In 1904 Ellen Sophia Keen Brown (formerly Dodd) (1863 – 1938) gifted this photo album to her 23 year old son Malcolm Horace Brown (1881-1915). It’s a blue hard-shell album with a painted floral design.
The inside cover reads:
To Dear Malcolm from his mother 1904
Four years after receiving the album Malcolm’s sister Edith Ellen Brown (1890-1908) died at the age of 18. A memorial card featuring a portrait of his sister was found in the last sleeve.
There are signs of wear and tear on the empty sleeves indicating the album was once full but now only three photos remain. My guess is that family members removed their favourite photographs after Malcom died in WWI.
Of the three photographs that remain there appears to be three unique individuals as two of the men appear twice. The photos are from studios in Wellington, New Zealand. Perhaps these were cousins or they could have been taken while travelling.
Unlike the small carte de visite (CdV) photos in Malcolm’s other album, these photographs are large format and rigid stock cabinet cards. The bottom of each photo reads “Weidner York Studio Wellington. NZ”.
If you have any insight as to who these men might be please get in touch.
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