This postcard photograph was not mailed, and lacks any indication of the sitter or the date.
The portrait was made at the Fritz Studio in the city of Reading – then a thriving center of industry and transportation in southeast Pennsylvania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading,_Pennsylvania
The Fritz Studio, located on one of the main streets in downtown Reading, made thousands of photographic portraits – and they can still be found at antique malls.
https://cabinetcardphotographers.blogspot.com/2021/11/john-s-fritz.html
We have seen other works by the Fritz photography studio:
“Ezra Hartman of Reading”, “Children of Reading”, “Young Man of Reading”, “The Man from Reading”
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In this portrait, the young woman has a steadfast expression; she does not display the common poses of the first decade of the twentieth century – the demure gaze, the tilted head, a hand supporting the head in a thoughtful or wistful manner.
Our heroine looks as though she is about to take things in hand and to get to work.
I have estimated the date as 1916, because our young woman is not wearing a shirtwaist with a high, lacy collar -and her hair is bobbed.
I would date the portrait a few years later, except that this style of studio portrait was fading in popularity by 1920.
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The postcard photograph was designed for sharing with friends and correspondents, and we might assume that this postcard belonged to a friend of the young woman.
It was preserved in very good condition for more than a century.
I did make some digital repairs to foxing that obstructed the borders and spotted the area around the face.
