Today, I’m writing a short and not at all deep, post. I thought I would share some of the photos of Georgia’s Little Girls taken by Georgia photographers fom my collection. I have many, and these are only a few.

In the coming months, in addition to some more detailed pieces on other things and on particular photographers, including some who are mentioned below, I’ll publish some more photos of Georgia’s Little Boys, Siblings, and Mothers & Children.

Let me begin with an image of a sweet little girl posed in a wonderful, fringed prop-chair.

Click any image to enlarge it.

J. N. (Jerome Nelson) Wilson, Savannah, ca. 1870 carte-de-visite of an unidentified girl; author’s collection

J. N. Nelson was a well-known Savannah photographer and advertised his studio there from 1865 –1896.  I’ll discuss him more in depth in posts to come.

C. Will Fisher of Demorest stated on the reverse of his cabinet cards that he specialized in photographing children. I do not have any of his “Views of Demorest” but I will certainly be looking out for those.

Below is one my favorites by Fisher. He often used the log props in his studio, and he also photographed little boys, of course.  I imagine the little bell the girl holds was also a prop.

C. W. (Carey William) Fisher, Demorest, cabinet card of an unidentified girl, ca. 1895; author’s collection

Fisher worked as a photographer in Iowa before moving south. He stayed in Demorest until his death in 1919, assisted briefly by two daughters.

Here’s another favorite, perhaps because of the hair on these two sisters – mine is stick straight.

T. M. Bennett, Lyons, cabinet card of “Ethel & baby Bland”; author’s collection

This image is a bit worn, but still a favorite of mine. The two images below show a little more  detail on their beautiful home-made dresses.

Another photograph special to me is this unusual (at least it is in my collection) photo triptych. I assume this is the daughter of Mrs. William M. Howard because Mrs. Howard’s name is written on the reverse.

Mrs. L. Condon (Linnie Condon), card photograph of Howard girl, ca. 1897; author’s collection

The original photograph is an 8” x 10”. It must have been a beautiful image when it was new and it once had a gilded edge, barely discernible now. The girl’s mother took her to Mrs. Condon’s studio because she was, by then, a photographer known for her photographing Atlanta’s elite, and quite adept at photographing women’s fashions in particular. This photo triptych is “all about the dress.”

Here are two details of the girl from the front and back, showing the dress’s amazing lace and bows, puffed sleeves, hat, and the girl’s ringlets.

For the past twenty years I have shared my information on Linnie Condon with other historians who have written about her. I would like to write about her life because I have researched her, on and off, for thirty years. I really think she would lend herself to a work of fiction because there are gaps in her life I would love to improvise.  Prior to her work in Louisville, Kentucky, and then in Atlanta, Georgia, there very little is known about her.  She had at least two n’er-do-well husbands, and according to one obituary, “she died with her gloves on”– those two facts alone make me want to write a fictional account of her (possible) life. She was quite a character.  Now if I could only write…..