Will Seippel | August 1, 2025

Some of you may know that I collect vintage photographs and negatives. I have built such an extensive collection that I created a website called History in Photographs (HIP) to showcase and sell the photos. These aren’t just simple snapshots; they give us a glimpse into history and leave us with questions.

I am excited to begin sharing my collection by selecting a few of the most intriguing photographs and inviting different experts to help us piece together the hidden narratives. Every picture tells a story, and it’s up to us to uncover it.

Our first expert is Meghan Boehmer, a historical interpreter, reenactor, and writer who has traveled thousands of miles to learn about historical locations, records, and figures. She has agreed to share her expertise in period clothing with me, hoping to enhance our understanding of the subjects in the photos.

According to Boehmer, the photo shown, taken by Clarence Trefry, was most likely taken in the first decade of the 20th century. She told us, 

You can see a bit of the “S curve” from the women’s corsets that causes the puffed-up pigeon chest silhouette indicative of the era. Most of what can be gathered comes from context clues. It seems like there was a recent storm that took down a large portion of a tree in the background. You can see the sky poking through and the absence of branches in the background. In the foreground is the cleanup. The downed tree was chopped down and split for firewood.

In addition to the clothing, the poses of the people in the picture can reveal a lot. Meghan writes, 

You can see that most of the women are holding branches. The four women on the left are wielding smaller logs like weapons. The woman in the center is holding a twig with a few leaves left on it, and the two standing women in the back are crossing logs, almost as if dueling. The two men in this picture seem pleased with themselves, standing on the result of their labor.

As for who the people might be? Boehmer shared,

The group itself is an odd mix of people. A few of these women look like housemaids, the woman and two men on the right look like they’re from a farming family, and the two women on the left, wearing lighter colors and no aprons, are likely part of the family employing the women. My best guess was that the women came to see the mountain of wood that was amassed after the storm’s cleanup—just for fun.

Photos like this document so much, not only the clothing and customs of the time, but also a glimpse into the subjects’ daily lives. Whether they were wealthy aristocrats, household help, or neighborhood children at play, there’s much to learn from every shot. Check out the collection, and if there’s a photo you’d like to know more about, I’d love to hear from you. You can contact me on LinkedIn.