Wedding couple in Fowler, Indiana
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What it is:
Cabinet card measuring 4.25 x 6.5 inches.
What I know about it:
Photographer is McAdam of Fowler, Indiana. (I found a couple of references to a photographer named James McAdam in Fowler at that period, so that’s likely the full name.)
Comments:
Here’s another old Midwestern wedding photo. The bride is dressed in attire that is unusual to my modern eyes, and the groom is posed as if he’s eager to get going with his honeymoon.
Pics of Then 
So cute! Is that an orange-blossom boutonniere (I think the same flower is pinned on her), or something else?
Glad you like it! I can’t really tell what the flowers are, partly because I don’t know flowers well enough, and also because the flash washes them out a bit, but they do appear to be the same flower on both.
I love photos like these as it proves that the modern obsession with “traditional” white weddings is spurious. I also love the way the torn edge of the painted backdrop leaves a real prop exposed in the background!
I agree. I sometimes wonder how many of these old wedding photos show people who are immigrants, or children of immigrants, wearing bridal fashions that are quite traditional wherever they are from. If that’s the case, and I knew enough about old wedding styles, then we could tell where these people’s families were from. But you’re right, it’s nice to see that there was so much variation. Regarding that backdrop, I’ve noticed a trend in celebrity photography for photographing the subjects against backdrops where you can clearly see the edges of the backdrops. (Maybe that’s not a recent trend. Maybe I’ve only just noticed it.) It’s so clearly intentional in those photos, sort of a meta-theatrical effect. I always assume that it’s a mistake when I see it in vintage photos, but I really need to stop assuming that.
I most likely am totally off base, however, when I first glanced at the picture, more specifically the bride’s head ornament and veil, Eastern European flashed through my mind. I wonder??
Yes, I was actually thinking the same thing. It has an Eastern European feel to me, though I really don’t know.
Definitely a Madonna/queen sort of gown. What a fabulous portrait in so many ways.
Yes, and an almost reverential hand-holding to go with it. I’m glad you like it, I think it’s fascinating.
I contacted you a few years ago asking if you knew who this is. I also told you that I have this picture. I since then have gotten this picture identified by family members. This is my 2nd great uncle. Henry and Sibylla (Roth) Metzinger. Married 15 Sep 1898 He was 25 years old and she was 20
Hi Lynette. Thank you for writing again! And thank you so much for identifying Henry and Sibylla. My readers and I enjoy the photos even as anonymous images, but some knowledge of the people pictured makes the experience of looking at them all the richer. As I said in my response to your first message (on my “About” page), I had no other information on this photo than what I originally posted, nor could I trace its route to my collection, beyond assuming it was an eBay purchase. It’s interesting that, of the hundreds of photos I’ve posted by now, you’re only the second person who has identified a family member, or even claimed to be related at all. (I’ve also had a couple people claim to be related to a photographer.) It makes me wonder whether I’d recognize vintage photos of my own family members if they weren’t copies of photos I’d already seen.