PEOPLE AND PLACES

PEOPLE AND PLACES

Thursday, February 14, 2013

AGE OF INNOCENCE: SOMEWHERE IN TIME

 

Lady Clementina Hawarden is rated as one of the most influential Victorian fine art photographers, blazing the way for women in the profession when it was dominated by men

 

 

Age of innocence: Beautiful homespun images capture early 20th century 'wonder years' These fascinating pictures of American and Canadian youngsters in the first half of the 20th century capture an almost forgotten age of innocence and the simplest of pleasures. The photographs, from the archives of the National Geographic magazine, show children from around two or three up until their early teens and give a fascinating glimpse into what life was like for youngsters without the all trappings of the modern world which we now take so much for granted. The children are pictured huddled together in the family homestead or talking a jolly stroll in the countryside. Two young boys are seen staring in awe at a billboard announcing the circus is in town wondering if they will be lucky enough to go along.

 

Family ties: Seven siblings sit on a wooden fence Quebec, Canada in one of the images released by National Geographic

Family ties: Seven siblings sit on a wooden fence Quebec, Canada, in one of the images released by National Geographic. The picture is believed to date from the 1930s

Four boys bob for apples in West Virginia, USA in January 1939

Four boys bob for apples in West Virginia, USA in January 1939

Arm in arm: Young children hold on to one another as they walk down a dirt road alongside a corn field in Pennsylvania, USA, in 1919

Arm in arm: Young children hold on to one another as they walk down a dirt road alongside a corn field in Pennsylvania, USA, in 1919

Another shot, dating from 1936, shows four boys enjoying a game of apple bobbing - well this was a time when an xbox was some sort of mystery package and social networking meant a chat with your neighbour over a rickety wooden fence.

But the smiling faces and apparent joy betray the grim reality for many youngsters who lived during this era - a time of catastrophic world war, massive social change and incredible technological development. For hundreds of thousands of children life was incredibly tough - instead of an education they would be forced to work from an early age fuelling the nation's Industrial revolution.

Others would spend long hours toiling in the fields of family farms or working in factories. Children as young as five would be recruited as messengers, newsboys, peddlers and in various other menial jobs.

Employers seized on Children who they regarded as cheap labor - their small size meant they were capable of wriggling into through narrow parts of mechanical machines where adults could not go.

Incredibly it took until the Great Depression to end child labor, for adults had become so desperate for jobs that they would work for the same wage as children and in 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which finally placed limits on child labor.

Four Amish children perch on a fence on a hot summer's day in Pennsylvania in 1941

Four Amish children perch on a fence on a hot summer's day in Pennsylvania in 1941

The circus is in town: Two small boys gaze at a circus billboard in rural Ohio in an early colour picture from 1932

The circus is in town: Two small boys gaze at a circus billboard in rural Ohio in an early colour picture from 1932

A boy shows off his freshly picked strawberries in Missouri, USA, in 1943

Two children with a puppy sit on an old split rail fence in Missouri in 1946

A boy shows off his freshly picked strawberries in Missouri  in 1943, while two children with a puppy sit on an old split rail fence in Missouri in 1946

Morning glory: Mother carries milk pails on her shoulders while the children lead a horse on a foggy morning walk in Quebec, Canada in 1950

Morning glory: Mother carries milk pails on her shoulders while the children lead a horse on a foggy morning walk in Quebec, Canada in 1950

 The beauty and opulence of the 1940s and '50s

 

These glorious fashion photographs from the 1940s and 1950s hark back to a bygone era before photoshop, when models looked like real women.

They are the work of legendary photographer Gordon Parks, who throughout his long career was a man of many firsts including the first African-American staff photographer for Life magazine and later the first African-American to direct a major motion picture.

Parks first gained his reputation with a camera for stunning fashion shoots such as these. From the beginning, he challenged prevailing rules about how to photograph fashion, including objects, group poses and streetscapes that were selling not just clothing but a lifestyle too for emerging independent woman.

Park's fashion photographs hark back to an era long before photoshop when the models looked like real women

Parks' fashion photographs hark back to an era long before photoshop when the models looked like real women

Parks challenged prevailing rules about how to photograph fashion

Parks challenged prevailing rules about how to photograph fashion

He devised both dramatic and subtle poses for the models, who wore suits, dresses, coats and hats from new collections. He placed them in the studio and on location in Chicago, Paris and New York, using realistic scenes and the city as backdrops.

