Each week Sepia Saturday offers bloggers with a genealogical or nostalgic bent to share photos from times gone by. This week the prompt above inspired me to look for photos of governesses or nannies, aka nurses.
. , None. [Between 1900 and 1920] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016797135/.
To see more Sepia Saturday posts, click here.
. Romania. Romania, 1919. [18 August date received] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017669818/.
. , 1921. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016829573/.
I wonder how the nanny for all 5 of these children managed.
If you’re interested in domestic servants from the past, I did a group project in grad school and created a digital library with all sorts of documents about and images of domestic servants. You can check it out here.
smkelly8
Some fine choices here to represent nannies – all of them in different situations. They’re all neat photos, but I like the first one best for some reason. Those children are adorable. I do wonder, however, where that poor nanny was going with those five children?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the last photo — what a large group for a lone nanny to tend to! My paternal grandmother, from Baltimore, Md., worked as a nanny for a family who vacationed in New York’s Adirondacks region each summer. That’s where she met and eventually married my grandfather, who sold produce/groceries door to door — so you never know where a nanny job can lead 🙂
LikeLike
For some reason, I’m especially drawn to the first photo – the belt, the bag, the stuffed animal? and everyone’s expression.
LikeLike
I’ve always been amazed at how domestic servants like the nurse in your first photo wore such clean, starched and pressed , aprons, dresses, and hats. We have dropped our standards in the 21st century! And I’ve bookmarked your archive to check out.
LikeLike
This comment was mine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So many people, myself included, have stopped ironing. I was always impressed with the freshly pressed clothing people wear in Japan and South Korea nowadays.
It does have a nice look.
LikeLike