Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family
history through old photographs.
This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt is an ad for medicine
in the form of a paper doll cutout. Had my parents owned a camera, they might
have snapped many delightful photos of me at play with my paper dolls. Cutting
out all the clothes, carefully edging my way around the tabs to ensure a good
fit later on, was as much a part of the paper doll experience as the
imaginative play that followed. In fact, the perforated punch-out version of paper
dolls seemed like a dumbing-down of one of my favorite past times. But alas,
there are no photos of me at play.
Thinking about “cutouts” reminded me of a puzzling photo
in an album that belonged to my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker. It’s such a
lovely picture. I imagine that if Renoir and Monet had a baby, it might look
like this.
 |
| from album of Helen Killeen Parker about 1918-1920 |
But notice the black triangle. That’s a deliberate CUT,
not a weakened corner of an old photo tossed carelessly into a box, not a
portion that has gone missing after years of being folded and unfolded.
Somebody has been cut out of that picture. Is that a
shoulder and arm, the remnants of some man, behind this lovely woman? If this
were Helen – but it’s not – I would guess the man was an ex-boyfriend. Isn’t
that what we do – draw glasses and ugly moustaches on their faces before
ultimately just cutting them out?
Please visit my fellow cut-ups at Sepia Saturday to see
what they have come up with. It’s sure to cure what ails ya.
© 2015, Wendy Mathias.
All rights reserved.
Truly puzzling.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting. I know when there are pictures of someone that I might not want in the picture, I just shred them, even if a family member that I want in the picture is in it. Easier that way maybe?
ReplyDeletebetty
I guess there were no creative memory punches for ex-boyfriends.
ReplyDeleteWho is that lady? It doesn't look like Helen, the nose is turned up.
What a lovely mystery. But perhaps it was a child in the family looking for something to include in a project. Hopefully some day some distant relative will turn up with the same photo.
ReplyDeleteThat a very artful image but are you sure there's room in the bow of that boat for another person? Looks pretty cramped to me. Maybe there was a blemish in the background, a spot of ink, or even another photo was sliced by accident on top of this photo.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is definitely an arm behind the lady so it would be interesting to know the motive for the cutout. So easy to photoshop someone out of a digital photo these days. Or trash the file.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's obvious someone did not want another someone to be in that picture - hence the cut. Be interesting to find the clipped 'V' & restore the photo to see who was supposed to be there.
ReplyDeleteI’ve often though about collecting paper dolls, but the old ones are difficult to find, which might have something to do with people like you and me cutting them up!
ReplyDeleteThe photograph is intriguing; I would love to see the cut out portion.
I remember dressing paper dolls too, and likewise have no photos of my doing so. Who or whatever was in the background must have been on the bank behind. Maybe it/they were just a blur, like on the right of the subject. I've never cut anyone out of photos, even digitally, but if someone wasn't looking their best I probably wouldn't keep the original.
ReplyDeleteI had lots of paperdolls too. I don't know if they are even around any more. It does look like someone was wading in the water, perhaps pushing the boat out (with a suit on?) or a maniac trying to climb in the boat :)
ReplyDeleteYour take on the theme is a great one and it immediately made me think of those pictures in my collection which have mysterious sections cut out. This really should be a main theme for Sepia Saturday.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting take on the theme. I have pictures too with cutouts...my grandmother cut out the faces of people she didn't like - when she was in her nineties and a bit of dementia has taken hold.
ReplyDeleteThat is most curious. You're left with the one armed bandit.
ReplyDeleteThat kind of stuff drives me nuts! The picture was good enough to be preserved and yet they didn't want to remember all of it.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED paper dolls too. I had many sets of paper dolls and like you, spent hours carefully cutting out their clothes and then playing with them.
My parents took many pictures of me, their only child, since it was a hobby of my dad's and yet there are no pictures of me with my paper dolls. Thanks for the memories, though, I also cut so very carefully and methodically. Someone was being cut out of someone's life for sure, also very deliberately. Frustrating but interesting.
ReplyDelete