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Woman and Man Wearing Fraternal Regalia
1860-63
Henry R. Cornell (1836-1906)
USA: Indiana, Ligonier
Albumen photograph moiunted on paper mounted on card
overall: 4"h x 2-1/2"w
Gift in Memory of Jacques Noel Jacobsen
2008.038.59

Sepia-toned hand-colored fraternal carte-de-visite photograph. Full length portrait of woman and man, with woman to the right of the man (from the viewer's perspective). The woman is wearing a dark dress with grosgrain trim at the end of the skirt and a fraternal collar. Her collar is white with a pink border. The man has a beard, and is wearing a dark coat with buttons in the front, and lighter piping along the lapels, cuffs, and pocket. He is also wearing a plaid shirt, shoes, and fraternal sash and apron. His sash is white; his apron is white, with a darker border and an emblem with two crossed swords (possibly indicating a Tyler) on the body. Both subjects have their hands at their sides. There is a gilt double-lined border running around the edge of the carte-de-visite. Handwritten in pencil on the back is "20[.]00 / officer with / x swords in apron /. c 1860-1863." Printed in blue on the back is "H.R. Cornell / Photographer, / Ligonier, Ind." There is also a number "31" inscribed in a circle in pencil at the bottom right corner of the back.


In this image, a young couple stands in a photographer's studio. Both are wearing regalia--the man a sash and apron, the woman a collar with a rosette and tassel at the center. Though details on the regalia are hard to distinguish, the man's apron bears an emblem on it, two crossed swords--usually the symbol of a lodge Tyler or Guardian. In Freemasonry and Odd Fellowship, this officer makes sure that only members of the group enter the lodge room. The woman's collar may indicate that she belonged to a women's group associated with a fraternity, such as the Daughters of Rebekah, an organization that was originally open to female relatives of Odd Fellows. For further information, see blog post, April 9, 2020, http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2020/04/cartes-de-visite.html



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