Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Studio Portrait of Swedish Women by Louise Lefrén


size 4-1/4" X 6-1/2"

I don't collect photos (unless they are postcards), and I don't even have many old family photos. When I saw this week's Sepia Saturday prompt, I remembered that I have one old unidentified photo. I thought it was a photo of a family. However, it turned out to be a photo of five unidentified women by Swedish photographer Louise Lefrén.

These women don't have a very strong resemblance to each other, but it is possible that they are all members of the same family. Actually, I couldn't think of any other reason that these women would have gotten together for a studio portrait. At first I though the books might be a clue. However, books are very common studio props that usually don't seem to have any special significance. Since this photo ended up in the United States, I think it is possible that he group or family might have wanted a group portrait before one of their members emigrated.

Louise Lefrén is listed on an Alphabetical Record of  Swedish photographers (http://www.genealogi.se/pdf/1911.pdf). (Google translation: Alphabetical district records. The dates in parentheses (1899, 1911) indicates that they are in Swedish Photographers List of anno 1899 respectively. 1911th)
Lefrén, Louise Storgatan 11. Etabl. 1880 (1899)
Storgatan 20, etabl. 1 juli 1880, inneh. Louise Lefrén, f. 29/8 1859 (1911)
The Storgatan (High or Main Street) 11 address appears on the back of my photo. The words below that (Plåten förvaras för efterbeställning) translate as "The plate is kept for after ordering."


There is a page of recognized photo portraits taken by Louise Lefrén here. Most of those photos are identified but not dated. A few that have the photographer's name and address embossed in a similar lettering style also have embossed dates 1901-1903. I didn't notice any mounts with white lettering printed on brown cardboard like my photo.

One of those photos is dated 1903 and is a portrait of three women with similar props.



I didn't have much luck identifying the fashions in my photo. They are not like the clothing in the 1902 (reproduction) edition of the Sears Catalog. They also don't appear as "fashionable" as the ones illustrated in fashion plates. I didn't see any clothing with the kind of ruffles that are on two of the women's dresses.


To See More Vintage Images

 

25 comments:

  1. I think the fashions are from around the turn of the century, and the group could well be a mother (second from left) with her four daughters.

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  2. Best Swedish group since ABBA.

    Or before ABBA, as it may. Way before. By the way, I had occasion to link to one of your much older posts in the comments in my blog today:

    click here

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  3. It's beautiful photo. It would be great to find identities.

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  4. Well I Guess These Are Quite Liberally Minded Ladies.....?I Guess This Not By What Can Be Seen But What Is Absent (eg the usual female "Props" such as Husbands/Fathers/Children!)

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  5. These are crystal clear and are both very interesting.

    Kathy M.

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  6. Intriguing photos especially the group of three.

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  7. The tallest woman in the group of three looks a she is about to do the ironing

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  8. Interesting. Nowadays I don't think many younger women would want to be seen with books in the background!

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  9. The first one could be wives and sisters of a family. Or a book club!

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  10. I like Brett's answer though a Stockholm ladies book club would be fun.

    A woman photographer is very interesting and quite progressive for the era. I wonder how common that was in the Scandinavian countries. Perhaps they are all lady photographers?

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  11. My guess on the first photo is friends or relations.

    Second photo the same except I agree with Brett that the photo is near the turn of the century based on the clothing.

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  12. Well it's a charming photograph of a group of serene looking women. By the way your link on Mr Linky doesn't appear to be working.

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  13. Hmmm....intriguing....in the first photo the woman in the middle could be in mourning yes? That's all I can offer...now if there had been a wedding cake, all would be solved...

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  14. Two lovely photos! It's a mystery, isn't it.

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  15. Isn't it funny how we always assume with old photos that the people are related? We rarely think that maybe they were just best friends who had a day out for lunch and a photo taken. I like to think these ladies were best friends before the awkward "BFF" ever came along.

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  16. I suppose the various props were there so that people had something to do with their hands in posed photographs. Lovely photograph. The art of posed photographs seems to have been lost in this digital age.

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  17. They are very attractive groups anyway. Well spotted that the props are the same in both.

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  18. I thought that woman in the 2nd photo was poised to iron, too, but not many wrinkles would be removed with a book on a wicker table.

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  19. I think it's likely the first group is a family one of sorts just because of the logistics of getting everyone together and I can see resemblances. I have groups where all the women are in one photo, and assume father and sons in another (but of course they'd be with the male lines). They're fascinating photos though. It's possible the three women may have been friends, perhaps emigrating together?

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  20. The are stunning- how lucky that you had these.

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  21. Looking at such pictures, we usually assume there is a family connection between the figurants, but what if they are part of an organisation, a charity group, a church group or some other activity?
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  22. Looking at such pictures, we usually assume there is a family connection between the figurants, but what if they are part of an organisation, a charity group, a church group or some other activity?
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  23. I do see a slight resemblance but even if there isn't its a charming photograph. The fact that it was a female photographer reminded me of the Swedish film "Everlasting Moments" based on the directors wife's great aunt a photographer in Malmo in the early 20th century.

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  24. I also thought that maybe the ladies were in a book club. In fact, I think I'll have to take a photo of the members of my book club just like that one. Maybe someday someone will puzzle over us.
    Nancy

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  25. You might have more luck in understanding what they are wearing if you look at traditional Swedish clothes.I don't know - just an idea

    I spend (waste) a lot of time dreaming about the photographs that we sometimes get in lots of postcards. Yours are lovely

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