This is a stunning photo! The beautiful woman, the dress, the flowers. There are beads and sparkles on the bodice of the dress. She wears a large pendant and white gloves. It’s definitely a wedding photo, but I’m not sure this is the bride – there is no veil. What do you think?
A very interesting factor for this photo is the back – a rendition of the photographer’s building on 957 Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Louis Rudolph is the owner – notice his last name above the second floor, and his full name over the shop windows. This also gives us an idea of pricing for photographs during this time period – cabinet photos (such as the one shown) are $2.00 per dozen! 12 cabinets and a life size crayon are $4.75. The building is very decorative – from the kiosk standing at the curb to the small domes at the top! This was one way of advertising – ‘Where did you get your photo taken?’ – information right on the back!
Louis H. Rudolph ran this shop on Milwaukee Avenue from 1892-1900. I checked, but there is no building standing there today! What a loss!
Categories: Old Photos
The big youthful hair ribbon seems unusual for a bride, or for a bridesmaid. Even a teenage bride would dress as an adult. Graduation photo, maybe?
The one thing that makes me think she is a bridesmaid are the extra bouquets on the floor. I have seen that in many wedding photos. If it were a graduation I would think there would only be one. Hard to say for sure!
The Chicago Historical Society did put out this book, https://archive.org/details/chicagophotograp00chic “Chicago photographers, 1847 through 1900 : as listed in Chicago city directories,” but we have a family photo from Rudolph’s Studio in our possession with a handwritten date on the back of “Sept 1904,” so Rudolph did continue at that location at least a few years into the new century.
Remember, the street numbers were all changed in 1909. According to the book, Street Renumbering, http://www.chsmedia.org/househistory/1909snc/start.pdf Rudolph’s gallery would have stood today at 1311 N Milwaukee Ave — but that is now a Kmart parking lot. Some of the gentrified buildings across the street still have a tiny bit of the old ornate glory, but nothing like Rudolph’s must have been like in its prime.
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