Meet my great-great-great-great-grandfather!

ivar

Meet my great-great-great-great-grandfather. We've been scanning old family photos in for quite some time, and we're up to a few thousand i think. This particular one is taken before 1860, we don't have an exact date.



I was wondering if someone knows anything about this old type of photography. Not the technical aspect, but the settings/symbolism.
You can see in the picture the items on the table, and the book he is holding. At first i thought it was a bible, but we have no record of him being a religious man. We also have other pictures of family in different "settings" so to speak. Before a painted wall with trees, and some wooden blocks to simulate the outdoors for instance. I've googled for it, but i can't find anything about it. I know some of you smugmuggers have some of this type of photos too on your sites, so i was wondering if anyone could help me with this.

Thanks,

Ivar.

DanielB

ivar wrote:

I was wondering if someone knows anything about this old type of photography. Not the technical aspect, but the settings/symbolism.
You can see in the picture the items on the table, and the book he is holding. At first i thought it was a bible, but we have no record of him being a religious man. We also have other pictures of family in different "settings" so to speak. Before a painted wall with trees, and some wooden blocks to simulate the outdoors for instance. I've googled for it, but i can't find anything about it. I know some of you smugmuggers have some of this type of photos too on your sites, so i was wondering if anyone could help me with this.

Thanks,

Ivar.

*shrug* we have old pictures of my great-great-great-great grandpa lying around in trunks and stuff and he is similarly positioned with items... but they're big and flashy... possibly because of his position He was the King of Prussia... but i'm sure they have something to do with their social status. or maybe even jobs.

System

Are you sure its not your great-great-great-great-grandmother? He/she looks kind of feminin.

ivar

DanielB wrote:

*shrug* we have old pictures of my great-great-great-great grandpa lying around in trunks and stuff and he is similarly positioned with items... but they're big and flashy... possibly because of his position He was the King of Prussia... but i'm sure they have something to do with their social status. or maybe even jobs.

So you come from my part of the world, and you're family of Fredrick... ( i think just about all the kings of Prussia are called Fredrick, aren't they?) hehe.

Yes, alot of the pictures have a setting with somehow reflects their status or jobs. Mostly jobs i think, the status can be seen by the clothes they wear. I have pictures of a printer, which was taken in his office, with some of his books. A picture of a radio amateur, taken next to his radio installation. One of a doctor, taken in front of the hospital, etc.

But i was more referring to the settings which the photographers created. Not so much the odd king or queen. Remember, back then, having your picture taken was a whole day event. The whole family dressed up, went to the photographer, and spend a good amount of time there. The photographer had a "setting" (more than one maybe?) I was wondering about those settings, where they uniform with more photographers? maybe even over the world? why did they have the settings they had? etc...

ivar

nandysso wrote:

Are you sure its not your great-great-great-great-grandmother? He/she looks kind of feminin.

Yeah, it's a guy allright. You can also see that by the clothes he is wearing, and the way he is positioned. (women usually sit more upright, no crossed legs, alot of times hands on their lap, or arms crossed) It's an old picture tho, and i've seen thousands of them recently, so i am starting to get an eye for looking at this kind of picture. I can understand it is strange looking at something like this, after having seen the "new" type of pictures on this forum.

Bodwick

DanielB wrote:

*shrug* we have old pictures of my great-great-great-great grandpa lying around in trunks and stuff and he is similarly positioned with items... but they're big and flashy... possibly because of his position He was the King of Prussia.

Royalty, whew. Best tip me cap to you Govnor.... Now if you lived over this side of the pond you'd be living in a castle...

Are you sure he did not arrive via a ship ie the:-
Passenger list for ship King of Prussia Oct. 9, 1775

Only joking Daniel, scan a few as I'd like to see them. I'm into old WWI photo's myself.

Bod.

DanielB

Bodwick wrote:

Only joking Daniel, scan a few as I'd like to see them. I'm into old WWI photo's myself.

Bod.

i'll see if i can scrounge up a few.