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Funny Faces By Maureen A. Taylor
How many times have you clowned for a family photograph by crossing your eyes and making an odd expression? It's a time-honored tradition in photography. As soon as our ancestors became comfortable in front of a lens, they began having fun with the medium. Photographers encouraged humorous depictions of everyday life by posing customers with props and in settings like these card-playing pranksters. My parents posed in an old car bearing a "Just Married" banner for a honeymoon candid. Carla North's great-grandfather Anton Ginsbach owned a billard saloon in Asotin, Wash., in the 1890s. She'd like to know if this photo fits this time period, and if any of the men could be him. For comparison, North also sent me a 1903 photo she knows is Ginsbach (shown with his wife and child).
Dating this picture relies solely on men's clothing clues such as the shape and size of lapels, the fit of their jackets and facial hair. In the 1890s men wore short hair and trimmed mustaches. Jackets had full lapels and looser fits than in the 1880s.
In this picture the men's short hairstyles are covered by their tilted-back hats. While their jackets aren't the fitted style associated with the 1880s, there was some variety in ready-made men's clothing. Full mustaches were all the rage in that decade but didn't immediately go out of fashion in the 1890s—it was a gradual process. The youngest man wears a cap and the others wear wide-brimmed, soft-crowned hats similar to those appearing in advertisements in the late 1880s and early 1890s. So when was this picture taken? It could easily be from the early 1890s, which means one of the men in it could be Carla's great-grandfather.
The next step is to match the faces of the men to the identified photo of Ginsbach. Comparing facial features (ears, eyes and mouth) can quickly confirm or refute an identification. These key features change little as we age. I believe that Ginsbach is the man second from the right. He has the same-shape face, nose and eyes as the man in the second photo.
Success! Fashion clues dated the first photo and physical characteristics resulted in an identity of one of the men. All that's left is to figure out who Ginsbach posed with (business partners, customers, friends or family) for this playful game of cards.
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