These three photographs from Jessie Tarbox Beals were so different from the ones in Delve Into Old New York, they really deserved their own post. These photos are from the New York Historical Society Museum & Library, and I would describe each of them as somewhat unsettling. What do you think?

Perhaps I only feel unsettled by the first one because it reminds me I need to work on my posture! This picture was labeled: ‘Please be seated’ – correct poise of legs, body arms and hands.

New York Historical Society Museum & Library. Jessie Tarbox Beals photograph collection, circa 1905-1940

Photographic subject is Alice McKay Kelley. Even the New York Historical Society Museum & Library struggled with this one! They finally settled on this for their description of the photograph: “Kelley, dressed as an angel (?) with headdress and wings or cape, standing on a pedestal in church courtyard (?).”

I wouldn’t describe her as particularly angelic, how about you?

New York Historical Society Museum & Library. Jessie Tarbox Beals photograph collection, circa 1905-1940

And the most unsettling one of all (to me) is Alice Stevens of Windsor, Vermont.  I don’t know what it is about this woman, but she alarms me. She’s almost like a specter.  And that steady, searching gaze of hers unnerves me. If I was going to guess, I’d say she was a wealthy lady photographed at her own home.

New York Historical Society Museum & Library. Jessie Tarbox Beals photograph collection, circa 1905-1940