Two children in Cheyenne, Wyoming
By: usermattw
Tags: antiques, Cheyenne, photography, vintage photography
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It’s a cliche to say that somebody has an old soul, but both of these kids, especially the boy, look older to me than their years. They both have handsome faces, and both seem like perfectly content people, but somehow I feel I can already see the adults in them. Also, to my modern eyes, there’s something borderline incongruous about the boy’s earnest expression atop that almost vaudevillian bow. Their names, per a notation on the back, are Dick and Helen, and the photo is dated 1898. The photo itself is about 4 x 5.5 inches, and the cardboard backing/frame is about 6.75 x 5.5 inches. That fancy script stumped me for a moment, but I managed to figure out that the photographer is J. E. Stimson of Cheyenne, Wyoming. That turns out to be Joseph E. Stimson, and he turns out to have been rather famous for his extensive landscape photography, though he started out as a portrait photographer in 1889. An interesting article about him can be found here.
Pics of Then 
They look Native American to me. An excellent double-portrait.
Yes, that’s possible. And I agree, it’s a beautiful portrait.