His photographs suggested that he caught his subjects off guard and midaction, as if they were waiting for a bus, in the middle of a shopping trip or expecting a lunch date. Parks captured these casual moments with a sense of intimacy and awareness. The viewer imagined the moment, which was framed dramatically, as if part of a narrative. The models’ poses, though subtle, provoke ideas about desire and the idealized body.

Parks’s importance to fashion photography is now beyond question. He challenged the genre by inventing ways to enrich our ideas about style.

The Flatiron Building in New York is the backdrop to this image of a woman and her four suitors

The Flatiron Building in New York is the backdrop to this image of a woman and her four suitors

Parks fashion photographs are about the experience of being dressed

Parks' fashion photographs are about the experience of being dressed

Born into abject poverty in Kansas in 1912, Parks was sent to live with family in Saint Paul, Minn. when he was 14 after his mom died. Soon after he found himself turned out on to the streets.

Parks worked odd jobs to get by until 1938, he was inspired to take up photography after seeing images in a discarded magazine.

He bought his first camera at a pawn shop, and within months his pictures were being exhibited in Minneapolis. Success as a photographer quickly blossomed from there.

Vogue was among the magazines he read closely after passengers left copies behind in the rail cars along the route between Chicago and Seattle. Those magazines guided him as he taught himself to make photographs that engaged a wide variety of people.

With a clear understanding about how to ‘look’ on city streets, in cafes and society balls, Parks’s fashion photographs are about the experience of being dressed.

Parks, who passed away in 2006, is widely recognized as the most important and influential African-American photographer of the twentieth century

Parks, who passed away in 2006, is widely recognized as the most important and influential African-American photographer of the twentieth century

Parks taught himself to make photographs that engaged a wide variety of peopleBlending in: A simple solution to cancel out the mother in this photo has been to hide her face behind the wall hanging

Parks taught himself to make photographs that engaged a wide variety of people

Parks captures casual moments with a sense of intimacy and awareness

Parks captures casual moments with a sense of intimacy and awareness

He communicated beauty, vanity and pleasure in his photographs of fashionably dressed women, which began with his first assignment in St. Paul at Frank Murphy’s Women’s Clothing Store.

His first wife, Sally, who was a designer and often modeled for him, also may have inspired his interest in fashion.

As well as fashion, Parks' photographs also pursued his passion for documenting the lives of African Americans.

Parks’ talent eventually led him to New York City, where, despite the racial prejudice of the time, he was hired by Vogue’s Alexander Liberman to shoot a collection of evening gowns.

He continued to freelance for Vogue for several years, developing a unique style that was realistic, romantic and full of movement.

Parks¿ photographs perfectly encapsulates the beauty and opulence of the 1940s and ¿50s elite

Parks' photographs perfectly encapsulate the beauty and opulence of the 1940s and '50s elite

Parks developed a unique style that was realistic, romantic and full of movement

Parks developed a unique style that was realistic, romantic and full of movement

 

These late 19th century children’s portraits all have something in common – a creepy cloaked figure in the background.

But although it looks menacing, it is in fact the children’s mothers disguised as chairs, curtains or simply rugs to create the perfect Victorian family snap.

Slow shutter speeds left photographers with no choice but to have the mothers hold their children still to ensure that the outcome was not a blurry mess.

Don't mind me: In this photograph the mother's head had been covered in a black sheet as she props up her youngest child, but her feet can still be seen sticking out underneath

Don't mind me: In this photograph the mother's head had been covered in a black sheet as she props up her youngest child, but her feet can still be seen sticking out underneath

Some photographers made an effort to conceal the mothers. some did not

This was a practice where the mother, often disguised or hiding, often under a spread, holds her baby tightly for the photographer to insure a sharply focused image

In disguise: Some photographers made an effort make the mother's appear part of the background or even look like a piece of furniture

The Invisible Mother 1800's

Scary snaps: In others the mothers were scratched or painted out, instead appearing as Grim Reaper-like figures hovering over their beloved children

Scary snaps: In others the mothers were scratched or painted out, right, or made to wear a black hood, instead appearing as grim reaper-like figures hovering over their beloved children

Camouflaged: One of the better examples of a mother disguised as a chair

Camouflaged: One of the better examples of a mother disguised as a chair - although her shoulders and skirt are still in sight

When the daguerreotype was invented in 1837, a part of the camera which made the commercial photo process possible, it made taking pictures accessible, and most importantly affordable, even for the middle classes.

