Gine Helmholt Residence: Oostwold gemeente Leek Friend of the family ( Smilda or Krol ) Abel Smilda is my mothers dad. Date: July 17th 1926 Photo by: Foto Steenmeijer Heerestraat 42 Groningen
For documentary reasons I left all spots on the photo as original
About , continued: Note: more and more I get a feeling that these images were made and used as a kind of business card. You would go to the photo studio in your best outfit, have the image made and share prints of you with friends and potential employers, to promote yourself and solicit/apply for a job.
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Comment by: Jim Loy
Let a history teacher enlighten you.... Early on, in photography, the glass plate negative and even the eary film, was v-eee--rrr---yyy Ssssssllllooooowwwwww to take an image. A person had to sit VERY still for (sometimes a full minute or two) a long time. A smile would look really strange if the person had to hold it for a long time. So a plain, natural face was mandatory... because of the equipment. As the equipment got better, people would smile and look natural..... and then, at THAT moment, the forced smile entered the photographic world. At first it was the equipment... then it was false. Lesson over.
Thanks Jim ! AA for you.
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There is another reason for these youn men and women not to smile. I saw emotions as anger, desinterest, uncertainty.
Typical for the first 2 or 3 decades in the 20th century are poor families with a large number of children. It was before the era of industialisation.
As soon as children finished elementary school, they were sent off to work, starting at the age of 12-14 years. Every penny, cent, guilder was welcome in the parential family to provide food and clothing for all of them.
Employment was available at landowners and farmers. A large farm would provide work for several maids and young men.
Life was as hard as the mentality of the employer. In worst case they would have to work theirs *sses of, they were fed with leftovers and crumbs, had a seat in a cold unheated kitchen in the evening and sleep in the stable or in special rooms for the girls and young ladies.
Work was 6 days a week, only one week off (holiday) in a year and the contract would last from may till may next year. If the landlord did not like the attitude of the worker, or the girls would not respond to abuse as e.g. sexual intimidation by the landowners son, the employee was fired in a second.
Servants in aristocracy or city upper class usually got better treatment, some even had diner with the employers family.
Starting 1930's industry provided work for the young ladies and mechanisation took over the work at the farm.
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Resources provided by Iris TouchingLove
-Familieportret. "Huishouden van Oom Jan van Esch". Esch, 1870.
-Vrouwelijk huishoudelijk personeel in Nederland. Bron: wikipedia.org
-‘Dienstboden’ uit het befaamde en meest verkochte boek over de etiquette ‘Hoe hoort het eigenlijk’ uit 1939 van Amy Groskamp-Ten Have.
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