This grouping are all from Lochman’s studio in Carlisle and are all mystery photos as far as I’m concerned. These came from my mother’s side of the family from Cumberland County and, at this point, I have no idea if they are friends or family.

The first is a handsome young lad, who seems to be quite happy to be having his photograph done. Love that fringe on the chair he’s leaning on! If nothing else, that style of furnishing might help to pinpoint a time frame for the photo. I suspect this is actually a family member, but which family he might belong to is the question.

Considering how large the families were in earlier times, it’s actually surprising to me that there are not more pictures of youngsters in the collection that I have inherited.  Out of several dozen old photographs that are from the 1800’s I can probably count on one hand those that of children, though there are a number that are of young people in the teens. I’m not sure if this tendency is characteristic of the times or whether my ancestors just did not bother to have photographs taken of their children. Considering how many children died young, perhaps parents were more likely to wait till they were a bit older before setting them down in front of a camera.

Our next mystery photo is that of a fairly young man who appears quite well-dressed. He has a rather intense look on his face, and quite a deep dimple in his chin.The clean-shaven appearance might be a bit of a clue, in an age where so many of the men in photographs appear with at least a mustache  if not a full beard.

Unlike the others from this studio, this one does not show any background in the image.

On the back of the card, the address for Lochman’s is given as Main street, opposite Marion Hall, while the photograph of the youngster above was apparently from a later period as its address info reads: “S. E. Corner Market Square and East Main St. Removed from 21 West Main Street, to the gallery formerly occupied by J. C. Lasher, but entirely refitted and improved.”

Our last photo for this grouping is that of a young woman in a dark dress with a rather serious expression on her face, quite a contrast from our cheerful little boy above. Though her dress does not appear particularly fancy, it is obvious that pains were taken to dress her hair well. The style of her dress should help to pinpoint the timing of the photograph a bit, though I know very little about when particular styles came into vogue. As the background appears to be quite similar to the one in the photo of Edgar Hasting in the previous post, I suspect that this one also comes from the Civil War era.