Woman in Sowerby Bridge
Click here to view it larger.
I tend to be intrigued by the choices of props used in studio photos, and this is no different. It seems she’s holding an umbrella or parasol, and it’s interesting to me that she’s chosen to pose with it. Perhaps she needs it as a walking aid. This little carte de visite image was produced by J. Oliver of Sowerby Bridge, England. A quick search didn’t turn up much more about this photographer, though I did find another sample of their work in the Rijksmuseum here. I wonder if that’s the same chair. Honestly, museum’s one is nice, and I think it’s part of a larger album, but I think I like mine better. 🙂
Pics of Then 
Lovely mourning photo. Definitely in widows weeds so deep mourning. Not sure of the significance of the parasol.
Glad you like it. And I may be reading more into it than necessary, since there might be no real significance to the parasol at all.
My guess would be that she’s in mourning. Her hair-covering seems very formal. Do you know what it would be called? A veil?
You wrote that the photographer’s name was J. Towne, but the carte says J. Oliver. Were they connected? I don’t seem to have any portraits from Sowerby Bridge in my collection, although I thought I did. I must have seen some for sale over the years.
Oh, good grief, that’s my typo, sorry. The address on the back is “Town Hall”, and somehow my brain merged that into the name of the studio. I’ll edit it. And yes, I was guessing mourning clothing, too.
The purple line around the print is a nice touch, almost like a French mat. The purple goes well with the ink in the print and also the red lettering at the bottom.
Agreed.