I was so excited to share this photo with you!  Few of the older photos were taken inside homes, and this is a wonderful example of a late Victorian lifestyle – most likely the parlor!  The little girl adds to the photo – so sweet in her sailor dress and boots!  Her hand is on a plant stand, and I believe that it is spider plant – one of a variety that would live through anything – perhaps even me!  Ritchey has the green thumb in this family!

At first glance I thought the piece of furniture a cupboard, but after close inspection it is an organ!  If you look at the hem of the girl’s skirt and the plant stand you can see the pedals!  The upper portion is decorated with family photos and special dishes.  This is very true to the time period.  Home organs were very ornate, with shelves, carvings and mirrors.  You can also see the organ stool behind the little girl, with what looks like a velvet pillow on top!  Perhaps her mother played!

The floor is carpeted with a leaf/flower pattern – a bit hard to make out, with a smaller rug in front of the organ.  The walls are covered in dark paper with a floral design – which looks exactly like the Rococo Rose pattern of the 1890’s to 1910.  It is surprising what you can find on the internet!

I do wish the photo was a little clearer, but it was very faint, and I feel fortune to have improved its looks as much as I did.  Wouldn’t you love to clearly see the photo on the wall – the two little girls?

This photo gives us a brief glance at a time period more than 100 years ago.