silver print photograph

Summary

Full length portrait of a seated woman holding a dog and a cat. Outdoor portrait with a house in the background and a row of flowers. She has cente parted hair left full at the sides and she is wearing a white blouse with a standing collar, narrow white necktie, full length sleeves and a striped wool skirt. Worn with black leather lace up boots. There is a small stuffed bear on the lawn by her feet. See 2008.40.6.1162 for the same sitter in a different pose.

Display Label

The Cunnington Collection These photographs are from the extensive archive of Drs C Willet and Phillis Cunnington, whose costume collection and library were acquired by Manchester Corporation in 1947. This purchase led to the formation of the Gallery of Costume at Platt Hall. The Cunningtons owned thousands of cartes-de-visite (small photographs, the size of a namecard you might present when visiting) and cabinet photographs (a good size to prop up for display on a cabinet) as well as later photographic prints, which he collected to show clothes worn by real people. Unfortunately the identity of the people in the photographs has often not been recorded. [Dr C W Cunnington dated many of the photographs on the reverse in his distinctive pencil/ink scrawl. While he was an early costume expert, some of his more specific dates seem suspiciously arbitrary. We have followed them here with the addition of ‘about’ to indicate that the date may be inexact.]