Taking photographs of children grew in popularity, but it was still a cumbersome practice as the slow shutter speeds meant the subject was forced to sit still for long periods of time. The solution was to keep the mother in the photograph to hold the children still and keep them calm, and disguise her appearance underneath rugs or blankets, behind a chair or even, as some of these Victorian photos show, hide her behind the curtain.

The resulting portraits show eerie cloaked figures behind the children, making it appear more like the child is being guarded by the grim reaper than its mother.

These mysterious and extremely odd vintage portraits of families in which the mother is disguised as a chair

As well as functioning as a way of propping the children up, mothers were on set to keep their children calm and fuss-free

As well propping the children up, mothers were on set to keep their children calm and fuss-free

 

Blending in: A simple solution to cancel out the mother in this photo has been to hide her face behind the wall hanging

Original photobomb: Quite what the mother and the photographer wanted to achieve when she was blackened out from the centre of this photograph we will never know

Original photobomb: Quite what the mother and the photographer wanted to achieve when she was blackened out from the centre of this photograph we will never know

As frames were used to eliminate the background once the photo was placed on a wall or mantlepiece photographers would sometimes not bother to cover the mother's lefts or skirt

The mother, often disguised or hiding, often under a spread, holds her baby tightly for the photographer to insure a sharply focused image

Out of the picture: As frames were used to eliminate the background once the photo was placed on a wall or mantlepiece photographers would sometimes not bother to cover the mother's legs or skirt

In this 19th century snap what appears to be a curtain has simply been thrown over the mothers head as she holds her baby

In this 19th century snap what appears to be a curtain has simply been thrown over the mothers head as she holds her baby

Portrait sessions in the late 1800s 'were challenging for sitters because of the low emulsion sensitivity and consequently lengthy exposure times,' experts at Sewanee University of the South told Digg.

'In the case of children, one stress-reducing device for keeping them still was to cloak mothers and disguise them as a support on or against which the child rested.'

Parents went to great lengths to make the portraits appear as natural as possible, but as these examples show, that was hardly the case.

The lack of effort in some cases can be explained by the use of frames once the photograph was developed, which would hide the cloaked head and skirt of the 'invisible mother'.

Swept under the rug: This disapproving looking baby has had some Victorian photoshopping to its cheeks to make it more life-like

Swept under the rug: This disapproving looking baby has had some Victorian photoshopping to its cheeks to make it more life-like

Pretend I'm not here: Even when photographs were taken outside of the study, it appears the mother's face was banned as a blanket covers her face

Pretend I'm not here: Even when photographs were taken outside of the study, it appears the mother's face was banned as a blanket covers her face

 

Stunning full-color photos offer a rare glimpse into the lives of children in early 1940s America -- a seldom-discussed time when the nation was waking up from the Great Depression and readying itself for war.

Children were caught in the extremes of a nation in the midst of a great transformation. Abject poverty in rural areas and tenements meant many youngsters were forced to work the fields and factories to help their parents scrape together a living.

Other images show children attending school and receiving medical care. One image features a well-dressed boy outside a department store window at Christmas time, conjuring a classic holiday sight that persisted through the early 1960s.

The newly-released photos are part of a Library of Congress project to digitize and upload a trove of pictures that were taken by photographers hired by the Farm Security Administration for a Depression-era New Deal program.

Rural school children, San Augustine County, Texas

Caught in the middle: These children in a rural schoolhouse in Austine County, Texas, pictured in April 1943 have not yet benefited from the industrial age brought on by the Second World War

Doctor in school

Improvements: This little girl, who is being vaccinated by a doctor, is one of the children reached by the improved education and advances in medical care brought on by prosperity from the war

Black child in Cincinnati, Ohio

Race relations: Black children did not fare well during this era, if these photos are to be an guide. This little boy was photographed near Cincinnati, Ohio in 1942 or 1943

The United States is stuck in the midst of transforming its economy at this time, from one that relied heavily on agriculture to one of advanced industry in large cities.

Factories are beginning to spring up as the government ramps up its spending on the military -- first to produce weapons to send to Britain under the Lend-Lease agreement and later for its own army, navy and air force.

