This is the third anonymous postcard photograph that I have shared recently – a testament to the widespread lack of diligence in adding names, dates, or locations to photographs.
People do not seem to understand that photographs last far linger than the lives of those that first shared them.
It is exciting to match photographs of persons who are named, and to publish the results of genealogical research. Nevertheless, the many unnamed persons whose photographs survive also deserve to be catalogued.
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This photographic portrait was made at the Arcade Studio, located within the Fifth Avenue Arcade in Pittsburgh, PA.
I believe that this is the fabled “Jenkins Arcade” which was constructed in 1910 and became one the largest shopping destinations in Pittsburgh.
https://www.brooklineconnection.com/history/Facts/Jenkins.html
Google shares an unaccredited photograph of the Arcade on Fifth Avenue:
At the time our hero sat for a photograph, circa 1911, Pittsburgh was a city of more than 300,000 people – dominated by steel plants and other industries that generated enormous traffic on the region’s rail lines and rivers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Pittsburgh
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For his portrait, the young man is wearing a dark suit and a shirt with a high, stiff collar.
His long tie appears to be adorned with a tie pin.
(The tie pin began to replace the 19th century “stick pin” by the early 20th century.)
Unlike the men in many contemporary photographs, this sitter has very short hair.
The face of the man is brightened by the suggestion of a grin – beneath the stiff pose that was customary.
One hopes that he found success and happiness in the changing world of the early 20th century.
