (I couldn't determine the letter between n and a). One possibility is that this was an issue of The Delineator , a popular women's magazine published by the Butterick Publishing Company of sewing patterns fame. The covers of Delineator issues from this time, however, typically featured illustrations of fashionably dressed women rather than children's heads. Additional information from the back of the postcard: Handwritten message: "From Mazie to Grandma." Postmarked: "Columbia, [Iowa?], Jan. 13, 1913." Addressed to: "Mrs. Henry Hitzemann, Box 202, Akron, Iowa." Later handwritten annotation on back: "Right - Mazie Hitzemann. Left - sister Lilly. Daughters of Chas. and Mabel Hitzemann."

Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Shapiro Multigraph, 302 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa."

A real photo postcard. See also a detail showing a close-up of the purse that the girl is holding. For a discussion regarding what kind of purse it is, see Flickr: A Girl and Her Dog . Handwritten on the back: "Louise Creighton. Born in year 1910."

"John D. Lemer, 1218 North 3rd St., Harrisburg, Pa." For the Vintage Photos Theme Park, a hand in the photo with the person cut off .* For more of the same, track down a copy of Linda Fregni Nagler and Gioni Massimiliano's book, The Hidden Mother (London: MACK, 2013), which is a compilation of over 1,000 vintage photos of mothers attempting to remain hidden as they comfort children who are being photographed. *I try to sort through my collection in order to post a brand new photo for each week's theme, but I came up short this week and had to use one that I had previously posted elsewhere on Ipernity.

Stamped on the back of this photo: "Aug 18 1949." Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park group as an "unintended people's shadows" photo (and there's a dog, too!).

Handwritten on the back of this real photo postcard: "Grandpa Boor. Robert H. Studebaker. 82 & 2." Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park group for "old age" theme week. It's poignant how the boy is resting his hand on top of his grandfather's.

Mouse over the image for a closer view of the bug toy . Either that's a giant mutant insect getting ready to attack that poor kid or it's a toy of some sort, perhaps something like the mechanical crawling beetle pictured in the Victoria and Albert Museum's image collection.

See also the full photo of the bug toy (below). Either that's a giant mutant insect getting ready to attack that poor kid or it's a toy of some sort, perhaps something like the mechanical crawling beetle pictured in the Victoria and Albert Museum's image collection.

Photographer: E. F. Eton, 329 Market St., Harrisburg, Pa.

A cabinet card photo featuring a decorative mask that forms a tennis-themed border, with two crossed tennis rackets and three tennis balls at the bottom, netting along the bottom and sides, and leaves and vines at the top. This appears to be the same mask (although flipped horizontally) used in Photo_History's Woman with Tennis Racket Decorative Mask - Cabinet Card .

This real photo postcard doesn't bear a stamp, postmark, or date but was addressed to: "Mrs. Daniel Ohlinger. From Mrs. Edwin Ohlinger." Handwritten message on back: "Dear Mother, We are all well at present, hoping this card will find you all the same. Earl is as naughty as he can be. Try and come down. I must close--the mailman is coming." As far as I can determine from searching the Web, it was Earl's mother--Mrs. Edwin Ohlinger--who wrote the message, and she and her son lived in Berks County, Pennsylvania. I'm not certain, however, who the baby might be (Earl's brother or sister, perhaps?), what band Earl might have played in, or where Earl's grandmother--Mrs. Daniel Ohlinger--lived.

Be sure to take a look at the cropped version of this photo to see the charming expressions of the bride, groom, and other cute members of the bridal party. From the Dente Studio, Newport, Pa.

I sense that the bride and groom may have had some second thoughts as they posed for this photo. See also the full version of this photo. From the Dente Studio, Newport, Pa.

An undated red-border Kodachrome slide.

A couple of "family pets" for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . Handwritten on the back of this real photo postcard: "Ray Mellott and his two pet geese." Handwritten notation added later by a postcard dealer: "Mercersburg, Pa." Mouse over the image above or select the thumbnail image below to see a close-up of the boy and his pet geese .