More...

But an urban setting doesn't guarantee prosperity. Children crowd bleak tenements in large cities.

The images also show the impact of growing up in a nation at war.

Boys sitting on truck parked at the FSA ... labor camp, Robston, Tex

Hard work: Many children in rural areas still had to work to help support their families. Here, four boys are pictured in 1942 at a Farm Security Administration labor camp in Robston, Texas

Children asleep on bed during square dance, McIntosh County, Okla.

Tagging along: These four children followed their parents to a square dance in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, in 1939 or 1940, but they fell asleep midway through

Children gathering potatoes on a large farm, vicinity of Caribou, Aroostook County, Me. Schools do not open until the potatoes are harvested.

Labor force: Schools in remote Aroostook County, Maine, did not open until the potatoes had been harvested because children had to help bring the crop in. These two boys live outside Caribou

Photos taken in classrooms an schoolhouses reveal walls plastered with war propaganda posters urging action with the familiar phrase 'Buy War Bonds.'

Race is an uncomfortable subject in these photos. The black children pictured are living in deep poverty, usually in wooden shacks on sharecropping farms in the south.

Those who were in the cities faced discrimination in a country that was still struggling to figure out how it would handle race relations in the years leading up to Civil Rights.

The photos were released by the Library of Congress as part of a public archive of images taken by photographers for the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information.

FSA photographers focused on rural areas and on labor -- recording the men and women who were put back to work under a host of New Deal government spending.

These pictures are just a few among 171,000 mostly black and white images being scanned and uploaded online.

School children singing, Pie Town, New Mexico

Education: These children are learning to sing in a choir in Pie Town, New Mexico in October 1940

 School children singing, Pie Town, New Mexico. Rare color photos: Kids in the 1940s

Sing on: This is a another shot of the Pie Town elementary school choir

Delta County Fair, Colorado (LOC)

Playtime: These children enjoy a primitive carnival ride at the Delta County Fair in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies in October 1940

 Children stage a patriotic demonstration, Southington, Conn.

War drums: Children were enlisted in frequent patriotic demonstrations, like this one in May 1942 in Southington, Connecticut, to rally support for the nation's fight against the Axis power of the Second World War

 Boys fishing in a bayou, Schriever, La. Cajun children in a bayou near the school. Terrebonne, a Farm Security Administration project

Blast from the past: This could be a scene out of Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' A photographer captured two boys fishing in a bayou in Schriever, Louisiana, in June 1940 outside their school, which was building by the Farm Security Administration

Bayou Bourbeau plantation, a FSA cooperative, Natchitoches, La. A black family (?) seated on the porch of a house

Poverty: The fortunes of this black family, pictured in August 1940, living on a plantation on Bayou Bourbeau in Natchitoches, Louisiana, have likely changed little since their ancestors were freed from slavery. An FSA cooperative aimed to give them the opportunity to earn more wealth

At the Vermont state fair, Rutland

Matching: These five sisters are wearing the same dress, no doubt homemade, to the Vermont State Fair in Rutland in September 1941

[Girl with doll standing by fence]

Bleak: This photo of a little girl clutching her doll, taken between 1941 and 1942, is a powerful image about showing desolation in parts of rural America at the time

At the Vermont state fair, Rutland (LOC)

Downtime: The carnival rides at the Vermont State Fair in Rutland, pictured in September 1941, were the highlight of the year for many children in the rural mountainous state

 Two little girls in a park near Union Station, Washington, D.C.

Vivid: The colors in this collection of photographs offer images that can feel more lifelike than similar black and white shots. Here, two girls are seen in a park near Union Station in Washington, DC, in 1941

Rural school children, San Augustine County, Texas

Ready for war: A war propaganda poster is seen in this schoolhouse in San Augustine County, Texas. The federal government made sure to rally the war effort in even the most rural areas

At Beecher Street School,

At Beecher Street School, Southington, Connecticut, whose student body was half Italian-American and half of Polish-American, patriotism became an important ritual for the school children

 Children in a company housing settlement, Puerto Rico

Squalor: These four little girls are pictured in December 1941 in front of their run-down shanty that is company-provided housing in Puerto Rico

 Homesteader feeding his daughter at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair free barbeque

Tough work: A homesteader's weather-worn hands show the sort of life he leads. He feeds his daughter free barbeque from the Pie Town Fair in October 1940

Child of a migratory farm laborer in the field during the harvest of the community center's cabbage crop, FSA labor camp, Tex.

