Help with b/w photo info?
June 19, 2015 12:35 PM Subscribe
Looking for help with any knowledgeable info about an interesting found photo.
I'm posting on behalf of a friend who is interested in whatever information might be available concerning this photo. It was found in the attic of a natural history museum. It was found framed as you see in the image. Nobody who appears in it is identifiable (to those of us who have looked at it). Possible clues and/or points of info:
- when was photo taken?
- building style
- style of dress
- animals which appear in it
- background/foliage
Not a lot to go on, but thanks for any and all help!
I'm posting on behalf of a friend who is interested in whatever information might be available concerning this photo. It was found in the attic of a natural history museum. It was found framed as you see in the image. Nobody who appears in it is identifiable (to those of us who have looked at it). Possible clues and/or points of info:
- when was photo taken?
- building style
- style of dress
- animals which appear in it
- background/foliage
Not a lot to go on, but thanks for any and all help!
Bali or somewhere else in Indonesia perhaps? Maybe Sarawak? The houses look a little like homes of tribal groups in that area. The animals are pigs of some kind (other than the pariah dogs of course).
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:50 PM on June 19, 2015
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:50 PM on June 19, 2015
I can't promise he'll reply, but you might try contacting a professor I once had, who specialized in the anthropology of architecture. He taught a survey course that partially involved comparative architecture (like what yurts have in common with igloos, etc), and he might be able to tell you more, or steer you toward somebody who could.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:54 PM on June 19, 2015
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:54 PM on June 19, 2015
My first thought is that this is somewhere in Melanesia. The roof shapes, the pigs and dogs, but especially the child in the foreground, who appears to be blond(e), all give me this impression.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:00 PM on June 19, 2015
posted by poffin boffin at 1:00 PM on June 19, 2015
Not Bali.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:14 PM on June 19, 2015
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:14 PM on June 19, 2015
Response by poster: Stupid question: have they opened the frame and checked the back of the photo?
Not a stupid question! My friend had not opened the frame, but has now done so.
There's a gold-colored sticker on the paper backing which says "Fred Olsson's Art Shop, 9 Boylston St., Cambridge, Mass."
Below the backing, there's writing in the upper right corner of the back of the photo, in pencil, and upside-down with respect to the figures on the front: it says "B65." A lower-case "f" is in the lower-right corner.
posted by sleevener at 1:22 PM on June 19, 2015
Not a stupid question! My friend had not opened the frame, but has now done so.
There's a gold-colored sticker on the paper backing which says "Fred Olsson's Art Shop, 9 Boylston St., Cambridge, Mass."
Below the backing, there's writing in the upper right corner of the back of the photo, in pencil, and upside-down with respect to the figures on the front: it says "B65." A lower-case "f" is in the lower-right corner.
posted by sleevener at 1:22 PM on June 19, 2015
I cleaned & undistorted the image and ran it through the reverse image search on Images.Google.com & TinEye. I didn't find anything, but I did upload the image for you.
posted by gregr at 1:59 PM on June 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by gregr at 1:59 PM on June 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
The Hmong in Laos build huts up on sticks, but they don't look very similar. They do raise pigs, though.
posted by SemiSalt at 2:11 PM on June 19, 2015
posted by SemiSalt at 2:11 PM on June 19, 2015
Huh! If you Google that address, you can find several Harvard Alumni Directories indicating that Frederic Arthur Olsson was an 1892 graduate of Harvard College (sorry, not good with Google Books links, but that's where you can find these) who apparently set up shop there by the early 00's. And today I also learned that Boylston St. in Cambridge was renamed after JFK in 1981, so probably the closest corresponding address is 9 JFK St. That address presently hosts a lingerie shop and an Urban Outfitters, and it doesn't look 120 years old, so I doubt they would have any old records about the art shop hanging around.
Googling several variations of his name and info, I see that "Fred Olsson art cambridge" brings up a fair number of results, frequently in the same context as you've discovered - i.e., stamped on the back of various art works. See e.g. here. I surmise that he either developed the photo or at least it was sold through his shop at some point, which given the average length of a career would probably put it in Cambridge at some point between like 1895 and 1930. Perhaps some museum has archived a related photo and might have more information about the set?
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 2:18 PM on June 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Googling several variations of his name and info, I see that "Fred Olsson art cambridge" brings up a fair number of results, frequently in the same context as you've discovered - i.e., stamped on the back of various art works. See e.g. here. I surmise that he either developed the photo or at least it was sold through his shop at some point, which given the average length of a career would probably put it in Cambridge at some point between like 1895 and 1930. Perhaps some museum has archived a related photo and might have more information about the set?
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 2:18 PM on June 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Laos or Cambodia sound more correct than Papua or Melanesia or Indonesia. Looking at gregr's cleaned up photo - the head wear of the women is distinct. The Akha people maybe?
posted by Ashwagandha at 4:23 PM on June 19, 2015
posted by Ashwagandha at 4:23 PM on June 19, 2015
Looks like Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, or Solomon Islands.
posted by unknowncommand at 5:27 PM on June 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by unknowncommand at 5:27 PM on June 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Stupid question: have they opened the frame and checked the back of the photo?
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:38 PM on June 19, 2015 [3 favorites]