This was just too good of a match to pass up for Sepia Saturday! The prompt image is from the Cornish Fishing Village of Clovelly, and I’ve long assumed that my image above is from a town in Cornwall as well though I don’t know the exact town. My great-great-grandmother, Jessie Battin, brought this over from England and put it in a big red velvet photo album along with other treasured cabinet card photos. The photos in the album range from the 1880s to 1910 or thereabouts, and only a few are labelled on the back. This photo, unfortunately, falls in the unlabeled set, but it’s a favorite of mine. I’d probably put the date right around 1900 based on the women’s dresses. Jessie left England around 1890, so this may have been taken after she left and sent to her in the USA to remind her of home. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough identifying landmarks to tell exactly where it was taken though and that may remain a mystery forever since I’m sure the landscape has changed quite a bit in the last 100 years. There isn’t even a photographer’s mark on the back – it’s just a photo mounted to an unremarkable plain piece of cardboard. If I were a betting woman, I’d wager this was sent from her hometown of Lawhitton, but it could be from any one of her friends or family that lived elsewhere.
There’s a lot to love about the photo – the dog sitting near the doorway on the left. The two girls standing just about in the center of the photo. The horse-drawn cart going down the street. The curious bystanders peering around each other to watch the photographer. The disembodied hand sticking out of the doorway on the left. The mystery of this photo may never be solved, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying this photo without knowing all the details!
What a charming photograph. No wonder it’s one of your favorites. It would be mine, too. And a great match to the prompt picture as well. Nice going.
This is a beautiful photo and perfect match for the photo prompt.
A wonderful mysterious photograph to have in your family collection, and not knowing much about it only adds to its value. As you say, it probably meant a lot to your gggm Jessie.
I also enjoyed seeing the man drinking while looking over his cup at the photographer. Must have taken a while to set things up those days, so he decided to go ahead and have a sip!
It would be so fascinating to see this road now.
I really wish I knew where it was taken! I’m sure it looks much different now, but I have to wonder how much.
I can absolutely see why you love this photo, and yet can’t describe why in any short, simple way.
This is my favorite photo of all I’ve seen this week. Thank you for sharing it!