Helping out: A small boy sits among the cabbages at a FSA community center labor camp in Texas

1943

A girl sits alone outside Washington's Union Station in 1943

 Rural school children, San Augustine County, Texas

Propaganda: An iconic 'Buy War Bonds' post is seen in this 1943 photo taken at a rural school in Augustine County, Texas

 Rural school children, San Augustine County, Texas

Bringing in education: New Deal programs funded schools, like this one in San Augustine County, Texas, which helped turn the tide of poverty in some of the most remote reaches of the country

 Rural school girl, San Augustine County, Texas

Important subject: Geography was an important subject, even in rural areas, because hundreds of thousands of American troops were fighting overseas in far-off places

 Bayou Bourbeau plantation, a Farm Security Administration cooperative, vicinity of Natchitoches, La. Three Negro children sitting on the porch of a house

This girl takes care of her baby sister in 1940 on Bayou Bourbeau plantation, a Farm Security Administration cooperative near Natchitoches, Louisiana.

 [Children with adult in the tenement district, Brockton, Massachusetts]

Getting by: These children lived in the tenement district in Brockton, Massachusetts. Pictured in December 1940 1940 Dec. 1 slide : color. Notes: Title devised by Library staff. Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944. Subjects: Tenement houses Children United States--Massachusetts--Brockton Format: Slides--Color Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication. Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection Lot 1167-1 (DLC) 93845501 General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a33861 Call Number: LC-USF35-13

[Boy beside store window display of Christmas ornaments]

Iconic: This image of a boy at a store window display of Christmas ornaments, taken between 1941 and 1942, looks like the classical view of Christmas that was glued to the American conscience in the 1950s

 [Boy] building a model airplane [as girl watches], FSA ... camp, Robstown, Tex.

Few possessions: This little boy and his sister are intent on this crude model airplane while they await their parents' return at an FSA labor camp for migrant crop pickers

 Jack Whinery and his family, homesteaders, Pie Town, New Mexico

Hard life: Jack Whinery is struggling to get buy as a homesteader in desolate Pie Town, New Mexico, pictured in September 1940

 Jack Whinery and his family, homesteaders, Pie Town, New Mexico

Struggle: Mr Whinery's life was made even by difficult by the five children he had to feed and clothe

 

Maria Franziska, the last of seven brothers and sisters from the famous von Trapp family, has died

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Maria Franziska, the last of seven brothers and sisters from the famous von Trapp family, has died

The last surviving member of the real von Trapp family that inspired The Sound of Music has died.

Maria Franziska, one of seven brothers and sisters from the famous family, passed away in her sleep aged 99 at home in Vermont, America.

Her family fled their home in Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938, before performing together around the U.S.

Their story later inspired the 1965 musical hit, which won five Oscars and remains one of the most successful films ever made.

Today, family friend Marianne Dorfer said she was 'surprised' that Maria had been the last of the family to survive.

'It was a surprise that she was the one in the family to live the longest because ever since she was a child she suffered from a weak heart,' she said.

'It was the fact that she suffered from this that her father decided to hire Maria von Trapp to teach her and her brothers and sisters.

'That, of course, then led to one of the most remarkable musical partnerships of the last century.'

Maria, the second-eldest daughter of Baron von Trapp, was born in Zell am See, Salzburg, in 1914.

Following the death of her father's first wife, she and her siblings were taught by aspiring nun Maria Kutschera, who quickly fell in love with Baron von Trapp and married him in 1927. The family sang and played instruments together having lost all their fortune in 1935 in the throes of the world's economic crisis.

 

Return: Maria, who was born in Zell am See, Salzburg, in 1914,  passed away in her sleep aged 99 at home in Vermont, America. Above, Maria is pictured at her old family home in 2008, which has been turned into a hotel

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Return: Maria, who was born in Zell am See, Salzburg, in 1914, passed away in her sleep aged 99 at home in Vermont, America. Above, Maria is pictured at her old family home in 2008, which has been turned into a hotel

Inspiration: The von Trapp family fled their home in Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938, before performing together around the U.S. Their story later inspired the 1965 film The Sound of Music (pictured), which won five Oscars

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Inspiration: The von Trapp family fled their home in Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938, before performing together around the U.S. Their story later inspired the 1965 film The Sound of Music (pictured), which won five Oscars

After an opera singer heard the children singing in a park, she entered them for a competition - with their subsequent success seeing them tour Europe and the United States as a family choir.

