Abel Smilda Married to Rensktje Krol Abel Smilda and Rensktje Krol are the parents of my mum Feikje Smilda Date: estimated 1923 Photo by: Foto Steenmeijer Zwanestraat 47 Groningen For documentary reasons I left all spots on the photo as original .
Location of the photo-studio is in the city of Groningen It was in this street you are looking into.
The photo-studio in 1923 was on the left side where now is a yellow painted building with a blue sunscreen carrying the name Style Company. It is the place where this photo was made.
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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.
Thanks for the info. My family has also been struck by lightning. Since mum died feb 15 this year I inherited the family photo-albums. During the scanning I learned a lot about my parents and I have some better understanding how they became as they were. Eg I could see WW-II had a tremendous impact on my mums family. In those 5 years she changed from a happy young girl into a shy shade of herself.
Good your dad is still alive, ask him the questions you dare to ask. I have so many questions for my parents but they are both gone.
Thanks to you posting old time images, I have scanned and will be posting some of the old family pictures my father has given to me. I think the oldest one is from about 1908 or so. Lots of interesting stuff. Since I came from such a dysfunctional family I was never really into the family genealogy things but since my father is the last surviving member of his family, I might want to get as much family information as I can while he can still remember it LOL!
He was born in 1900 so he is abt 23 years old on the photo. When i located the original photo studio I realised I have passed that place many times in my youth. A few house further there used to be an electrinics shop where I bought stuff like transistors and chips. Funny to realize i crossed graddads footsteps ..........
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