“L. E. side,” 1967, by James Jowers, via George Eastman Museum Commons on flickr.
James Jowers worked in New York City and lived on the Lower East Side about the time this photo was taken.
The celebration
Probably near Lexington, Virginia, date unknown, by Michael Miley Studio, via Library of Virginia Commons on flickr (both photos).
I think this was a 50th wedding anniversary celebration, and the couple were posing with their eleven children.
Michael Miley was a popular commercial photographer in Lexington, Virginia, who patented a color process in 1902 and may have produced the first color photographic print in the U.S. He died in 1918, so these photos must have been taken by his son Henry or another younger associate.
The Library of Virginia recently discovered 58 previously unidentified images by the Studio and hopes that someone will be able to help it identify some of the subjects in the pictures.
The flower seller, Havana
Flower seller, Havana, Cuba, ca. 1945, by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, via Florida Memory (State Library and Archives of Florida) Commons on flickr.
Front steps, Finland
Front garden and steps, probably Finland, ca. 1900, by Hugo Simberg, via Finnish National Gallery on flickr (under CC license).
So much activity and anticipation in this shadowy old photo: the three women on the top left are waiting for the appearance of someone at the door. Below them, a toddler has been left to perch a little precariously on the steps. On the right, a woman with a very large hat and a little girl pose for the camera. Vines everywhere.
(There’s a larger view here.)
Botany class
“A class in flowers, 6th Division,” ca. 1899, by Frances Benjamin Johnston, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Before she began the work she is probably best known for, that of photographing old houses and gardens, Johnston was a photojournalist and a portraitist. In 1899, she became interested in progressive education and made a photo survey of students at public schools in Washington, D.C.
enclos*ure 