For Baron von Trapp, who was a staunch Austrian patriot and opponent of Adolf Hitler, his singing family also provided the escape ticket from the Nazi regime.

The family did not return from a concert tour in the United States.

Siblings: Maria is pictured with her elder sister Agatha (left), who passed away aged 97 in December 2010

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Siblings: Maria is pictured with her elder sister Agatha (left), who passed away aged 97 in December 2010

So long, farewell: Maria was portrayed in the musical hit by Louisa (second right), played by Heather Menzies

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So long, farewell: Maria was portrayed in the musical hit by Louisa (second right), played by Heather Menzies

Maria's stepmother later had another three children and the family settled on a farm in Vermont in 1942.

The family's story inspired The Sound of Music, which still attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Salzburg every year.

It has also sparked a series of well-loved musical hits, such as 'Edelweiss' or 'Sixteen going on 17'.

In the film, Julie Andrews starred as the aspiring nun Maria in the 1965 film, while Christopher Plummer played Baron von Trapp, who was depicted as a strict patriarch, obsessed with discipline.

Singers: In the 1965 film, Christopher Plummer played Baron von Trapp, who was depicted as a strict patriarch

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Singers: In the 1965 film, Christopher Plummer played Baron von Trapp, who was depicted as a strict patriarch

Baroness Maria von Trapp returns to the mountains and hills she loves around her native Salzburg,

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Julie Andrews played Maria in the classic musical

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Portrayal: Meanwhile, Julie Andrews (right) starred as aspiring nun Maria (left), who taught the children to sing

However, despite its success, some members of the real von Trapp family disagreed with the way they were portrayed.

'We were all pretty shocked at how they portrayed our father, he was so completely different,' Maria said in one interview before she died.

'He always looked after us a lot, especially after our mother died.'

Well-known: The film has sparked a series of great musical hits, such as 'Edelweiss' and 'Sixteen going on 17'

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Well-known: The film has sparked a series of great musical hits, such as 'Edelweiss' and 'Sixteen going on 17'

She added: 'You have to separate yourself from all that, and you have to get used to it. It is something you simply cannot avoid.'

Maria was last back in Salzburg in 2008 when she flew back to her family home for the first time since she fled Nazi-occupied Austria. .

The estate, which was confiscated by the Nazis during World War Two at the request of SS police chief Heinrich Himmler, has now been transformed into a hotel.

 

 

 

 
  • Photos dating back to 1860s were taken by Lady Clementina Hawarden of her daughters
  • She dressed her three eldest girls - Isabella Grace, Clementina, and Florence Elizabeth - in costume tableau at their London home, which acted as studio
  • They were shot - in romantic and sensual poses - in pairs, or, if alone, with a mirror or with their back to the camera
  • Lewis Carroll was a big fan of Lady Hawarden's work

Some of the earliest photos of Victorian women have come to light in a revealing and historical album of prints from the pioneering days of photography 150 years ago.

The rare set of pictures taken by Lady Clementina Hawarden, one of Britain’s first female photographers - whose work was avidly collected by Alice In Wonderland writer Lewis Carroll - is set to fetch £150,000 at auction.

The photos, which date back to the 1860s, were taken by Lady Hawarden of her daughters and rank as one of Britain’s first ever fashion shoots.

She is rated as one of the most influential Victorian fine art photographers, blazing the way for women in the profession when it was dominated by men.

Lady Clementina Hawarden is rated as one of the most influential Victorian fine art photographers, blazing the way for women in the profession when it was dominated by men

Lady Clementina Hawarden is rated as one of the most influential Victorian fine art photographers, blazing the way for women in the profession when it was dominated by men. Above, one of her daughter's, Isabella Grace, strikes a pose in the 1860s

Lady Hawarden's photographic exploration of identity - and female sexuality - was incredibly progressive. Above, Lady Clementina's daughter also called Clementina reading a book

Lady Hawarden's photographic exploration of identity - and female sexuality - was incredibly progressive. Above, Lady Clementina's daughter, also called Clementina, reading a book

Lady Hawarden enlisted her daughters (Isabella, above) as models and got to work with a stereoscopic camera and set the standard to which aspiring photographers reach for today

Lady Hawarden enlisted her daughters (Isabella, above) as models and got to work with a stereoscopic camera and set the standard to which aspiring photographers reach for today

She enlisted her daughters as models and got to work with a stereoscopic camera and set the standard to which aspiring photographers reach for today.

