To continue the nineteenth century theme, here’s a dilemma: when faced with this…
…in front of this…
…what would you do? Screaming child + camera lens = every parent’s nightmare. The modern solution usually involves a bag of chocolate buttons but two centuries ago they had better ideas. In an age where appearance was everything, the Victorians took decorum to new levels.
At first glance this may look like an ordinary photo of a ruddy-cheeked young chap.
But take a closer look behind the scenes and you can trace the shadow of a second figure: the mother herself, closely resembling a human-shaped, draped chair and clutching her troublesome child; an ingenuous solution to fidgeting. Admittedly some are less subtle than others…
…but the principle is always the same. Try and ‘spot the mother’ in the rest of these shots.
They certainly had the right idea, didn’t they? Check out the rest of the collection right HERE!
