Mounted black and white photograph of a floral ship. The ship, masts, and rigging are covered with flowers and foliage. A ribbon identifying it as the “US Marshall” is placed on the front mast and a small American flag flies atop the back mast. Large floral recreations of ships were chosen to highlight the theme of the occasion. They were used at ceremonies, luncheons, and funerals. Written in lower left of the picture in white letters is “Active Rep. Club, 1st Ward, 1902.” Also written on the photograph’s mount in black is “Compliments of John F. Lang.”
Label Text:
Flower arrangements are some of the most common subject matters for memorial photographs made in the nineteenth century. Cabinet cards, stereo cards, and other photographic formats are seen depicting memorial flowers, sometimes combined with other mourning imagery, phrases, or a photograph of the deceased when alive. Simple wording such as, “our baby,” “our darling,” “brother,” “sister,” “son,” “daughter,” etc. were commonly seen surrounded by a creative still life composition made from the sympathy tributes. Having these photographs taken was affordable, and in the case of notable figures, the pictures were mass-produced for sale to the public. This type of memorial photograph was most popular between 1895 and 1910. The images were often kept by the family as remembrance of the deceased individual and the outpouring of love and sympathy received in their time of greatest loss; often made into parlor cards, openly displayed in the home, or kept in a photographic album.
Paper/Support:
Mounted on board
Inscription(s):
Caption at bottom of photo reads: "Active Rep Club/1st Ward/1902." Caption on mount reads "Compliments of John F. Lang."