Born Clementina Elphinstone Fleeming in Dunbartonshire in 1822, she was the third of five children of a British father, Admiral Charles Elphinstone Fleeming (1774-1840), and a Spanish mother, Catalina Paulina Alessandro (1800-1880).

One of five children, she grew up on the family estate, Cumbernauld, near Glasgow.

Much of Hawarden’s life remains a mystery. But in 1845 she married Cornwallis Maude, an Officer in the Life Guards. In 1856, Maude’s father, Viscount Hawarden, died and his title, and considerable wealth, passed to Cornwallis. Hawarden and her husband had ten children, two boys and eight girls, out of whom eight survived to adulthood.

In 1859, the family also acquired a new London home at 5 Princes Gardens, in South Kensington. Much of the square survives as built, but No. 5 has gone.

From 1862 onwards, Lady Hawarden used the entire first floor of the property as a studio, within which she kept a few props, many of which have come to be synonymous with her work: gossamer curtains; a freestanding mirror; a small chest of drawers; and the iconic ‘empire star’ wallpaper, as seen in several of the photographs.

Lady Hawarden used the entire first floor of the property as a studio, within which she kept a few props, many of which have come to be synonymous with her work

Lady Hawarden used the entire first floor of the property as a studio, within which she kept a few props, many of which have come to be synonymous with her work: gossamer curtains; a freestanding mirror; a small chest of drawers; and the iconic 'empire star' wallpaper, as seen in several of the photographs. (Above, daughter Clementina)

In 1859, the family acquired a new London home at 5 Princes Gardens in South Kensington, London, where an unidentified model poses (above)

In 1859, the family acquired a new London home at 5 Princes Gardens in South Kensington, London, where an unidentified model poses (above)

An important collection of 37 albumen prints by Lady Hawarden and a pair of pencil sketches of her and her husband are to be sold. Above, Isabella

An important collection of 37 albumen prints by Lady Hawarden and a pair of pencil sketches of her and her husband are to be sold. Above, Isabella

The superior aspect of the studio can also go some way to account for Hawarden’s sophisticated, subtle and pioneering use of natural light in her images.

It was also here that Lady Hawarden focused upon taking photographs of her eldest daughters, Isabella Grace, Clementina, and Florence Elizabeth, whom she would often dress up in costume tableau.

The girls were frequently shot - often in romantic and sensual poses - in pairs, or, if alone, with a mirror or with their back to the camera.

Hawarden’s photographic exploration of identity - and female sexuality - was incredibly progressive when considered in relation to her contemporaries, most notably Julia Margaret Cameron.

Graham Ovenden said in his book, Clementina Lady Hawarden (1974): 'Clementina Hawarden struck out into areas and depicted moods unknown to the art photographers of her age. Her vision of languidly tranquil ladies carefully dressed and posed in a symbolist light is at opposite poles from Mrs Cameron’s images... her work... constitutes a unique document within nineteenth-century photography.'

Lady Hawarden's daughter Eppy

Eppy faces the camera with another girl on the balcony of their London house

Lady Hawarden's daughter Eppy Agnes (left), who is also seen facing the camera with another girl on the balcony of their London house

She exhibited, and won silver medals, in the 1863 and 1864 exhibitions of the Photographic Society, and was admired by both Oscar Rejlander, and Lewis Carroll who acquired five images which went into the Gernsheim Collection and are now in Texas.

Tragically, Hawarden was never to collect her medals.

She died at on 19 January 1865, after suffering from pneumonia for one week, aged 42. It has been suggested that her immune system was weakened by constant contact with the photographic chemicals.

Now an important collection of 37 albumen prints by her and a pair of pencil sketches of her and her husband are to be sold.

The images are derived from a single album, the vast majority not represented in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s collection, where the majority of her work is housed.

Francesca Spickernell, photography specialist at Bonhams, said: 'It was pioneering for a woman to be taking photos like this at this point in the 19th century.

