Women’s Social History Midwest Sisters Photo Album Documenting Girlhood and Early Adulthood in Michigan and Ohio, and the Ozarks 1918 to 1927

Women’s Social History in the Midwest

Archive

Three Sisters photograph album, 1918–1927, documents the daily lives, leisure activities, and social environments of three young women growing up in the American Midwest during the interwar period. The album captures their progression from childhood into early adulthood, recording domestic settings, recreational outings, and educational experiences across multiple locations, including suburban Ohio, the shores of Michigan, and the Ozarks. The majority are captioned in white pencil or white ink with the name of the person in the photo and a brief description like “Sunday best”; some are a little ironic tone, such as “Seeking sunburn” underneath a photo of two of the sisters, sweaty and bare armed in a row boat, and “No water, but our tongues” under a picture of the sisters as little children in bathing suits on their porch, pulling silly faces. We follow the women from childhood through early adulthood, through their schools and summer camps, across suburban Ohio, the shores of Michigan, and the wooded Ozarks. The private lives of these young girls are revealed to be impish, spirited, and silly in these intimate photographs; At the same time, they were growing up in a period of great change. With the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, they were the first generation of women to come of age in a time when they could exercise the right to vote. Bumping at corners and a half-inch tear at top of spine, otherwise clean. First page separated. A fascinating cultural artifact of a historically significant period for women’s rights. The material provides direct visual evidence of middle-class female youth culture during a period of expanding civic identity for women following the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Photograph album titled “Photographs.” Midwest, 1918–1927. Oblong octavo format, containing 230 black-and-white and sepia snapshots in a range of sizes from approximately 1.5 x 2.25 inches to 7 x 5 inches. The images depict the three sisters in a variety of settings, including posed portraits in “Sunday best,” informal outdoor scenes such as rowing excursions and lakeside bathing, and groupings at schools and summer camps. Recurring subjects include the sisters alone, together, and with peers, often engaged in leisure activities such as boating, hiking, and social gatherings. Many photographs are captioned in white pencil or ink, identifying individuals and adding commentary; captions range from straightforward identifications to humorous remarks such as “Seeking sunburn” beneath an image of the sisters in a rowboat and “No water, but our tongues” accompanying a childhood porch scene in bathing attire. The album presents consistent attention to social presentation, dress, and gesture, with repeated visual emphasis on companionship and informal expression. The period covered by the album corresponds with significant shifts in women’s legal and social status in the United States, particularly as young women of this generation reached maturity following the expansion of voting rights in 1920. The images document not political activity but lived experience within this changing context, showing how leisure, education, and mobility shaped female identity in middle-class environments. The album’s sustained chronological scope allows for observation of changes in dress, posture, and social grouping over nearly a decade. Brown cloth boards with tie binding; light bumping at corners and a short tear at the head of spine; first page detached; occasional minor silvering and slight edge wear to photographs, with a few images torn at folds; overall good to very good condition. A cohesive visual record of girlhood and early adulthood in the interwar Midwest.

Item #16295

Price: $480.00