Collection of Large-Format Photographs Documenting the Interior of a Wealthy Home in San Antonio, ca. 1898
Thirteen black and white photographs, 7.5 x 9.5 inches, mounted on boards measuring 12 x 14 inches, each with a brief penciled caption on the back. Mounts are chipped at the edges; some images show some light soiling, rubbing, or staining. Good to very good overall.
This photographic tour of the interior of a furnished home in San Antonio offers excellent documentation of Texas material culture at turn of the twentieth century. The house is identified on the back of one image as "511 South Pressa [i.e., Presa] St. San Antonio Texas.1897 or 98." The photographs provide views of the reception hall, dining room, living room, library, and three different bedrooms (captioned as "Ethel's," "Father's," and "Mother's"). Each room exhibits different patterns of carpeting and wallpaper, a gas chandelier, and a variety of art and decorative objects. A Frederic Remington painting hangs on one wall of the living room, which is also graced with a grand piano, ornately carved furniture, and at least one other painting of the American West. The library boasts an enormous glass-fronted bookcase filled with finely bound volumes, a tiger-skin rug (complete with head), and other hunting trophies. Ethel (a teenager?) has tacked photos and drawings to her walls and hung a gauzy fabric embroidered with the word "Dixie" above her bed. Only Mother's Room has an occupant (presumably Mother herself), and she is seated at a desk facing side-on to the camera with her forehead resting on her hand. Maybe it's just a pose, but it's hard to imagine not being tired out by the weight of the enormous amount of fabric in her bustled dress.
Item #19930
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