Sometime around 1910, a photographic portrait was made of a baby girl.
The full view suggests that the photograph was not made in a studio.
The baby seems to be sitting on a blanket that has been draped over an armchair.
The very young girl is wearing a long white dress or christening gown.
She looks at the world with an expression of wonderment and, possibly, bewilderment.
Despite our desire to know more about the child, the lack of full name, date, or studio mark, makes it impossible to tell a fuller postcard story.
On the reverse, a thoughtful person has identified the child as “Baby Helen”
The writer notes that Baby Helen is wearing her “Great -Grandpa’s dress”.
The writer laments that “it is a poor picture”.
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Had the writer identified Baby Helen with a surname (and added a date and a location), the portrait would be much more valuable to those who see it a century later.
I have mounted the soapbox numerous times to remind readers that their pictures will outlive them – and that everyone who now recognizes a familiar family name (like “Baby Helen”) is likely to have vanished within a hundred years.
One hopes that Helen grew up with love and security, and that she enjoyed a happy and successful life in the 20th century.
