Little Herbert is still very much alive in this image. The whole thing about having the departed standing in an image being held up by a stand is myth. Those head stands are to help you keep still and would never support full body weight. The lack of "light" of irises is a trick of photography methods of the time in which blues can photograph as white.
The shoeless thing could be as simple as a mom picking her battles with a screaming unhappy child who had shoes he didn't like and that was how he agreed to sit still for the image. It is common to see sashes at the dropped waist on girls dresses at this time. Perhaps the belt is the masculine variation. It is still a dress indicating that he wasn't potty trained yet. I could believe this was his last picture. If he was born in 1909 he looks to be about 3 in this image so the dates would be right for his death in 1912. Maggie Koenig Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 15, 2015, at 5:23 AM, Penny Ladnier <pe...@costumegallery.com> wrote: > > This photo was produced from my grandma's original cabinet card. My mom had > a negative pulled from it in 1960. I have another original cabinet card of > this same photo that was given to me by my grand aunt. Mine has been broken > in half. I have repaired it and back together with museum archival tape on > backside. Both originals had a cross drawn in pen above my little Uncle > Herbert's head. I will scan my original tomorrow. I think you will be see > a little more in its original color. > > Also note that his two sisters have a little sprig of flowers in their > hands. Herbert is holding only a small flower. > > My grandma had lots of professional photos made of her children when they > were little. There are baby/infant photos of all the children but Herbert. > Grandma gave all of her photos to my mom to copy and there is only this one > photo of Herbert. > > When my grand aunt gave me the other original photo, I asked why the cross > was drawn little Herbert's head. She said, "This was his last photo, so > they drew a cross over his head." Both photos have a penned ink cross drawn > above his head. Has anyone else seen this drawn cross above a deceased > person's head before in a photo? > > FYI, my grandmother was pregnant when Herbert died. Two days later, she > gave birth to another son. She made sure there were lots of photos taken of > her new son. > > Below is little Herbert's obit...you might need a hankie for this... > > In Memoriam: Herbert Clayton Dunlap > > The Angel of Death has visited another home and taken from our midst a dear > little boy. > > Little Herbert Clayton Dunlap, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.L. [Willshire] Dunlap, > died Sept. 15, 1912, after a brief illness of only a few days. Herbert was > born March 23, 1909. During his brief lifetime, little Herbert had endeared > himself to all those who knew him by his sweet sunny disposition. > > We sympathize deeply with Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap in their sorrow. > The funeral was conducted by Rev. W.J. Nelson, pastor of the First Baptist > Church [Rock Hill, SC.] > > We had a little treasure once, > He was our joy and pride. > We loved him, ah! perhaps too well. > For soon he slept and died, > All is dark within our dwelling, > Lonely our hearts today, > For the one we loved so dearly, > Has forever passed away. > > Penny Ladnier, Owner > The Costume Gallery Websites, www.costumegallery.com > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCostumeGallery > > > -----Original Message----- > From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On > Behalf Of Penny Ladnier > Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2015 1:07 AM > To: 'Historical Costume' > Subject: [h-cost] New Topic: Is this a Postmortem Photo > > I'll open a can of worms. I have a photo of my Dad and his siblings from > 1912 http://www.costumegallery.com/kids2.jpg . The little boy in this front > is he postmortem or handicapped. He passed away in 1912. I have always > thought the belt around him was odd and being shoeless. My Dad told me once > that his mother was very strict and would not allow them to go around > barefooted. Last week I was dusting the photo's frame and gave it a hard > look and thought it might be postmortem. > > Penny Ladnier, Owner > The Costume Gallery Websites, www.costumegallery.com > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCostumeGallery > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > h-costume@mail.indra.com > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > h-costume@mail.indra.com > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
