This photo taken by photographer David Ritchie shows a Family group with their pet terrier. In amongst a collection of Blantyre related photo from 1895 to 1910, I fear we may not be able to identify who they are.
It is unusual though for no men to be in such a family photo and I think certainly the girls look like they’re related to the matriarch. From left to right, the little girl proudly clings on to her doll, dressed in her Sunday best and wearing a little bracelet.
The teenage girl in the middle also wearing some nice clothes, perhaps for the occasion of getting this photo taken. The older woman sitting at the front, hasn’t quite adorned Edwardian fashions yet, still preferring the blacks of the late Victorian era. Despite this, the fashions otherwise suggest Edwardian and I suspect this photo was taken in the first decade of the 1900s. I can zoom in on this photo in good clarity and see her fingernails are worn, blackened in places, a sure sign of hard work being undertaken in her everyday goings on.
The little boy clutches a metal chain lead, keeping the dog under control for the photo. The location is unknown. It’s a wonderful photo and full of character. Do you know more? I’d love to hear from you.
