Friday 15 July 2011

Frodsham, Cheshire, Bridge Party c1910

Frodsham, Cheshire, Bridge Party circa 1910. Sorry no 'now' picture this week. This is an entry for this week's Sepia Saturday. This postcard, by photographer John Henry Cross (born 1873) of Frodsham, Cheshire is very odd. It shows four young women playing bridge. They appear to be in a field, or perhaps by the side of a road. The furniture is clearly indoor furniture. Two of the women are dressed as men. Why? The way they are gazing at each other is curious. The women dressed as men are wearing what look like homburg hats (though the brim is not quite right for a homburg). The girl on the left is well dressed, but the girl on the right has a very frumpy woollen hat. There is nothing on the back of the postcard to explain the picture at all. The caption says "Bridge Party. L.S." What could L. S. signify? I'd love to know what the meaning of this picture is. A puzzle indeed. Click the picture to enlarge.


Posted by at

21 comments:

  1. Kristin15 July 2011 at 22:34

    Interesting and curious photo. Maybe they are doing a play. Perhaps that is hay on a stage and an outdoor backdrop?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown16 July 2011 at 04:22

    I Love this photo, Not sure What Bridge Party L.S. is but the photo makes me smile! It would look great framed and hanging in my house :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Christine H.16 July 2011 at 05:26

    Oh, what a mystery! I am so curious about this. I'm also very impressed that you could come up with something so on- theme for Sepia Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous16 July 2011 at 05:40

    I love this photo! My type indeed! Id have picked it up if I ran across it. My first thought it was the ladies making fun and being like the guys playing cards. The chairs remind me of some I see at our local antique store, I believe the lady said they came from an old bar, which would be fitting for the card playing photo, the style is the same. What fun,,, yes L.S. is such a difficult clue to work with, hmmmmmm...( i love to figure photos out!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jinksy16 July 2011 at 10:36

    I'd say L S was the photographer who 'staged' the photo...I take my hat off to him/her, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Little Nell16 July 2011 at 10:43

    This is a wonderfully enigmatic card, and so on theme. I hesitate to suggest that the L.S. may stand for L****** Society, especially as two are dressed as men, and the others not particularly feminine looking, frumpy, as you said. However, these pictures do represent a sort of social commentary, so why not? However it could be Ladies’ Soiree, Library Service, Limited Selection? We could get quite silly really, but I’m sure one of the other excellent followers will come up with the answer.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Postcardy16 July 2011 at 15:39

    That is certainly a strange photo. I could understand dressing like that for an indoor studio photo, or sitting outside in normal warm weather clothes, but that ...?

    ReplyDelete
  8. dakotaboo16 July 2011 at 16:56

    Very curious picture.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mike Brubaker16 July 2011 at 18:24

    Curious yes, but what did the girl on the left bid?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Margaret16 July 2011 at 20:15

    I think they are putting on a theatre play... I know my girls do this all the time for fun. Think of "Little Women".

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bob Scotney16 July 2011 at 21:19

    The 'men' are smoking or are they just holding the cigarettes as props. The rattan cane seems out of place in a card game.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tattered and Lost16 July 2011 at 21:40

    Well this is odd, isn't it? Out sitting in their field. All dressed up with nowhere to go. A card club in the outer south 40.

    I wonder if they made a series of cards with different poses? That would be fun.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sheila @ A Postcard a Day16 July 2011 at 22:12

    The cigarettes aren't being held at all naturally by the two "men", making it seem all the more staged. But the question of why still remains.

    ReplyDelete
  14. MuseSwings17 July 2011 at 03:03

    What an interesting photo!It does look staged - especially with the unlit cigarettes. A wonderful addition for this week's theme.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Leah17 July 2011 at 10:30

    The tiny smiles certainly suggest a lark! Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Alan Burnett17 July 2011 at 11:02

    What a picture. It is almost like a game of snap (I deal the theme image and you shout snap as you post that splendid offering).

    ReplyDelete
  17. Alan Burnett17 July 2011 at 11:03

    A perfect picture to complete a matching pair with my theme picture.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Unknown17 July 2011 at 14:41

    At first look I thought it was couples bridge, but then you explained it nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Bruno Laliberté18 July 2011 at 01:47

    like Little Nell, i also thought of Lesbian Society, not afraid of using the "L" word here...
    :D~
    but women tend to avoid such blatant appellations and prefer something more poetic...
    perhaps the author's initials? or even the location?

    unlit cigarettes, one about to strike a match, only one hand of cards showing, with a lot of heart showing, the ace of heart on top...
    significant?
    :)~
    HUGZ

    ReplyDelete
  20. Little Nell18 July 2011 at 15:57

    Yes, Ticklebear is probably right, a place name like Little Snoring? I also thought of L.S. Lowry, but perhaps not. It’s a wonderful puzzle; I hope you’ll tell us if you ever solve it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. tony22 July 2011 at 13:58

    Very Formal! This Photo is of special interest to me as I used to live in nearby Northwich.
    Talking of strange placenames, near Frodsham & Northwich is the wonderfully named Lower Peover !

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...