I found three pictures of couples: two are labeled “before marriage” (leading me to believe they eventually got married) and the other is a photo of a wedding in progress.
As I looked at the pictures, I suddenly recalled a book by Dr. Paul Ekman. I read it a long time ago but it suddenly returned to my memory. Dr. Ekman interviewed hundreds of engaged couples to predict who would stay together. When they followed up years later with the couples, Dr. Ekman’s predictions proved to be startling accurate.
The best predictor of marital felicity wasn’t anything the couples said to one another or how simpatico they seemed. It was these quick fleeting facial expressions that Dr. Ekman called microexpressions. Usually they were not deliberate and often the person did not realize their expression had briefly changed. All the interviews were videotaped so they could be watched back in slow motion to identify various microexpressions. If I remember correctly, eye-rolling specifically was a huge red flag. Dr. Ekman equated this expression with contempt. But it was a huge predictor of a marriage that was doomed to fail.
Anyway, that doesn’t help us much here, except to say that pictures can sometimes be deceiving. It would be interesting to know if these were happy marriages.
Photo by C.A. Richmond.
What do you think? Were they destined for happiness?
old spirituals 
I sincerely hope so! Very interesting how his predictions were largely correct.
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I’d hate for him to analyze me. Who knows what he’s uncover? 😳
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It’s too bad we can’t see the man’s face in the second picture. The girl looks at him like she’s very in love with him.
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The first couple seem to be very flirty with each other, so their relationship could be superficial. The second couple seem to be in a warm, loving relationship and comfortable with each other. The third couple are probably nervous at their wedding, but have so many family and friends around them that they will have support through the years. I would guess the first couple would be less likely to succeed.
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That’s so interesting, Judy. You’ve got a pretty good read on people so I believe you’re probably right! I’m terrible at “reading people”. I know people who can look at a person and tell all kinds of things about them they would have no way of knowing… but they’re nearly always correct! For instance, they might say, “That guy looks like he would be stubborn.” I have no idea how you do it but I wish I had that ability.
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I’m guessing the photos are real and not those staged stereoscopic photos so popular at that time!
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Did you notice the guy peering at the camera in the wedding stereoscope? I thought you’d pick him out right away!
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I was so absorbed with the bride and groom that I didn’t notice him! A little creepy!
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