Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family
history through old photographs.
This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt features a court room
scene. The writing on the photograph
reminds me of a habit exhibited by my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker. Unfortunately, that habit rarely included
those bits of information that family historians long for: names, locations and dates. To be fair, Helen sometimes wrote the date on
her photos, but most of the time she exercised her creative side by writing
mildly humorous captions.
Like this one:
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| Ideal Husbands, yet to be Numbers indicate who will be married first |
Helen carefully analyzed these male friends for their
marriageability. I wonder if the #1 guy
predicted to marry soon was her future husband, Herbert Parker. Too bad Helen didn’t provide names so that I
could determine whether her predictions came true.
What is most endearing about Helen’s captions, though, is the
insight into the popular expressions of the day, roughly 1918-1921.
The Vamp
Through her numerous roles in silent film in the early
1900s, Theda Bara popularized the image of the femme fatale, “the vamp.” It’s logical to assume that any
self-respecting young flapper would want to model herself after this sex-symbol.
Monkeys
“Monkeying around.”
“You little monkey!” Such
references to monkeys are still in use to mean children or joking around. Helen drops that phrase into her scrapbook
frequently, as if it were the latest slang.
Maybe it was a new expression in 1919.
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| Helen is the 2nd woman in the row. |
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| Helen is the last woman in the row. |
 |
| Helen is the 2nd one in. |
Terrible
How Helen used the world “terrible” is not clear.
Did “terrible” signal a veiled compliment delivered with a wink? Did it suggest some sort of moral strength or upright behavior? Or was it just plain ol’ sarcasm?
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| Helen is 2nd one in. Others are unknown. Ocean View about 1919 |
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| Helen is on the right. |
Did “terrible” signal a veiled compliment delivered with a wink? Did it suggest some sort of moral strength or upright behavior? Or was it just plain ol’ sarcasm?
Don’t monkey around.
It would be terrible if you missed the stories and photos by all the Ideal
Husbands and Vamps at Sepia Saturday.
©
2015, Wendy Mathias. All rights
reserved.
Isn't it amazing how words get changed throughout the years - so interesting and I love the notion of picking and marking the ideal husbands!
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to watch popular slang come and go. A word that has taken on a different meaning right now is "sick." Every time I hear a judge on a reality show swoon over a performance and call it "sick," it throws me.
Delete‘scuse me but isn’t that second vamp of the male gender? I hope he wasn’t a possible ideal husband and was just monkeying around!
ReplyDeleteHA - you must be butter because you're on a roll today! Yes, that's a male vamp monkeying around for sure. Terrible!
DeleteWhat a fun post! I think the term "terrible" meant mischievous. And "butter on a roll"? That's one I've never heard before, but it's great. :))
ReplyDeleteYou haven't heard that? It's an old one. Pick up line: You must be peanut butter because you're making my legs feel like jelly.
DeleteFun post Wendy!
ReplyDeleteTerrible seems kind of like awesome, and monkeys seems kind of like mugging for the camera--but I am still puzzled.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about "terrible." That seems to fit those pictures.
DeleteHelen and gang were "cooler than the other side of the pillow" Yes, that was TERRIBLE.
ReplyDeleteI love that expression.
DeletePerhaps 'terrible' was the in word for great, fantastic, cool etc. Young people always seem to have buzz words like this.
ReplyDeleteTrue. When I was in high school, the buzz word was "boss."
DeleteTerrible = Mischievous?
ReplyDeleteAnother enjoyable and fun post!
Yeah, that might fit those photos.
DeleteThe post is great, but the "must be butter because you're on a roll" was terrible, indeed.
ReplyDeleteYeah, a groaner for sure.
DeleteThis was a fun twist on the courtroom theme at Sepia Saturday. I think it's great fun to learn how words were used historically and to follow the changes in meaning across decades. I wonder if there's a slang dictionary for the 1910s-1920s. Your aunt probably didn't have in mind that descendants would want to know who the people in the photos were but created the album for herself and her friends' enjoyment. (I still have photos from my own life without names on them....)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure labeling those photos is on your to-do list. It's been on my list, oh, how many years now?
DeleteHelen's photo comments may not have been edifying but they are certainly entertaining!
ReplyDeleteWhen I knew Helen, she wasn't hilarious, but she did have a sweet sense of humor. I can see that playful side.
DeleteI just wonder whether all those men turned out to be ideal husbands and didn't spend too much time monkeying around.
ReplyDeleteHa -- that's right!
DeleteYour Aunt Helen sounds like a lot of fun. Perfect match for the theme photo.
ReplyDeleteShe was a lovely lady, very caring. I wish I had been interested in family history before she passed away.
DeleteA perfect fit to this weekend's theme. Helen's notes are not unlike today's social media comments, but no digital remarks can match handwritten words.
ReplyDeleteYou also have a rare view of a box camera in the two "Monkey" snaps on the tracks.
I'm glad you're looking at my photos because apparently I'm not. I noticed she was holding something but I guess I assumed it was a purse. I don't know what I thought. Maybe I didn't think anything. From time to time I have wondered about Helen's camera, and now I see it. Thanks for pointing it out.
DeleteYour grandaunt and my grandmother would have been great friends!
ReplyDeleteWell this was the cat's pajamas and the bees knees!
ReplyDeleteEven if she didn't leave a trail of information about the people, she left a lot about herself and that's something special