On January 19, 1865, Lady Hawarden died after suffering from pneumonia for one week, aged 42

On January 19, 1865, Lady Hawarden died after suffering from pneumonia for one week, aged 42. It has been suggested that her immune system was weakened by constant contact with the photographic chemicals. (Isabella, pictured)

'Her output was prolific and she won awards for her work. She struck out into areas and depicted moods unknown to the art photographers of her age.

'The photography scene at this point in history was dominated by males so for a female to achieve the amount of recognition she did in such a short space of time was a tremendous achievement.

'Most photography was very masculine and mostly architectural so these elegant, feminine shots really stood out at that time.'

In 1939, her granddaughter presented the V&A with 779 photographs, most of which had been roughly torn from their original albums with significant losses to corners. Proper examination, and appreciation of this gift, was delayed by World War Two, and it was not until the 1980s that there was a detailed appraisal and catalogue of the V&A holdings.

This comprises almost the entire body of Hawarden’s surviving work apart from the five images now in Texas, and small groups or single images at Bradford, Musie d’Orsay and the Getty.

Some smaller images are arranged on album leaves that are still intact - measuring 322 x 235mm. As distinct from the V&A’s holdings, it is presumed that these images have been taken from an album which may have belonged to one of the sitters or their siblings.

The most significant group in the present collection are all approximately 198 x 144mm. and tend to depict one figure in the first floor front room at 5 Princes Gardens.

Curiously there are no images of this size in the V&A collection, but the presence of close variant images in a smaller format suggests that Lady Hawarden was using two cameras in the same session.

The photographs have been in the same private collection for the last 50 years and will be auctioned by Bonhams in London on March 19.

 

 

Dawn of the age of color movies: Actresses pose and preen for the camera as they test out the new Kodachrome moving full color film in 1922

One of the earliest examples of color motion picture has been unearthed in a mesmerizing film where actresses from the 1920s pose and preen in the exciting new medium.

As Hollywood prepares for this year's Oscars, MailOnline is sharing the four-and-a-half minute clip that was discovered by Kodak at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York.

The fascinating find is a test of Kodachrome color motion picture film from 1922, a full 13 years before the first full length color feature film was released.

One of the earliest examples of color motion picture has been unearthed

One of the earliest examples of color motion picture has been unearthed

The mesmerizing film shows actresses from the 1920s pose and preen in the exciting new medium

The mesmerizing film shows actresses from the 1920s pose and preen in the exciting new medium

As Hollywood prepares for this year's Oscars, MailOnline is sharing the four-and-a-half minute clip

As Hollywood prepares for this year's Oscars, MailOnline is sharing the four-and-a-half minute clip

The romantic clip takes us back to where the allure of the movies all began, and it is a pleasure to watch.

The film comes complete with the flicker that gave old-time movies the nickname 'the flicks.' The effect is caused by variations in film speed thanks to the hand-cranked cameras that were used back then.

Equally alluring are the women in the short film. Their fashions and make up define their time and the way they smile and flirt with the camera, posing and pouting, shows them to be true Hollywood gems.

The film was discovered by Kodak at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York

The film was discovered by Kodak at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York

The fascinating find is a test of Kodachrome color motion picture film from 1922

The fascinating find is a test of Kodachrome color motion picture film from 1922

The clip came a full 13 years before the first full length color feature film was released

The clip came a full 13 years before the first full length color feature film was released

The romantic clip takes us back to where the allure of the movies all began, and it is a pleasure to watch

The romantic clip takes us back to where the allure of the movies all began, and it is a pleasure to watch

The film comes complete with the flicker that gave old-time movies the nickname 'the flicks'

The film comes complete with the flicker that gave old-time movies the nickname 'the flicks'

The flicker effect is caused by variations in film speed thanks to the hand-cranked cameras that were used back then

The flicker effect is caused by variations in film speed thanks to the hand-cranked cameras that were used back then

Equally alluring are the women in the short film

Equally alluring are the women in the short film

Their fashions and make up define their time

Their fashions and make up define their time

The way they smile and flirt with the camera, posing and pouting, shows them to be true Hollywood gems

The way they smile and flirt with the camera, posing and pouting, shows them to be true Hollywood gems

The charming film shows the women act out fluttery and innocent modesty

The charming film shows the women act out fluttery and innocent modesty

 

 

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