Lilly and Joe, maybe
Click here to view it larger.
My previous post was a cabinet card my friend Jennifer gave me showing a woman in Ottumwa, Iowa. Here is another one Jenn gave me, also a cabinet card from Ottumwa. I have no idea if these two are related in some way beyond the coincidence of their location. Written on the back of this one is “Lilly and Joe Binford / I think?”. I appreciate the honesty. As always, it’s fun to enlarge it and look at details, like the man’s striped pants, or their rings. The man’s ring is on his pinky finger and the woman’s is on her index finger, and they don’t match, making me wonder if they are wedding rings. I like the fact that it appears to be a female photographer, which was less common. A quick search didn’t turn up any more information on “Miss B. E. Warner”. It’s interesting that she didn’t spell out her given name. Initials are sometimes used to mask gender, but she put “Miss”, so that’s not it. In any case, I like her work.
Pics of Then 
This one is fun! The lady seems to be smiling ever so slightly, as if they were up to some mischief. Her ring looks like a man’s. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that they exchanged rings for the photo. Why they would do that, I have no idea!
Yes, I noticed the expression, too. The pose, with both of them resting their elbows on that thing which is a little too high for them, looks a little awkward, particularly for her in that heavily corseted dress. But then you notice the almost-smile, and the equality of the pose, and suddenly you sense a certain sassiness from her that I enjoy. As for the rings, maybe they are unmatched engagement rings? Some day, when I’m feeling more industrious, I’ll have to look up the history of conventions around rings.
I read somewhere that a man would wear a pinkie ring to indicate that he wasn’t interested in marriage. Have you heard of that custom?
No, I hadn’t heard that! If that’s true, it would certainly give a whole new flavor to this picture. If he’s a determined bachelor, I suppose these two could be siblings, though they don’t bear that much of a resemblance.
They could be siblings goofing around, and he has her ring on his pinkie as a joke. Whatever the explanation, it’s a fun photo!
I suppose we’ll never know, since even their identities are apparently unclear. But I agree, it’s a fun photo.