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Photography and the unknown
One of my passions is photography. In my youth I had a darkroom and spent many an hour mixing chemicals and playing with light and shadow. Much of that has transfered over to the digital age and photoshop but I miss the smell and feel of the darkroom.
Recently while surfing the net I came across a fascinating collection of photographs. The collection is called Mirrors. . Bruce Jackson found them in a drawer and had this to say about them:
These images are based on a group of about two hundred 3x4" identification photographs made between 1914 and 1937 that I found in a drawer in the Arkansas penitentiary in the summer of 1975. The photographs of the men were loose in the drawer; the photographs of the women—all of them white— were in a small brown envelope. Most of the photographs of the men were taken inside, against a wall or a cloth; most of the photographs of the women were taken outside, near a fence, in a wicker chair.
When you look at the photographs you are transported to a long ago time and one can't help but wonder about the time and the place. I am transfixed by the pictures of the women. So much can be seen by the look in their eyes. Mr. Jackson goes on to say:
The people being photographed have no interest in the photographs being made; the people making the photographs have no interest in the photographs they have made.
Looking at the photographs I wonder what they did to be put in prison. The pictures show so much and yet so little.
After seeing these pictures I remembered pictures given to me a few years back by a relative. There are about fifty four of them from what seems like the late 1800s to the early part of last century. Only two of them have names on them and the rest are blank. I can only assume that most are related to me as the major photo is of my Great Great Grandparents Jacob Bott and Christina Steidinger. The other labeled photo is of Jacob's sister Florence. From her age I can assume the picture was taken around 1887.
Jacob Bott 1865-1949 Christina Steidinger Bott 1861-1938
Florence Bott Belden 1885-1906
The rest of the photographs are unknown. I assume that most are related to Jacob Bott but since they were taken so long ago I have doubts if I ever find out who they are. Many are heavy cardboard photos and some are tintypes from what seems like the mid 1800s. Here is one of the unknowns.
Unknown
The woman in the photograph looks to be of Native American descent. I'd love to know the story behind this couple and of all the people. I have posted a photo album below. If you see anyone you know give me a holler.