Seven young women and girls in Cabanatuan City, Philippines

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This is a real photo postcard. The manufacturer’s markings (AZO with corner squares) indicate a rather broad date range of about 1925 to the 1940s. It has an interesting textured finish that you can see in the enlargement. The photographer’s name (Nueva Studio / Cabanatuan) is embossed in the lower left. And that’s all the information I have about this image. I don’t know who these people are, and can only make guesses about their relationships to each other. Is there any significance to the fact that dresses #1 and #2 are nearly identical? Shall we read anything into the fact that they are all in physical contact with each other, except the girl on the far right, who is standing a bit apart and appears somewhat disengaged? So much about this photo seems rather conventional, and yet, from my perspective here in California, they are far away overseas. So this photo feels both familiar and foreign, which I find interesting.