Miss Merriman in a striped dress
Click here to view it larger.
Here’s another CDV. Somebody wrote Mollie (or is it Dollie?) Merriman on the front, presumably identifying this young woman. There is nothing on the back except a blue 2-cent revenue stamp, meaning the picture was produced between August 1864 and August 1866, and cost less than 25 cents. I love this image when I hold it in my hand. So I was pleasantly surprised when I enlarged it to realize that the pattern of the dress is more complicated than simple light-colored stripes on the dark background. The stripes themselves are actually composed of a repeating geometric shape (a sort of elongated hexagon), and there are also darker stripes that alternate with the light ones against the dark background. As much as I love black-and-white photography, this is one I wish I could see in color. I’m also intrigued by the stack of books. The titles are turned to the camera, but I just can’t quite make them out
Pics of Then 
Her dress is really nice. I’m a sucker for vertical stripes, although I can’t say exactly why. There’s just something elegant about them.
Good to know. I’ll keep an eye out for photos with vertical stripes for you.