Somewhere in the Midwest

/ Kimberly

I came across this photograph of two young men in Archive.org.

It almost looks like a still from a movie but it isn’t. There’s very little information about it, except that it was taken somewhere in the Midwest and it’s dated June 7, 1908.

 

Archive.org

 

I’m always interested in casual pictures like this from the turn of the century–there aren’t many of them–because it tells us a little about what their lives were really like.  Then again some aspects of this particular picture creates questions.

Who are these men and where are they?

The man at the piano is dressed up and sitting up very straight. June 7, 1908 was a Sunday, so maybe they had been to church. It looks like he’s playing the piano but there’s no blurriness around him. I’m guessing that means he was sitting still, posing for this picture.

The boy who is  closer to the camera looks a little younger. The camera is at an awkward angle to capture him and he must have moved because of the blurriness around his face. He’s not in a formal pose and his outfit isn’t as sharp as the man at the piano. Then again, I wouldn’t describe his clothing as work clothes either.

My guess is they’re brothers in their family’s front parlor.    Do you agree? If not, what do you think we’re seeing here?

8 thoughts on “Somewhere in the Midwest”

  1. The keyboarded instrument being played is a late 19th or early 20th Century Pump (Parlor) Organ. It also became known as a melodeon. The white round knobs above the player’s hands indicate it is an organ.

    It has a high keyboard because it uses suction bellows, an American invention by a mechanic that worked in a factory in Paris that made harmoniums. Because of the functional design, the organist is perched on a stool higher than chair height to comfortably play the instrument.

    The Pump or Parlor Organ was lighter than a piano so it was easier to transport, thus making it very popular. Typically it was used in small spaces like homes and churches that didn’t have the space or fund to install a pipe organ. It was not out of the ordinary for a Pump Organ to have a mirror at eye level with the organist. I surmise that was to allow the organist to see the audience directly behind him/her.

    I speculate the photo is of an organist playing in his home for a small group of family members and/or guests. Someone in the audience took this candid photo of the performance.

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