Two girls in Red Bluff, California
By: usermattw
Tags: antiques, photography, Red Bluff
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What it is:
Cabinet card measuring 4.25 x 6.5 inches.
What I know about it:
Photographer is Reinhart & Dorrothy of Red Bluff, California. Otherwise, no information.
Comments:
My friend Jenn surprised me last night with the gift of this lovely photo. Although it isn’t dated, the scalloped edges around the card suggest an approximate date range of late-1880s to 1900. I know of Red Bluff as a small town in Northern California, and didn’t realize it would have been large enough at the time to support its own photography studio. But it apparently had a population of about 2,600 at the time (it’s currently at a little over 14,000), so it was established and thriving earlier than I thought. Both girls have pins in their hair in approximately the same positions on their heads, even though their hair seems relatively short, making me wonder if the pins are more fashionably decorative than functional. Also, while it’s perfectly common to see photo settings with various drapes and curtains in the background, I don’t recall any others in my collection that used lace.
Pics of Then 
Really nice! I’ve never seen lace as a backdrop, either.
Thanks, glad you like it!
I think the girls are young ladies, teen aged. The hem of the seated girl is a little short for an adult. Young ladies were allowed by fashion standards to have short hair. The pins were entirely decorative regardless of hair length. 🙂
Yes, I agree, the appear to be teenagers. And thanks, as always, for the tips on the fashions.
The lace almost looks like curtains. And the fur at their feet! And the rug they are on! This photographer had a flair for the dramatic…. makes me think of theatre sets.
I have several with furs on the ground like that, but you’re right, it makes a statement.
They look like teenagers to me (maybe 15-17?). The photo caught my attention initially because the young lady in the foreground has a much darker complexion than the other, and it made me curious about the relationship between the two.
Good point. I have no idea. Friends? Relatives? Hard to say, but interesting to speculate.