JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
These ' back of the head ' photos were MOSTLY intended for mourning purposes. The thing is, I discovered a few later photos of females whose dres did NOT indicate sorrow, as in at all. it transpires quie another purpose was served by a type of photo featuring females taken from the ' back'. Guess what? They were advertisements for early ( post war, pre 1900's ) ladies of the evening! NO WAY!
I really can't find anything on why people chose the faceless mourning poses- but will keep looking. It must be symbolic, certainly does look very sad albeit odd to our 2014 eyes.
Some, as usual, will certainly stray from era- these are tougher to find than the usual ' Dressed in black ' mourning photos, or even a front shot of a face covered in a veil. It does make you cast a little wider net.
This is probably the most well known- I'm guessing because it's the prettiest, loveliest hair, nicest shot.
Short hair- I've always been told this would have been because a woman had been sick? Maybe the photo is of a much later era, and the style is short hair but pretty sure that's not the case.
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