Family from Vandergrift, Pennsylvania
Click here to view it larger.
What it is:
Photo (9.5 x 7.75 inches) mounted to a cardboard frame/backing (14 x 12 inches; I cropped it because it was too large for my scanner).
What I know about it:
Photographer is M. Shulman of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. Otherwise undated and unidentified.
Comments:
The fact that my last post was a Halloween post goes to show how long it’s been since I’ve posted anything. Sorry about that. My excuse, besides the general distractions of life, is that my old scanner is not compatible with my new computer, and scanning photos to the older computer and then loading them onto the new one has felt more arduous than it was worth. But I was firing up the scanner to scan something this evening anyway, so I figured I ought to do a photo while I was at it. The world has obviously not stopped spinning in the absence of my blog updates, but if you’re still interested in getting posts, thank you. Meanwhile, here is this one. It’s one of the larger ones in my collection. I assume these people are somehow related, since it looks like a family photo, and since the men all look alike. In fact, they look so much alike to me that I’m having a hard time sorting out relationships. They look like brothers. Is the woman a wife? Sister? I’m also fascinated by all the jewelry the men have dangling from their lapels and other places. I have a number of photos from Vandergrift, all sold together. Most are graduation portraits from the 1930s, but there are several from this vintage. One is this one, and I wonder if the man on the right is one of the men pictured above.
Pics of Then 
I totally get it! My scanner is an Epson 4870, which is pretty old. My new computer doesn’t support this scanner any more and I’m having to use the native image capture. It works but there are sometimes quirks. For what it’s worth, my guess about the photo is that the woman is the sister to the men standing and the man to her left. The man to her right would be her husband, the baby their child.
I’m glad I’m not the only one! I was hoping to get rid of the old computer, but it’s still sitting here until I can figure out the scanner situation. The old scanner works just fine, so it’s a shame to have to replace it. And it’s not like I have piles of cash to toss around for new hardware. (The only reason I have a “new” computer in the first place is because it’s a hand-me-down, just like the old one was.) Anyway, yes, I was thinking the woman was probably the wife of one of the seated men, I was just not sure which one.
Welcome back!
Thanks, Paul!
Thanks for posting again–I miss the photos a lot (although I collect my own!). This photo is probably c. 1910, based on the lady’s dress. Very nice picture, too. I love family portraits. I am having “new computer blues” too, since the first week of Jan.
Thank you, Lisa! Much appreciated. Sorry you’re having computer struggles, too. I hope they get sorted out. I’m glad you’re still enjoying your collection.
Glad you are posting again. I missed your photos and interesting commentary..
Thank you! I certainly wasn’t fishing for compliments, but it means a lot to know that people enjoy the posts.
Glad you’re back. Missed your postings.
Thank you, Keith! Hopefully I’ll manage to post again before another four months has gone by. 🙂
I think your strength is definitely in your analysis of the photos, Matt. You find details that are very unusual to comment upon or discuss relationship (between the sitters) issues that are more interesting than many other photo bloggers see. I always want to look more closely at your photos.
Thanks, Katherine, I really appreciate that!