Tin Types #2 - Men's Fashion

The little tin types tells us a lot about what men were wearing circa 1860-1890. However you won't see many of these fashions, including the hats, in sources that document the fashion of the time.  One of the reasons is that  many of these men lived in small towns and rural areas, where their immigrant culture and traditions may have played a larger role in their clothing choice than the prevailing fashion. Although I don't know where all of these photos were taken, the few that are labeled are from upstate New York and Pennsylvania. It's likely that most of these are also from that area.

I am not an expert on men's hats, so if any of you have ideas about these please let me know.  The one on the right in the back row looks Tirolean to me. How about the one on the very left? Eastern European? In any case, it's a great variety of hat styles. These guys were probably at a county fair and had their picture taken by a traveling photographer with a very plain background and grass underfoot.

The clothing in the next three photos looks Bavarian or Swiss to me, especially the cut of the jackets.

While these guys look very western, I'm guessing they were actually Pennsylvania farmers.

Here are a few more fellows for our fashion line up.

A Happy Birthday to You

If it's your birthday today, may it be a glorious one.

Here are the backs of the cards. The first one was sent or given to Paula Petersen. Can you read the message?

 
The second card card was sent to Mrs. Louise (?) Rockwell of Rockwell's Mills, New York. You can read more about the mill and see some great pictures here.

Letter Carrier Appreciation

If I had posted this in honor of my favorite mailman's birthday, I should have done it in August.  If I were posting for Mailman Appreciation Day, that would be February 4th. But I appreciate letter carriers every day, so today is as good as any other.

I wish my letter carrier sent me nice cards like this.

Don't you love the way this feminine hand reaches out from the doorway?

Charles Stebbins, also known as Letter Carrier No. 5, was born in 1859. Although the 1880 Census shows him working as a cigar maker, by 1883 he was working for the post office. He was still working there in 1930, but I lost track of him after that. Strangely, the 1910 Census lists his race as black, but in all the other years he is listed as white.

Here's a scan of a 6.5" by 8.5" glass negative of a mailman delivering a letter to a distinguished gentleman. I think the location is Lake George, New York.

 

Finally, if you have plans to move soon or go on vacation, be sure to let the post office know so they can forward your mail. You could try using this card as long as you change the year.