Civil War Picture

[noman]

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.11306/?co=gld

Anyone seen this type of backdrop before?

 

[civilwarincolor]

Painted backdrops such as this where common during the war. There are numerous examples in the LOC collection. Similar to having your photograph taken in a professional studio today you could select a background of your choice to have your picture taken. There were many patriotic, naval, camp, etc. themes to choose from.

Here is one of John Mosby that I have colorized to show what it might have looked like on the day it was taken.

 

[kbear]

I have seen a backdrop very similar to that but can't remember exactly where.

Silly question about the backdrop: Would they have painted it in color knowing that the pics were black/white?

Great colorization! It is amazing how the pics just come alive when this is done.

 

[M E Wolf]

I have seen a backdrop very similar to that but can't remember exactly where.

Silly question about the backdrop: Would they have painted it in color knowing that the pics were black/white?

Great colorization! It is amazing how the pics just come alive when this is done.

KBear,

I think they would have painted the backdrop as realistic as possible. Why would any garment have color if they knew photos were black and white? Further, it seems people had pride in their abilities and showed them off. They lived in a time when photographs were a luxury and not an expectation. With clothing patterns -- why would the colorist fill in the illustration but to tease the mind?

Just my thoughts and opinions.

M. E. Wolf

 

[civilwarincolor]

I have seen a backdrop very similar to that but can't remember exactly where.

Silly question about the backdrop: Would they have painted it in color knowing that the pics were black/white?

Great colorization! It is amazing how the pics just come alive when this is done.

Thanks for your comment on my work!

Regarding colorized backgrounds, the answer would be yes. Even if the final result would be B&W it is easier to get the right shade of gray by just painting it in color to start with. I think also when you are trying to get a customer to buy a photograph giving them the option of seeing several background screens you want them to envision it as well as possible.

I suspect that if one photographer only had B&W backgrounds and the other had color ones people would flock to the color, even when the finished product would be B&W. Just easier to envision the results.

 

[M E Wolf]

Another thought came to me.............

There were plenty of plays at the theater on stage, which like today provide a view background for the actors in front of it...I am thinking scaled down, these curtains acting as a background provided the eye similarly as to those in the play--having a variety of curtains to choose from depending on the customer's tastes.

M. E. Wolf

 

[civilwarincolor]

Another thought came to me.............

There were plenty of plays at the theater on stage, which like today provide a view background for the actors in front of it...I am thinking scaled down, these curtains acting as a background provided the eye similarly as to those in the play--having a variety of curtains to choose from depending on the customer's tastes.

M. E. Wolf

Hmm, never thought about that. Makes sense, kind of an extension of the work artists did for the theater industry.

Anything for a few extra $$

 

[M E Wolf]

Hmm, never thought about that. Makes sense, kind of an extension of the work artists did for the theater industry.

Anything for a few extra $$

Sure...why not??? Furniture workers made coffins as well as lap desks/writing slopes ...smaller bits of wood, scrap from one project would be perfect for a writing slope. The folks back then didn't waste things.

M. E. Wolf

 

[civilwarincolor]

Sure...why not??? Furniture workers made coffins as well as lap desks/writing slopes ...smaller bits of wood, scrap from one project would be perfect for a writing slope. The folks back then didn't waste things.

M. E. Wolf

Makes sense. I always envisioned it being a local artist working for the photographer to make a few extra $. The idea of it being someone with a theater background makes more sense, since they have experience with painting background on canvas.

Kind of makes me wonder of some of the early backdrops had actually been from a play that had ended. If you are the theater owner why not make a few extra dollars selling it to a photographer, rather than storing it on the chance of future use?

 

[civilwarincolor]

I decided to dig a little deeper on painted backdrops. It has always been my opinion that the backdrops had been painted in color, but there are surviving examples that show them in B&W.

I found this interview with the author of " The Painted Backdrop: Behind the Sitter in American Tintype Photography" that shows photographs of two surviving backdrops that are done in B&W. You can see the red Coke can sitting on the stool in front to see that this is not just a B&W photograph. This does not mean that other were not painted in color, just that B&W backdrops did exist.

I wonder what ever became of some of the CW era ones. In particular I would love to know what happened to the one with Mosby.

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[Michael O'Neil]

An almost identical image was covered on this thread - it's definitely the same subject.

http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/female-yankee-cavalry.71173/